Stop Murdering the Defenseless

In most states in our nation today abortion is illegal when the fetus becomes a viable human being, meaning that it can survive outside of its mother's womb. This is often referred to as a late-term abortion, which usually occurs between the 24th and 28th weeks of a pregnancy. One of the problems associated with the ban on late term abortions in the United States is that viability is not defined. That is, there is no set week of gestation where a fetus is said to be viable. Late term abortions are performed for several reasons: sometimes the woman was not aware she was pregnant until the third trimester, some fetal abnormalities can not be detected until late in pregnancy, a mother may become too ill to …show more content…

We see these every day…The presence of fetal disabilities or fetal anomalies are not a reason to have a termination of pregnancy to preserve the life of the mother-- they do not threaten the life of the mother in any way.... [and] where these rare instances do occur, they do not require the death of the baby or the fetus prior to the completion of the delivery" (Johnson). Most of the time a mother would be given a chance to deliver her baby vaginally and then the baby would be wrapped up and held by the parents for the remainder of its time. One important area concerning late-term abortions is the trauma experienced by the mother during and after the procedure. The trauma is both physical and emotional and may be experienced for years. There is actually a syndrome called Post Abortion Trauma Syndrome, this syndrome causes depression and actually increased suicidal tendencies for women who have had abortions. "Many women are known to have committed suicide 20 or more years after having an abortion as a direct consequence of abortion. This generally is accomplished only after years of suicidal thoughts and many failed attempts" (Life Enterprises Unlimited). It is also thought that abortion may cause an increase in child abuse to other children of the mother due to emotional trauma. Renee Nicely of New Jersey beat her three-year-old son to