Abortion
Right or Wrong?
Pregnancy
3 trimesters, 40 weeks
• 1st Trimester 1-12
weeks
• 2nd Trimester 13-28
weeks
• 3rd Trimester 29-40
weeks
1st Trimester 1-12 weeks
• Heart Beat 6-8 weeks
• Brain wave Activity by 10 weeks
• Implantation by 12 weeks
Implantation
• This is when the amniotic sack connect to the
uterus by means of the umbilical cord.
2nd Trimester
• Fetal Movement
• Viability
Fetal Movement
Viability
• Point at which a baby
can survive out side
of mother’s womb.
About 24 weeks.
• This Baby was born
at 25 weeks in 1994.
5 years later… he started
Kindergarten
Samuel Alexander Armas
• When Julie Armas was 14 weeks
pregnant, she went in for her scheduled
examination with the Obstetrician.
• The sonogram revealed that the baby had
Spina Bifida, a condition that occurs when
the backbone fails to form completely, and
the spinal cord is exposed on the outside
of the body.
C section at 21 weeks
• Amniotic fluid is withdrawn, the baby is
maneuvered into a position where the back area
is accessible, and a tiny incision is made into the
uterus.
• At that point, specially made micro tools are
used to pull flaps of skin over the spinal cord,
and sutures smaller than a human hair are then
used to close the flaps together. After that, the
uterus is put back in place, and the incision is
sewn up and the amniotic fluid replaced.
Spinal Bifida
• Dr. James Bruner performed a relatively
new procedure of pre-natal surgery "inutero"
• It involves performing a C-section,
removing the uterus and performing an
operation on the baby in the womb.
• In November, 1999, Dr. Bruner and the
staff at Vanderbilt began the operation on
Julie. For just under an hour they worked
quickly, but gently. At the end of the
procedure, just as the uterus was being
placed back in Julie's stomach, an
amazing thing happened. A tiny arm thrust
itself through the incision and grasped Dr.
Bruner's finger!
Reaching out from the womb
Samuel grasping the surgeuns
hand
At 21 weeks
After Birth Samuel is doing okay
Samuel with Mom and Dad
3rd Trimester 29- 40+ weeks
History of Abortion
Medieval abortion, legal prior to quickening.
- Quickening: fetal movement felt by
mother and others.
Under Common Law
US common law,
murder of a
pregnant woman
is a double
homicide.
1820’a first laws
prohibiting
abortion.
20th Century
By 1900 all states had laws regarding abortion
after four months of pregnancy.
By 1965 ALL states ban abortion.
Roe vs. Wade
“Jane Roe”
• Norma McCorvey was pregnant with her
third child when she was recruited to be
"Jane Roe," the lead plaintiff in the Roe vs.
Wade class-action lawsuit.
• Ironically, she never had an abortion, but
instead delivered a girl, whom she gave up
for adoption.
Sarah Weddington
• Sarah Weddington
and attorney Linda
Coffee filed the Roe
vs. Wade class-action
lawsuit on behalf of
U.S. women.
• Weddington
convinced Norma
McCorvey to become
the lead plaintiff as
"Jane Roe."
Henry Wade
• Henry Wade was the
Dallas County district
attorney who was
enforcing the Texas
abortion laws.
• He represented the
state of Texas in the
case.
Harry A. Blackmun
• Harry A. Blackmun authored the Supreme
Court's majority opinion in the Roe vs. Wade.
• "This right of privacy, whether it be founded in
the 14th Amendment's concept of personal
liberty and restrictions upon state action… or in
the 9th Amendment's reservation of rights to
the people, is broad enough to encompass a
woman's decision whether or not to terminate
her pregnancy.
William H. Rehnquist
• William H. Rehnquist was one of the two
dissenters in Roe vs. Wade.
• Rehnquist joined the court in 1972
• President Ronald Reagan appointed Rehnquist
as chief justice in 1986.
• In his dissenting opinion, he wrote, "the Court's
opinion will accomplish the seemingly
impossible feat of leaving this area of the law
more confused than it found it."
What the Supreme Court Ruled
• All abortions are legal in 1st trimester.
• Abortions could only be prohibited in 2nd
trimester to save woman’s life.
• Abortions could be limited in 3rd trimester.
Since 1973
• Since 1973 there have averaged just under
1Million abortions per year.
• 50% of all abortions are performed on women
that previously had an abortion.
• About 60% of all abortions are performed by
20 weeks.
CDC Numbers
• ..\PHI\PHI130notes\Abortion\Abortion
FACTS CDC2001.htm
• Over 32,000 pregnancies result each year
from rape in victims age 12 to 45 years.
Planned Parenthood vs. Casey
• In 1992 the Supreme Court revisited
abortion law in a case from Pennsylvania.
• A stringent law there required:
• Informed Consent (24 hour waiting period)
• Spousal Consent
• Minor Consent
• Limited Government funding of Abortion
The court ruled…
• Informed Consent : CONSTITUTIONAL
• Spousal Consent: UNCONSTITUTIONAL
• Minor Consent: CONSTITUTIONAL
• Limited Government funding of Abortion
CONSTITUTIONAL
“Undue Burden”
• The court ruled that informed consent was
Constitutional as well limitation on public
funding.
• The court claimed that spousal consent
put an “undue burden” upon a woman.
“UNDUE BURDEN”
• Murky, legal notion.
• What is an undue burden?
• Is it too much of a burden for a married woman
to tell her husband?
• Why is it okay to stress out a kid and have them
tell their parents?
• Is limiting 3rd trimester abortions an undue
burden?
• Partial birth abortion laws have been struck
down as unconstitutional because they violate
this idea.
Abortion Across the World
•
•
•
•
Black- abortion available
Brown- Abortion permitted and protected by law
Tan- Limited abortions for women’s health
Tan/white- Abortion is illegal.
According to the WHO
•
•
•
•
75 million unwanted pregnancies annually.
Approximately 50 million abortions
20 million unsafe abortions.
http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publi
cations/RHR_00_13_RH_conflict_and_dis
placement/RH_conflict_chapter2.en.html
W.H.O.
• (Worldwide 1996-2000) Couples with unmet family
planning needs*
• Maternal deaths# .5 Million
• Unwanted Pregnancies 75 Million every year
• Abortions 50 Million every year
• Severe maternal morbidity# 20 million
• Prenatal mortality# 7.6 Million
• Unsafe abortion# 20 million
• People living with AIDS* 34.3 million (1996-2000)
• People newly infected with HIV* 5.4 million (1996- 2000)
• Curable sexually transmitted diseases# 333 million
• Female genital mutilation# 100-140 million
Morally Relevant Differences
• Miami Case- raped, medicated, good
chance of death
• Orlando Case- raped, unmediated, limited
chance of death.
Miami Case
• In May 2003 judge ordered an abortion for
a mentally handicapped woman in Miami.
Doctors testified that she was taking
medicine necessary for seizures that
would affect the fetus- causing severe
birth defects of death. If the woman
stopped taking the medication she would
die.
Orlando Case
• The case was the same as the Miami
case, expect the woman did not have a
guardian, and the Governor of Florida tried
to appoint a guardian for both her and her
fetus!
Florida’s Abortion Law and Minors
• The law, signed earlier this year by Gov. Jeb
Bush, will require doctors to phone or meet with
parents of most girls 17 or under 48 hours
before performing an abortion on them.
• If that's not possible, they can use certified mail
72 hours in advance. It wouldn't apply to girls
who are married or have already had a child.
The measure also lets judges grant a waiver
based on a patient's best interests, her level of
maturity or if she has been a victim of abuse by
her parents.
3 ways around Notification
• Medical emergency.
• Minor already has a child.
• Emancipated Adult status granted by
Judge.
A mother’s life…
• Susan Torres was kept alive for three months so she
could deliver the child she was carrying.
• Susan Torres a cancer-stricken, 26-year-old researcher
at the National Institutes of Health, suffered a stroke in
May after melanoma spread to her brain.
• Her family decided to keep her alive to give her fetus a
chance. It became a race between the fetus'
development and the cancer that was ravaging the
woman's body.
• Doctors said that Torres' health was deteriorating and
that the risk of harm to the fetus finally outweighed the
benefits of extending the pregnancy.
The baby
• Torres gave birth to a daughter, Susan Anne
Catherine Torres, by Caesarean section on
August 2nd at Virginia Hospital Center. The baby
was about two months premature and weighed 1
pound, 13 ounces.
• Dr. Donna Tilden-Archer, the hospital's director
of neonatology, described the child as "very
vigorous."
• The Baby eventually succumbed to heart failure
after emergency surgery to repair a perforated
intestine on September 12th.
3rd Trimester Abortions
• There are many methods of abortion,
• After 20 weeks the preferred method is
partial birth abortion.
Partial Birth Abortion
• Procedure used to end late term
pregnancies.
Medical Emergency?
• If a woman’s life is at risk an Emergency
Caesarian birth can be performed in 15
minutes.
• A partial birth abortion can take hours!
• As the name implies, the woman gives
birth, before the baby is killed.
Partial Birth Abortion Law
• September 8, 2004
• U.S. District Court
Judge Richard Kopf in
Carhart v. Ashcroft
announced that the socalled 'Partial Birth
Abortion Ban,' passed
by Congress and
signed into law by
George W. Bush in
2003, is unconstitutional
and cannot be
enforced.
Federal Appeal Ruling
• In his 476-page ruling, Judge Kopf wrote
that the Act "does not allow, and instead
prohibits, the use of the procedure when
necessary to preserve the health of a
woman."
Graphic Photo Next.
Partial Birth Abortion
• 1/10 of 1%
of all
abortions
take place
after
viabilityabout
10,000 per
year.
Medically Necessary
• These abortions are justified on the basis that
they are medically necessary. 95% of the time
the medical diagnosis is depression.
Depressed, Have an Abortion.
• If a woman’s life is at risk an Emergency
Caesarian birth can be performed in 15
minutes.
• A partial birth abortion can take hours!
• 95% of these abortions are induced for the
medical reason of Depression.
Possible stances on Abortion
• Extreme Conservative- No Abortion is
ever moral
• Conservative- Abortion is moral to a save
a woman’s life
• Moderate- some abortions are moral
• Liberal- Abortions are moral until viability
• Extreme Liberal- All abortions are moral.
Is the fetus a Person
• At what point is the embryo or fetus a
person?
• Is it Conception, Viability, Birth or
somewhere in between?
All Around the World…
• Cultures agree that persons have rights.
• What they disagree about is what
constitutes a person.
• Are women, minorities, fetuses or children
people?