The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics just released a new study that shows that medical advances continue to make the point of viability earlier and earlier in pregnancy. The study, conducted in 2015, tracked 106 micro-preemies, babies born at either 22 or 23 weeks gestation (which is 20-21 weeks post-fertilization), at the University of Cologne Medical Centre in Germany from 2010-2014. Of these 106 babies, 86 of them received active care instead of palliative care. 58 of those babies survived until hospital discharge (67%), with 20% of them surviving without any severe complications.
According to the results section of the study:
In total, 58 of 86 infants (67%) who received active prenatal and postnatal care survived until hospital discharge. The survival rate was 61% (17 of 28) for infants born at 22 weeks of gestation and 71% (41 of 58) for infants born at 23 weeks of gestation.
The study is relevant considering that pro-abortion activists are furious about yet another state passing a 20 week abortion ban. This study just further shows why these bans are needed. Scientifically, we know that preborn children are human beings. As their viability gets earlier, it becomes clear that there truly is no reason for late-term abortions to take place.
Despite the fact that these late-term abortions are medically unnecessary, there are late-term abortionists who perform them anyway. Planned Parenthood is among them. Planned Parenthood President and CEO Cecile Richards denied performing abortions after viability, yet multiple Planned Parenthood facilities will perform abortions up to 24 weeks.
Some facilities will only commit abortions up until 21 weeks, six days. However, there are babies who have been born that young and survived. Women may also get the date of their last menstrual period wrong, meaning that a baby could be older than she estimates him or her to be.
As medicine continues to advance, abortion should be further condemned. This is especially true for late-term abortion and the viability of preborn babies. As it moves earlier, and science continues to show that they can feel pain, it becomes more and more clear that late-term abortion is an atrocity that should not be tolerated.
Editor’s Note, 6/30/20: This article was updated to include results portion of study.
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