Why are late term abortions such a taboo? In Stephen D. Shwarz's, “Understanding Abortion: From Mixed Feelings to Rational Thought”, he explains why people perceive late term abortions as morally worse than regular abortions. He writes that at approximately 20 weeks, the unborn child can feel pain. If abortion is carried out early, the fetus does not feel any pain and is “dealt with peacefully”. However, in late term abortion, the fact that the child feels pain is considered morally cruel. Furthermore, after 28 weeks the child has a higher probability of having a life outside of the womb. In regular abortion, the embryo is not alive yet, which is why it is easier to argue and justify whether there should be a choice in undergoing an abortion. However, in late term abortion, the baby is alive and breathing in the mother’s womb which makes it more complex and it is literally considered a matter of life and death. If the mother does not want to continue with her pregnancy, the child can be removed rather than killed. However, in Christopher …show more content…
(As seen in the presidential debate) However, many personal stories of women who went through such abortions are usually those who were faced with almost impossible decisions and horrible dilemmas in which they were forced to give up their babies to avoid their child suffering or going through other difficulties.
According to a recent study (published in 2014) by The Yale Hospital, it was concluded that 69% of late-term abortion procedures were carried out when the baby’s health was at risk, 41.6% for aneuploidy, 15.7% due to other abnormalities, 12.7% for pregnancy complications and 9.6% for maternal diseases. Just over 20% were for unwanted pregnancies, where the mother was unaware of her pregnancy earlier or had problems accessing abortion earlier on in her pregnancy. (Elizabeth Johnson,