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'''Partial Birth Abortion''' is a late-term [[Abortion|abortive procedure]] in which all of a fetus (except for the head) is removed from the womb through the [[cervix]] (the same pathway through which birth occurs; hence the name), and is then killed. The official medical term is "intact dilation and extraction" abortion.  

'''Partial Birth Abortion''' is a late-term [[Abortion|abortive procedure]] in which all of a fetus (except for the head) is removed from the womb through the [[cervix]] (the same pathway through which birth occurs; hence the name), and is then killed. The official medical term is "intact dilation and extraction" abortion.  

The procedure accounts for 0.17% of all abortions in the U.S., but due to its grisly nature, has become an important battleground within the greater [[abortion controversy]]. <ref>http://www.abortioninfo.net/facts/pba.shtml</ref>  

The procedure accounts for 0.17% of all abortions in the U.S., but due to its grisly nature, has become an important battleground within the greater [[abortion controversy]].<ref>http://www.abortioninfo.net/facts/pba.shtml</ref>  

==History==

==History==

the skull so as to allow the extraction of a dead fetus during obstructed labor.]]

the skull so as to allow the extraction of a dead fetus during obstructed labor.]]

Prior to [[Roe vs. Wade]] and [[Doe vs. Bolton]], there was no such concept as a post-viability abortion. Abortion was, by definition, the death, either natural or inflicted, of a pre-viable fetus. The closest practice to what we know as late abortion was the [[destructive operation]], performed to remove a fetus who had died during [[obstructed labor]]. The destructive operation is sometimes still used in areas that lack the medical facilities to perform safe Cesarean sections<ref>[http://www.springerlink.com/content/l701707824138666/ Savita Rani Singhal, Pooja Chaudhry, Krishna Sangwan and Suresh Kumar Singhal, "Destructive operations in modern obstetrics", ''Archives of Gynecology'', Volume 273, Number 2, 107-109]</ref><ref>[http://www.meb.uni-bonn.de/dtc/primsurg/docbook/html/x5765.html Nelson Awori et al., ''Primary Surgery'', Online Edition on special wish of the editors Maurice King and Peter C. Bewes expressed on the 8th. DTC Symposium in Jena 1999]</ref>, but elsewhere it has been supplanted.<ref>[http://www.gfmer.ch/Obstetrics_simplified/caesarean_section.htm Diaa M. EI-Mowafi, ''Obstetrics Simplified'']</ref>

Prior to [[Roe vs. Wade]] and [[Doe vs. Bolton]], there was no such concept as a post-viability abortion. Abortion was, by definition, the death, either natural or inflicted, of a pre-viable fetus. The closest practice to what we know as late abortion was the [[destructive operation]], performed to remove a fetus who had died during [[obstructed labor]]. The destructive operation is sometimes still used in areas that lack the medical facilities to perform safe Cesarean sections,<ref>[http://www.springerlink.com/content/l701707824138666/ Savita Rani Singhal, Pooja Chaudhry, Krishna Sangwan and Suresh Kumar Singhal, "Destructive operations in modern obstetrics", ''Archives of Gynecology'', Volume 273, Number 2, 107-109]</ref><ref>[http://www.meb.uni-bonn.de/dtc/primsurg/docbook/html/x5765.html Nelson Awori et al., ''Primary Surgery'', Online Edition on special wish of the editors Maurice King and Peter C. Bewes expressed on the 8th. DTC Symposium in Jena 1999]</ref> but elsewhere it has been supplanted.<ref>[http://www.gfmer.ch/Obstetrics_simplified/caesarean_section.htm Diaa M. EI-Mowafi, ''Obstetrics Simplified'']</ref>

With ''Roe'' and ''Doe'', the Supreme Court declared that there was a Constitutional right to an "abortion" even past fetal viability. US abortionists thus were limited in scope only by their own willingness to destroy fetal life. It was only after the [[Planned Parenthood vs. Casey]] decision that states were permitted to limit post-viability abortions. Many still do not have, or do not enforce, laws that [[Casey]] had established as enforceable.  

With ''Roe'' and ''Doe'', the Supreme Court declared that there was a Constitutional right to an "abortion" even past fetal viability. US abortionists thus were limited in scope only by their own willingness to destroy fetal life. It was only after the [[Planned Parenthood vs. Casey]] decision that states were permitted to limit post-viability abortions. Many still do not have, or do not enforce, laws that [[Casey]] had established as enforceable.  

In the immediate post-''Roe'' era, abortions past the midpoint in pregnancy were typically performed by [[saline abortion | instillation]], in which drugs or chemicals, alone or in combination, were used to cause fetal demise and induce labor. These abortions carried with them numerous drawbacks. They were risky for the mother, since the chemicals used to kill the fetus could severely injure or even kill the mother if they entered her bloodstream.<ref name="Wagatsuma1">Wagatsuma, T.: "Intraamniotic Injection of Saline for Therapeutic Abortion," ''American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology'', November 1, 1965</ref> They were also logistically challenging, requiring a typical multi-day hospital stay. Furthermore, they required a delay until about 16 weeks into the pregnancy, prior to which point there was not sufficient amniotic fluid for the practitioner to extract and replace.<ref name="Cates1">Cates, W. Jr., Schulz, K.F., Grimes D.A., et al: "The Effects of Delay and Method of Choice on the Risk of Abortion Morbidity," ''Family Planning Perspectives'', 9:266, 1977.</ref>

In the immediate post-''Roe'' era, abortions past the midpoint in pregnancy were typically performed by [[saline abortion|instillation]], in which drugs or chemicals, alone or in combination, were used to cause fetal demise and induce labor. These abortions carried with them numerous drawbacks. They were risky for the mother, since the chemicals used to kill the fetus could severely injure or even kill the mother if they entered her bloodstream.<ref name="Wagatsuma1">Wagatsuma, T.: "Intraamniotic Injection of Saline for Therapeutic Abortion," ''American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology'', November 1, 1965</ref> They were also logistically challenging, requiring a typical multi-day hospital stay. Furthermore, they required a delay until about 16 weeks into the pregnancy, prior to which point there was not sufficient amniotic fluid for the practitioner to extract and replace.<ref name="Cates1">Cates, W. Jr., Schulz, K.F., Grimes D.A., et al: "The Effects of Delay and Method of Choice on the Risk of Abortion Morbidity," ''Family Planning Perspectives'', 9:266, 1977.</ref>

[[File:Lilpba2.jpg|thumb|200px| Partial birth abortion: Rotating the fetus into position for extraction]]

[[File:Lilpba2.jpg|thumb|200px| Partial birth abortion: Rotating the fetus into position for extraction]]

==Reasons for Partial Birth Abortions==

==Reasons for Partial Birth Abortions==

Though abortion advocates typically present all [[late term abortion | late-term abortion]] as being performed for "hard cases" (severe fetal abnormalities or serious health problems in the mother), late abortions, including PBA, are typically performed for the [[reasons for abortion | same reasons as earlier abortions]].

Though abortion advocates typically present all [[late term abortion|late-term abortion]] as being performed for "hard cases" (severe fetal abnormalities or serious health problems in the mother), late abortions, including PBA, are typically performed for the [[reasons for abortion|same reasons as earlier abortions]].

==Legislation==

==Legislation==

[[United States Congress|Congress]] passed laws to ban the procedure in 1996 and 1997, but the bill was [[veto|vetoed]] by [[Bill Clinton|President Clinton]]<ref>http://www.jeremiahproject.com/culture/partbirthabortion.html</ref> and Congress was just short of the votes necessary to override it. The United States [[Congress]] enacted the [[Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act]] <ref>http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/abortion/2003s3.html</ref> in 2003 and [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] signed it into law.

[[United States Congress|Congress]] passed laws to ban the procedure in 1996 and 1997, but the bill was [[veto]]ed by [[Bill Clinton|President Clinton]]<ref>http://www.jeremiahproject.com/culture/partbirthabortion.html</ref> and Congress was just short of the votes necessary to override it. The United States [[Congress]] enacted the [[Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act]] <ref>http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/abortion/2003s3.html</ref> in 2003 and [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] signed it into law.

The Supreme Court upheld the ban by a 5 to 4 decision in [[Gonzales v. Carhart]], on April 18, 2007.

The Supreme Court upheld the ban by a 5 to 4 decision in [[Gonzales v. Carhart]], on April 18, 2007.

[[Category:Abortion]]

[[Category:Abortion]]

==External Links==

==External links==

* [http://www.abortioninstruments.com/new_index.html#instruments Abortion Instruments]

* [http://www.abortioninstruments.com/new_index.html#instruments Abortion Instruments]