Intact dilation and extraction

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Intact dilation and extraction (D&X, IDX, or intact D&E) is a surgical procedure that terminates and removes an intact fetus from the uterus. The procedure is used both after miscarriages and for abortions in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. When used to perform an abortion, an intact D&E can occur after feticide or on a live fetus. In the United States, where federal law describes an intact D&E on a live fetus as a partial-birth abortion, the procedure is uncommon. The 2003 federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, which was upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Gonzales v. Carhart, outlaws an intact D&E of a fetus with a heartbeat under most, though not all, circumstances.

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