Late termination of pregnancy
[5][6] Reasons for late terminations of pregnancy include circumstances where a pregnant woman's health is at risk or when birth defects, such as lethal fetal abnormalities, have been detected.
The rate of mortality and morbidity increases with the gestational age of the fetus, so patients who have decided to have an abortion are strongly encouraged to get it early.
[9] Still, later abortion is not associated with any greater net negative physical or mental health outcomes (including mortality) than full-term pregnancy and childbirth in the United States.
[24] Reasons for late terminations of pregnancy include when a pregnant woman's health is at risk or when lethal fetal abnormalities have been detected.
[7][8] A 2013 study found, after excluding abortion "on grounds of fetal anomaly or life endangerment", that women seeking late abortions "fit at least one of five profiles: They were raising children alone, were depressed or using illicit substances, were in conflict with a male partner or experiencing domestic violence, had trouble deciding and then had access problems, or were young and nulliparous".
[41] Denmark provides a wider range of reasons, including social and economic ones, which can be invoked by a woman who seeks an abortion after 12 weeks.
The ease with which the doctor or the committee allows a late term abortion varies significantly by country, and is often influenced by the social and religious views prevalent in that region.
As of December 2014, forty-three states had bans on late-term abortions that were not facially unconstitutional under Roe v. Wade or enjoined by court order.
[48] Ten states (although Florida's enforcement of such laws are under permanent injunction) require a second physician's approval before a late-term abortion can be performed.
[43] Thirteen states have laws that require a second physician to be present during late-term abortion procedures in order to treat a fetus if born alive.
[43] The Court has held that a doctor's right to practice is not infringed by requiring a second physician to be present at abortions performed after viability in order to assist in the case of a living fetus.
Furthermore, US abortion experts refute the claim that a "born-alive" fetus is a common event and oppose enactment of laws that would mandate resuscitation against the wishes of the parents.
[61][62][63] Induced fetal demise before termination of pregnancy after 20–21 weeks gestation is recommended by some sources to avoid this and to comply with the US Partial Birth Abortion Ban.
