Late termination of pregnancy

Common card · No. 261986

Late termination of pregnancy, also referred to as late-term abortion in political contexts, describes the termination of pregnancy by inducing labor during a late stage of gestation. In this context, late is not precisely defined, and different medical publications use varying gestational age thresholds. As of 2015, in the United States, more than 90% of abortions occur before the 13th week, 1.3% take place after the 21st week, and less than 1% occur after 24 weeks. While little data exists on abortions done after 26 weeks, one study from 1992 estimated the rate at 0.02%. Reasons for late terminations of pregnancy include cases where a pregnant woman's health is at risk, when birth defects, such as lethal fetal abnormalities, have been detected, or when barriers to receiving abortion cause delays. In the United States, the mortality rate for legal abortions overall is less than 1 in 100,000 procedures performed. The rate of mortality and morbidity increases with the gestational age of...

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