They pointed to testimony in the mid-1990s from a doctor who performed abortions. We asked the National Right to Life Committee for the same information. We asked Collett whether she knew of an instance when a non-health issue has led to an abortion so late in pregnancy. We did not find data on abortions taking place very late in pregnancy in the absence of a physical, medical crisis. In theory, the bill could allow an abortion that is not strictly because of physical health. 'Such a broad interpretation is probable given the rules of interpretation contained in the Women’s Health Protection Act.' 'The health exception, without any statutory qualification, includes psychological health and other non-physical aspects including age and familial status,' Collett said. Thomas said past court rulings on abortion show how broadly those terms could apply. Lack of examples of non-health-related abortionsĪbortion opponents say that under the Women’s Health Protection Act, the definition of 'the patient's life or health' is vague.Ĭollett at the University of St. But it would have prohibited states from criminalizing abortions. The bill Kelly supported would did not have changed how current laws would apply to abortions in the final weeks of pregnancy.

'The doctor is between a rock and a hard place,' Mehlman said. Under a state’s abortion statute, they could face criminal sanctions. Under liability law, providers should intervene. Even with an exception for the life and health of the woman, they create a legal hazard for hospitals and doctors. 'If they don’t, in the most egregious situations, this has led to criminal prosecutions.'Īnti-abortion laws complicate this legal guidance, Mehlman said. 'The doctor has a legal duty to take reasonable steps to preserve the life and health of the patient,' Mehlman said.

Maxwell Mehlman, law professor and co-director of the Law-Medicine Center at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, said that generally, in these settings, physicians must intervene. It is a complex legal framework, hugely driven by the facts of each individual situation. 'Every state has an emergency exception in their general civil liability laws, and every state law limiting abortion to certain gestational ages or methods has a more specific emergency exception,' Collett said.Ī century of civil liability legislation has given doctors a legal responsibility to give the best possible care. Thomas School of Law, has argued in favor of abortion restrictions and served on the Roman Catholic Pontifical Council for the Family. Teresa Collett, law professor at the University of St. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology sees signs that fear of strict abortion penalties has pushed doctors to delay medical treatment for pregnancies with severe complications. 'I counsel my patients about the options, and in many situations, based on my patient's wishes, proceed with an induction of labor or C-section that aims to protect both the patient and the baby,' Verma said. Verma emphasized that when the woman faces a health crisis, abortion is far from the first option. From 2008 through 2021, those represented about 0.01% of abortions. Texas data shows abortions that occur at 26 weeks or later. Terminations that take place at 21 weeks or later account for about 1% of all abortions.Īrizona’s department of health services doesn’t have this data on its website, but slightly more granular information can be found in Texas. 'For example, that their baby has not developed a brain and will not survive after birth, or who face life-threatening medical conditions and who need abortions in the third trimester.'Īt the national level, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks abortions by the weeks of gestation. 'I have cared for people who do receive terrible fetal diagnoses,' Verma said. Generally, women who carry a pregnancy to that point, she said, want to keep their babies. Verma said that Masters’ claim is based on the false premise that pregnancies are being aborted in the very final weeks in the absence of a lethal fetal anomaly, or a health crisis. Nisha Verma is a fellow at the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a practicing OB-GYN in Delaware.

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