Late-Term Abortion Sometimes Only Option

To the editors:



I am writing in response to Loui Itoh’s column of Mar. 1 (“Not a Time To Kill”), as I believe she has overlooked an important aspect of late-term abortion. Ms. Itoh writes, “it is very difficult for me to stomach any argument for why such a procedure should ever be permitted, except to preserve the health of the mother.” However, most of the few women who seek the dilatation and extraction procedure do so out of great need. Abortion can be a cripplingly expensive operation, particularly for poor, uninsured women, and many are unable to collect the funds needed before their 20th week. Women who live in states where abortion access is severely limited often cannot find transportation. Teenagers may not realize they are pregnant or might be afraid to tell their parents before the pregnancy becomes obvious.

Outlawing the dilation and extraction procedure will not end these problems, nor will it end second and third trimester abortions. It will merely force women to seek dangerous, illegal abortions, possibly causing more pain to the fetus and the woman. The most effective way to make the incidence of late-term abortion zero is to make sure that women have easier access to early abortion, better medical coverage, and better sex education, not to outlaw it.



SOPHIA P. SNYDER ’07

March 3, 2006