If you had a family member on life support... [View All]

Who would you want to make the decision of when (and if) the plug is pulled?

I have often sat back and listened as various folks here on DU discuss abortion. Many who find abortion personally offensive often try to come to some sort of compromise position.

"What if it was only legal prior to 20 weeks? 28 weeks?"
"What if it was only legal in cases of incest or rape?"
"What if..."

Since I am probably one of the few women on the board who has had a late abortion, I feel compelled to share my experiences in the hope that those who are struggling with this can better understand and, perhaps, cut through all the emotional garbage out there.

You should know that women do not wake up one day when they are 6-9 months pregnant and suddenly decide they can't deal with it anymore. You should also know that the vast majority of abortions which occur late in the pregnancy are not matters of convenience or even wanted events.

The last statistic I had was that more than 99% of late abortions are performed due to fetal abnormalities - the most common being anencephaly. (A condition where the skull doesn't form properly and brain matter is floating outside the body. To simplify, they all die -- some prior to birth, most during birth and very few have a few, short moments after birth.) This condition, along with other neural tube defects, is what prompted my late abortion.

When this type of diagnosis is received by the expectant woman and/or family, the first thing you feel is total numbness and an other-wordly quality. ("This cannot be happening to me.") Remember, these are wanted pregnancies! While there have been many medical advances which seek to disclose such serious information earlier in the pregnancy, there are still limits. Anencephaly cannot be fully ruled out until about 16 weeks.

In essence, the families are faced with a death sentence -- much like having a loved one on life support. My question to those of you who think abortion -- especially late abortions -- should be limited: Who should make the decision when and if a loved one is removed from life support? Should that be dictated by the government or should it be left in the hands of the families and their medical professionals?