It still doesn't lead up to 27 weeks... But I am just glad partial birth abortions are still illegal.
You totally bought the propaganda then. Those are a necessary medical procedure. All late-term abortions are gruesome medical procedures that take days and are medieval in nature. They are not something mothers decide to have on a whim, they are almost universally emergency medical procedures or done to remove a dead/dying baby that threatens the mother's life.
The
new version was banned, the old version is
still legal, and it's like something out of medieval torture. The new version was designed to be a lot more humane. And then some fuckers banned the
new version but left the old version intact. The old one involves sticking cutting implements up into the mother and carving the living baby into small pieces to be extracted one by one. The "partial birth abortion" (NOT the medical term) involves a way that was previously impossible to extract the dead/dying baby in one piece.
"partial birth abortions" are formally known as "
Intact dilation and extraction". This method was developed to be a more humane version of "Dilation and evacuation" (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilation_and_evacuation), which is the fore-mentioned freakish medieval torture for mother and fetus that Bush is subjecting more women to because of the "intact dilation and extraction" ban.
RationalWiki on the debate:
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Intact_dilation_and_extractionIt should also be noted that other procedures are no less gory, and "inhumane" in this abstract, fear mongering sense. Dilation and Extraction (notice well the missing 'intact') is essentially the same procedure.
Medical uses
This procedure was the preferred medical choice when the infant's head was abnormally large, generally due to a terminal birth defect called "hydroencephalitis". A second condition where this procedure is preferred is a state where the woman for whatever reason, has a risk of internal bleeding or clotting issues. Because the fetus is removed intact, there are no small bones that could tear or perforate the uterus. These are medical conditions, and a woman who is facing such situations should be legally allowed to use whatever procedure her doctor feels is right for her particular case.