Third Tremester Abortions

My mind cannot wrap itself around the concept of third trimester abortions. It is so heinous that I would almost rather not even think about it. But I do because abortion is morally and ethically wrong. Any abortion is tragic but the idea that a baby in the eighth or ninth month of gestation can be murdered in the womb is so scary. My own heart longs desperately to be blessed with more children and yet abortion still exists.

Father Frank Pavone has written an article that he wishes everyone to read. Take a moment and read what this pro-life priest has to say.


Forcing a Pro-Choice Crisis: What About Third Trimester Abortions?

Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life

What do LeRoy Carhart, Warren Hern, and George Tiller have in common? They are among an unknown number who perform abortions in the third trimester of pregnancy (the third trimester being the seventh, eighth, and ninth month!)

For two decades I have been proclaiming from the pulpits of America that abortions happen in the third trimester. Many Americans find it hard to believe. Now, in the aftermath of the death of George Tiller, this fact is getting a bit more attention.

The Associated Press reported on June 2 in an article by Eric Olson that physician LeRoy Carhart of Nebraska wants to continue performing abortions at this late stage, but he, as well as Warren Hern, also want to make sure enough physicians are trained in how to do so.

How many are we talking about? The AP story reported, "Carhart said 75 to 100 of the "several thousand" abortions he performs annually are in the third trimester."

Stanley K. Henshaw, a senior fellow at the Guttmacher Institute, the research division of Planned Parenthood, and the best source of these statistics, is quoted in a June 5 Washington Post article as saying, "The information just isn't available...This is an area that we just don't know much about."


The Guttmacher Institute does report in its official statistics, however, that some 13,310 abortions each year are at 21 weeks or more of pregnancy (that is, 1.1% of the 1.21 million abortions per year). Of the 40 states that reported in 2005 to the Centers for Disease Control, 32 states reported abortions of babies 21 weeks or older.

This means that every day, 37 babies the size of a large banana are dismembered and decapitated - and these include healthy babies of healthy mothers...and it's happening legally.

These are babies that the mother can already feel moving. According to MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, these babies are storing fat on their bodies, their heartbeat can be heard with a stethoscope, they can hear, they have eyebrows, eyelashes, fingernails and toenails. Incidentally, MedlinePlus calls them "babies." (See www.nlm.nih.gov/MEDLINEPLUS/ency/article/002398.htm ).

Many people wonder how they can get some traction in the seemingly intractable abortion debate. How can they get people to listen, or make pro-choice people believe that pro-life people have good reason to be against abortion?


My suggestion: start by discussing the facts I just mentioned.


It's morally legitimate to focus on late-term abortion; that doesn't deny that all abortion is wrong; it's simply a way to get the ball rolling, a pedagogical method of going from the most obvious to the less obvious, of starting with what people know and leading to what they don't know.

When people are astonished by these facts, as they will be, they are forced to re-evaluate just how much priority "privacy" and "choice" have over life. If they are "pro-choice," they are forced to figure out when in pregnancy the line is drawn - and why.

And now you're talking.


The text and audio of this column can be found online at www.priestsforlife.org/columns/columns2009/09-06-15-pro-choice-crisis.htm

Fr. Frank's columns are podcast. Click here for more information.

Comments on this Column?
Priests for Life
PO Box 141172
Staten Island, NY 10314

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Changing the light bulb for Mary

After too much time away from the blogosphere I am happy to report that Modern Catholic Mom is back! We have officially moved to our new house. I've missed you all and look forward to reading up on how everyone is doing!

I have some great DVD reviews and giveaways planned for this week so make sure to check back regularly.

PRAYER INTENTION:

I have a friend who is having a c-section today. She has been told by doctor's that her little girl Eva has cystic hygroma, a heart defect, and a bi-lateral cleft lip. All of these abnormalities in conjunction with each other mean a fatal diagnosis - usually Turner's Syndrome or Trisomy 13 or 18. Please keep mommy, baby and their family in your prayers today. Thank you Jesus that mom made the decision to keep the baby and allow her to have the chance at life. You can read more about the family here.

On a parting note I will leave you with this:

Yesterday at Church my three year old and I were standing in the foyer. I had her in my arms and she was looking up at the ceiling sprinkled with built-in lights. Her daddy will usually life her high up so she can touch the ceiling in our home. She asked me if I would lift her during Mass and I told her no. She replied by saying, 'But mom, I need to change the light bulbs for Mary!'

Ha!