by Cynthia Moreno

Created on: December 03, 2010

Lots of things have changed since Roe v Wade was before the Supreme Court.  Medical technology and neonatal care is one of those areas that has advanced to levels that we never dreamed possible at the time the case was decided.  Today, most medical doctors consider viability to be at 20 weeks gestation.  Babies have been born as early as 21 weeks and survived to become healthy children.  

There have been major advances in reproduction control as well.  When our mothers were having children the only thing they had available to them was the pill and rhythm method where today they have many more advanced options that are much more reliable than the pill our mothers took.  Some of the methods are Depo shots, Norplant(in countries other than the US), better formulated birth control pills, the morning after pill, IUD, the patch and RU 486 which is good up to 9 weeks into pregnancy.

With all of these elective choices is it practical to still have surgical abortive methods? I would say yes, but that they need to be limited to some extent.  I think there is a point in time that a woman has made her choice to have or not have the baby.  At some point in time the child´s interest has to be considered as a separate person and not just as a part of the mother.  The question is at what stage in pregnancy does that happen?

With Roe the court said that all pregnancy in the first trimester should be the choice of the mother as to if she terminates or not.  I agree with this decision.  The mother should have an election to terminate her pregnancy up to 12 weeks into the pregnancy.  All cases of rape should end with the woman being offered the option to take the emergency contraceptive that is available.  The first 9 weeks should be via RU 486 and if an abortion is chosen the patient needs to be counseled as to what reproductive protections are available and statistical risks of HIV as well as other diseases.  Between 9-12 weeks of course a person would need to have an abortion via surgical methods which are more risky and the person also should be counseled on those risks.  Girls under the age of 18 and living at home should always have the permission of her parents, because of the risks to her in a surgery.  It is after that 12 weeks that things become a little more difficult.  The court has said that regulation can occur after the 1sttrimester of pregnancy.  I believe that after

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