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CV NEWS FEED // The Atlantic published a “fact-check” op-ed about the Democratic Party’s tendency to “brush off” concerns about third-trimester abortions.
The author, Emma Camp, is an assistant editor at Reason magazine. She stated that although Democrats have made abortion a key issue in the presidential campaign, they tend to “brush off questions about whether [third-trimester] abortions should be restricted, either by denying that their policies would allow abortions late in pregnancy or by pointing out these abortions are rare, implying that they are therefore not worth our moral concern.”
Camp argued, “The grim reality of later abortion is simply too much for most Americans to countenance — and reasonable policy makers should listen to them.”
Camp then stated that multiple national organizations have said there is no national data on late-term abortions; however, she continued, in Colorado alone, 137 late-term abortions occurred in 2023.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America reports that 11 states currently have no restrictions on abortion, allowing it until the ninth month of pregnancy.
Camp then referenced an interview The Atlantic had with a late-term abortionist. While most people argue that late-term abortions only happen in the case of a devastating medical diagnosis for either the mother or unborn child, this abortionist stated that about half of the late-term abortions he performs are for women with healthy pregnancies.
Another problem with downplaying late-term abortion, Camp continued, is the logical flaw of dismissing the issue simply because it is rare.
“Abortions after a pregnancy from rape or incest are also comparatively rare, and abortion-rights supporters still push opponents of abortion to take these rare scenarios into account,” she wrote. “Discussions about third-trimester abortions should therefore be fair game as well.”
The article concluded with data that most Americans oppose late-term abortions and that Democrats should take that data into account. Only 22% of Americans support late-term abortions, she wrote, and a mere 8% think that late-term abortions should be legal for any reason.
“If Democrats want a platform that truly reflects majority opinion,” Camp wrote, “they should address the question of what to do about later abortions.”
