One of the worst medical procedures that can be done is to perform third trimester abortions. This means that the fetus is removed from the mother’s womb after the 27^th week and killed. What makes this so heinous is that medical experts universally agree that after the 27^th week, a fetus becomes viable and live outside of the mother. In some cases, performing an abortion can be justified because the mother’s life and well being becomes threatened due to some medical complication. In every state, there are provisions in the law to protect the mother in case of an emergency. The issue is not with that, because if the mother is in distress in most cases, doctors can remove the baby if it is past 27 weeks and the odds of it surviving are good.

The main issue with third trimester abortion is the fact that loopholes exist in states where abortions can be performed up until the very end. If you recall the murder of abortion Dr. George Tiller is Kansas earlier this summer. He was killed by a prolife fanatic for being one of a small group of doctors who was willing to perform late term abortions. Violence is not the solution to combat abortion, so anyone considering that should strongly reconsider. The way to handle this situation is to address this in the courts and with proper legislation, either on a national level or on a state level. It is highly unlikely that the Democrats in Congress would pass a bill limiting third trimester abortion since most members of that party are pro choice and are easily pressured by women’s rights groups. Passing and lobbying for legislation on a state by state level is likely to have greater success. States that have the larger loopholes should be targeted first, and go on from there.

This is possible because the Supreme Court, when Roe vs. Wade was decided on in 1973, left the door open for states to regulate abortion. The vast majority of American people are adamantly against third trimester abortion, unless the mother was going to die. With a legal opening and public support, court cases could be argued to try that option as well as legislation. Congress may have helped open the door to this several years ago when they passed the Laci Peterson Law. That law states that if a pregnant woman is murdered, then the person who committed the crime can be tried for the baby’s murder as well. Surely if a baby being killed along with the mother can be considered murder, than it has rights. I believe this can be applied even more strongly to third trimester babies because since they can live outside of the mother, they should technically have the right to live. I sincerely hope the movement to ban this procedure gathers steam because restricting abortions should be a top priority, especially when Roe vs. Wade is unlikely to be overturned any time soon. With enough support, third trimester abortion will be made illegal unless absolutely medically necessary.