Abortion Time Limit
By ShardAerliss
@ShardAerliss (1488)
May 19, 2008 11:35am CST
So, in the UK today, ministers are voting on changing the limit at which elective abortions can be carried out. Currently the limit is 24 weeks.
This limit is based on the age of viability, the age at which a foetus can be born and survive. The argument is (as it is every year) that with growing advancements in technology a neonate could be born earlier and survive. This, they argue, changes the age of viability.
So, my question is; at which time do you think it is no longer right to allow an elective abortion, and why?
Can we not have "abortion should never happen" answers please. I don't want this to become a discussion about the rights and wrongs of abortion but the rights and wrongs of the time limit and what it should be based on.
3 responses
@maximax8 (31042)
• United Kingdom
20 May 08
In the UK the abortion limit is 24 weeks but if there mother's life is in danger or the baby is disabled a termination can be carried out later than this. I was offered an abortion at 36 weeks pregnancy when the hospital found my baby had Spina Bifida. I said 'no' and my baby boy was born three weeks later. I had a guided tour around the special care baby unit. Some of the premature babies were tiny and so fragile.
A woman usually can find out she is pregnant with a home test at 4 weeks pregnancy. There is quite a wait on the National Health Service for an abortion I imagine. Private clinics do abortions but cost quite a lot. A woman has to decide if she wants an abortion. Up to 9 weeks she might be given an abortion that is a light procedure like taking an abortion pill. Between 9 and 15 weeks she would be given a more medical procedure. At 20 weeks pregnancy a detailed scan is carried out in every pregnancy and if there is something wrong the lady might be offered an abortion. However it must be an awful decision to make and the time would be ticking away. Abortion at 23 weeks would involve labor like actually having a live baby.
If abortion in the UK is to be allowed I think that 16 weeks should be the limit. Then the lady would have from 4 weeks to 16 weeks to decide if she wants to abort her baby. However this short length of time might not help mother's to be that are unsure about their decision.
@ShardAerliss (1488)
•
20 May 08
16 weeks would be cutting it really close for someone like me. My cycle is... not very cyclicle. I can go almost 7 weeks without menstruating at all (usually 5-6) and 10 weeks with spotting. So 10 weeks passes without me worrying. 11 to 12 weeks and I'd be testing.
I would throw myself at a doctor instantly (I'd probably not leave the clinic till I got what I wanted), because I know I don't want a child, I can't afford a child, I couldn't look after a child, I couldn't go throw pregnancy and child birth, and I couldn't give a child up to strangers. Although I probably can't carry to term anyway. Woot.
However, another woman in my situation might have to put more thought into it. Then they have to get two doctors consent and then get on the waiting list or cough up the cash for a private clinic. 16 weeks would be really pushing it.
But I understand your reasoning. It is better to have an abortion early (for the health of the woman more than anything else) and if the limit is reduced she will have to make the decision earlier and thus get treatment earlier.
Oh, some numbers;
Percentage of abortions in England and Wales (2006)
Under 9 weeks: 54.9%
9-12 weeks: 34.3%
13-19 weeks: 9.2%
20-24 weeks: 1.5%
Beyond 24 weeks: 0.1%
And a quick couple of links to news on the vote today;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7409696.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7409914.stm
@maximax8 (31042)
• United Kingdom
20 May 08
Your cycle sounds very long and so this is different to mine which is every 28 days. Yes, I can see that you would act as soon as possible to get an abortion if you had an unwanted pregnancy. I think that home pregnancy tests should be cheap to buy and if a lady thinks that she might be pregnant she can find out sooner rather than later. I know a woman that found she was pregnant this March and she her baby is due this June! Thanks for detailing the statistics on the number of abortions carried out in the UK at different stages of pregnancy. I notice that the majority are done at less than 9 weeks (54.9%) then the next most common time is between 9 and 12 weeks (34.3%). It is shows that fewer ladies have abortion after 13 weeks so I am glad about that. I think that there are many infertile people that would make excellent parents and I hope that rather than having an abortion many women will decide to adopt their baby, but I realize that not everyone would feel like doing that.
@ShardAerliss (1488)
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20 May 08
Yeah... my cycle's insane.
Unfortunately there are already so many unwanted children in the world, I'd rather they all found loving homes before another little life was added to the pile.
As for pregnancy tests; they should be so much cheaper, yes! In Wales you can get one for free at a clinic until you are 25, and possibly after though I'm not sure. And of course these tests will be far more accurate than a home one.
@marchgale (260)
• United States
20 May 08
Unless it is a medical emergency,I don't believe in an abortion after a certian amount of time.And I am really against partial birth abortions.For crying out loud why would you carry a child to full term and have it killed while it's being born.
How long does it take to decide on having one when you find out your pregnant?
@ShardAerliss (1488)
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20 May 08
Would you want someone having an abortion who had not put some thought into it?
Would you want someone having a child if they had not thought about how they are going to provide what a child needs?
As for partial birth abortion; you understand that these are done ONLY for medical emergencies, yes? If you assume these are elective abortions then I guess you do not. In Britain only 0.1% of abortions are done after 24 weeks. And this 0.1% are not elective, they are for medical emergencies.
@jonesy123 (3948)
• United States
19 May 08
When I had my second child I started bleeding at 19 1/2 weeks. The emergency physician at the hospital simply stated that I need to let nature run its course. They would only do something at 20 weeks because that's the earliest that a newborn would be viable. Now is bedside manners were terrible and I was fortunate enough to hang on until week 39 with her and she is healthy, but it caused me to look into this. I think the earliest surviving birth was done at 21 weeks. So, since a child can with medical advances survive before 24 weeks, the abortion deadline should be set earlier. Although I'm not indicating that I'm pro-abortion, I think the deadline should be pushed back to 20 weeks as that is the point where doctors are willing to try and safe the child even in cases of pre-term labor. I also believe that at this point the mothers had plenty of time to consider their options and the pros and cons of an abortion as this would mark the halfway point of a pregnancy.
@ShardAerliss (1488)
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20 May 08
But what if there comes a time when even an embryo can be successfully gestated outside of the original mother's womb? Would we no longer allow any abortions?
As I said below (yeah, I'm working backwards for some reason today) I couldn't give up a living thing (any living thing) to another person.
