how many people get an abortion at 36 weeks???!!!

funny how this shows up right after an hour-long conversation with a friend of mine who was telling me about a pill that causes an abortion (i.e. emergency contraceptive)...UGH

SERIOUSLY???

The only reason that a woman would get an abortion that late in her term would be if the pregnancy was threatening her health, the baby's health, or both. It's not like the third trimester rolls around and some women think "Oopsie! I forgot to get that abortion... I guess I'll just go do it now!" I would say give women a little more credit than that, but obviously the person who drew this knows nothing about what it means to be pro-choice and the realities of what it is like to be a woman pregnant with a child she does not want.

oh wait, was it drawn by a dude? what a f--king stupid comic drawing.

BROWN TRASH PUNK!:

Wouldn't have been any less stupid had it been drawn by a woman; there are a lot of women out there with opinions on contraception and choice that are just as stupid as any male's.

Reminds me of my very Catholic conservative mother. A few days ago we were arguing about abortion and she sassily (and mockingly sing-songily) put her hands on her hips and said "it's MY body I can do whatEVER I want with it!"

Most states have laws that dictate under what circumstances you can have an abortion in the third trimester. And because most neonates would survive with intensive care at that point, doctors generally induce labor or perform a c-section rather than an abortion, especially if it is because the mother's health is being affected (like in the case of extreme hypertension).

Of all the stories I've read and the women I've talked to, the ONLY reason I've come across for women having third trimester abortions (as opposed to early deliveries) is because the baby was already dead, dying, or would have died shortly after birth. I believe that most women who have abortions do so early - within the first twelve weeks. Even the percentage of second trimester abortions is marginal. This myth of the late term abortion is one one that pro-lifers keep harping on - but it's just not true! I don't know of any woman that would carry a pregnancy that long if they intended to terminate it.

I have read some heartbreaking stories of the women and families who chose to have abortions after 24 weeks. And they ALL had something to do with fact that the fetus wouldn't have survived anyway, and they made the difficult decision to not carry to term because they knew the child wouldn't live. Most of them had to talk to their hospital's Ethics Committee, and find a physician outside of their regular OB/GYN to perform the procedure. In fact, all made mention of the hoops they had to jump through, which made a hard situation even worse. Theirs are intensely personal decisions made because of complicated situations they hadn't wanted to find themselves in in the first place. Personally, if I was told that my baby was very sick and would not live after birth, I would probably seek an abortion rather than carry to term. I don't know that I'd have the strength to face stranger's stares and comments, much less family members, when I knew that I was never going to get to raise that child.

The cartoonist is obviously uneducated about the complexities of abortion, and probably has never med anyone who has had one, much less a late term one. Fuck 'em.

This is one of those statements to which my only response is "so what?". Perhaps a woman in that situation has experienced an unexpected financial turn for the worse, or (as anti-choicers so often say women are wont to do) she simply "changed her mind." So what? As Nikki pointed out, it's not as if it's ever been that common in the first place.

I believe that in most states one cannot get an abortion in their 3rd trimester unless it is for the health reasons that Nikki mentioned.

Yes, we feminists go out, get pregnant, and terminate it in our 3rd trimester just to show those pro-lifers whose boss. We're spiteful like that. Whatever. I wouldn't pay any attention to it. If this is the best they can come up with then good riddance. The majority of their rhetoric is rubbish.

I dig the earrings. Maybe I'll get a pair while I'm out getting my third trimester abortion for the year. Cause, you know, it's legal and all.

ooooh i want that shirt just so i can give it to all my beer gutted guy friends

This is one of those statements to which my only response is "so what?". Perhaps a woman in that situation has experienced an unexpected financial turn for the worse, or (as anti-choicers so often say women are wont to do) she simply "changed her mind." So what?

Yeah...isn't there some statistic about previously unabusive partners becoming abusive during a pregnancy? That would be another form of situational change. Do you really want a child brought into that kind of life, conservatives? Do you really want a woman to have to be worrying about "I'm going to give birth soon" when she should be worrying about getting the hell out of her situation?
Oh yeah. Maybe they do.