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Partial birth abortion (view source)
Revision as of 00:06, October 17, 2010
, 00:06, October 17, 2010Added history and overview of how the controversy broke in the public eye
'''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==
In the immediate post-''Roe'' era, abortions past the midpoint in pregnancy were typically performed by 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>
The dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortion technique had already been developing, "in part because surgeons needed a `right now' solution to complete suction abortions inadvertently started in the second trimester and in part to provide a means of early second trimester abortion to avoid necessary delays for instillation methods."<ref name="Haskell">Haskell, M.: "Dilation and Extraction for Late Second Trimester Abortion," Presented at the National Abortion Federation Risk Management Seminar, September 13, 1992</ref>
As one practitioner noted, "Classic D&E is accomplished by dismembering the fetus inside the uterus with instruments and removing the pieces through an adequately dilated cervix."<ref name="Haskell"/> He also noted that at and beyond 20 weeks of gestation, most abortionists found the fetal tissues too tough to easily tear apart. Thus, methods were developed to kill the fetus in-utero a day or more prior to dismemberment, so as to allow autolysis or softening of the fetal tissues. This method, however, also carried a risk of infection.<ref name="Haskell"/>
California abortionist James McMahon is credited with resolving the difficulty, around 1983, by developing what he called "intrauterine cranial decompression", involving extensive dilation of the cervix to extract the fetus feet-first, then kill it just before completing the delivery by removing the brain with a suction cannula.<ref>Tumulty, K.: "[http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1613078,00.html The Abortion Ruling: An Isolated Win?]" ''Time'', April 20, 2007</ref> The technique gained popularity after Ohio abortionist Martin Haskell presented a paper about his refinement of the technique, which he was now calling dilation and extraction or D&X, at the 1992 [[National Abortion Federation]] (NAF) Risk Management Seminar in Dallas, Texas.<ref>[http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/pbafact1.html Johnson, D.: "What is partial-birth abortion, and what is the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (HR 1833)?", National Right to Life]</ref>
==Controversy==
Haskell's presentation paper, distributed through NAF's mailing list, fell into the hands of cartoonist Jenny Westberg. Westberg wrote an article on her discovery, also providing the now-infamous line drawings of the procedure, for the February, 1993 issue of ''Life Advocate'', a limited-circulation pro-life periodical then published in Portland, Oregon.<ref>Gorney, C.: [http://www.pubtheo.com/page.asp?pid=1483 "Gambling With Abortion: Why both sides think they have everything to lose"], ''Harper's'', November, 2004</ref><ref name="dead">[http://www.covenantnews.com/deParrie031110.htm de Parrie, P.: "I See Dead People", ''Covenant News'', November 10, 2003]</ref>
National Right to Life seized upon the line drawings, along with Haskell's presentation paper, and with state affiliates launched a multi-front legislative battle against what they dubbed "partial-birth abortion" or PBA.<ref name="dead"/>
==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|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.
==References==
==References==
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==See also==
==See also==