Kansas Stories - Late Second or Third Trimester Abortions

Mothers tell their stories of heartbreaking choices requiring travel to other states.

No one "wants" to have a late second or third trimester abortion, and the reality is that abortion in the third trimester is extremely rare. Most people don't realize the reasons that women seek late second or third trimester abortions. Many poor prenatal diagnoses are not caught until the Level II ultra sound, which is usually performed at twenty weeks of pregnancy.

Most women who get a poor prenatal diagnosis at this point in their pregnancy receive multiple ultra sounds, second and third opinions and conflicting recommendations. Parents that choose to terminate after 24 weeks (the legal cut-off in most states for abortion) do so only after weighing the alternatives carefully. They don't make this decision lightly or in haste, they make this decision out of love, to prevent their children from suffering. All their hopes and dreams for their child have just been smashed into a million pieces amid a torrent of consults. Time is of the essence both legally and medically and in that small window of time, the most difficult decision a parent will ever know has to be made - almost immediately.

Here are the stories of women who were faced with this decision. We know there are more "Termination After 24 Weeks" stories out there. If you have one, we'd like to encourage you to share it here. Facing a late diagnosis and being forced to travel out of state can make an already difficult choice even harder to bear. Laws restricting access to late term abortion just makes this awful experience even worse.

Your story may help other women in this unfortunate situation to find strength and courage. Please Share With Us. If you prefer to email us directly please do so at: info at aheartbreakingchoice.com (to help curtail spam, please remove the spaces and insert the @ character in the above email address.)


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