Though abortions in the late second and third trimester are more rare than those in the first trimester, they are still legal in the United States and are done often enough that certain abortionists choose to focus their businesses around very late-term abortions. The Guttmacher Institute, the former research arm of Planned Parenthood, notes that around 11.3% of abortions are done in the second and third trimesters every year. Live Action News’ Carole Novielli shows how this equates to the following in approximate numbers:
- 13-15 weeks (6.2%): 57,424
- 16-20 weeks (3.8%): approximately 35,195
- 21 weeks and greater (1.3%): approximately 12,040
That means approximately 104,659 abortions are done after the first trimester every single year in America. Over 12,000 of those are done on babies that, according to science, are capable of feeling pain and may even be capable of surviving outside the womb.
READ: Third trimester abortions: More common than you think
According to the website AbortionProcedures.com, the majority of induction abortions are done at or after 25 weeks, but some abortionists use them as their standard method much earlier, even in the second trimester:
A third trimester induction abortion is performed at 25 weeks LMP (25 weeks since the first day of the woman’s last period) to term. At 25 weeks, a baby is almost fully-developed and is considered viable, meaning he or she could survive outside the womb. For this reason, the abortionist will usually first kill the baby in utero by injecting a substance that causes cardiac arrest, and induces the mother’s labor to deliver her baby stillborn.
This is the type of abortion that, when done “incorrectly,” can lead to babies accidentally born intact and alive.
Some abortionists have admitted — in their efforts to keep D&E abortions legal — that induction abortions are much riskier for women, stating in court documents, “[i]nduction abortions can last from five hours to three days; are extremely expensive; entail more pain, discomfort, and recovery time for the patient than a standard D&E procedure; and are medically contraindicated for some patients.”
Abortionists and abortion workers describe this method of abortion.
Unnamed abortion counselor:
To insert the injection, it’s going straight into the, um, into the sac — into the pregnancy…. it’s bottom-down, it’ll insert through the — the baby’s bottom… If it’s head-down, it’ll be inserted through the head — the cranium….
Abortionist Carmen Landau:
Day one. We do the injection that stops the heartbeat of the fetus…. Most people, within a few hours, they notice that there’s no movement. On day two, we’re gonna check and make sure that that worked…. And on the third day, we will usually induce labor, and it’s gonna be hard that last day….
You’re going to be going through labor, yeah, and having a delivery.
But the description of this late-term procedure by abortionist LeRoy Carhart in the video below must be heard rather than merely read in words:
Editor’s Note: If you are considering abortion, please contact OptionLine first for information on all your options, as well as tangible help and resources in your local area.
