Top 10 Anti-Abortion Myths

[Pmc1962]

20. A minor quibble in an otherwise excellent post

Please don't use the term "partial birth abortion". It is a non-medical term created by the other side, which is neither descriptive or helpful. It is misleading and inflammatory.

Dilation and extraction is the correct medical term, whether to evacuate a dead fetus or to perform a late term abortion. Unfortunately, many places have banned D&X's, so women with fetal demise can't get proper medical care because of the politicization of the procedure, using the misleading term "partial birth abortion".

On another note, the other side has tried to redefine pregnancy (which shows a lot of nerve), so the circumstances leading to a pregnancy are considered a the same as a valid, established pregnancy. That is why emergency contraception is considered an abortion by the other side, based on an older and erroneous understanding of the mechanism of action. Previously, Plan B was felt to prevent implantation (later proved to be false). If a fertilized egg before implantation is the new definition of pregnancy, then preventing that fertilized egg from implanting is the same as an abortion. Not logical, not based on science or reality, but makes a great rallying cry as long as you are ignorant of facts.