Teen Late Term Abortion

Over the years, there have been an increased number of women opting for an abortion late in pregnancy. Of all abortion cases, approximately 18% are teens. There are a number of reasons why more teenagers go to a late term abortion clinic to avail of their services instead of going earlier in their pregnancy.

Late Discovery of Pregnancy: Late Term Abortion is Their Only Choice

Today, many teenagers are sexually active, yet there is not enough sex education to teach them proper contraceptive methods and safe sex. Also, most of these teens do not know the signs of pregnancy; teens usually discover that they are pregnant only when there is already a noticeable bulge in their belly. Had they known earlier, most teens who have had an abortion say that they would have had it performed earlier in the pregnancy. At this point in the pregnancy, they consider a late term abortion as their only choice. It is known that the complications that can occur during pregnancy have a much higher chance of happening if the mother is a teenager.

Fear and Denial

Some teens may have discovered their pregnancy early, but are too afraid to let their family know of the situation. They might deny and hide the fact that they are pregnant until late in pregnancy. Only then will they face the fact that they are pregnant. At some point in the pregnancy most teen mothers realize that at such an early age, they cannot support the child and that they cannot keep their pregnancy as a secret anymore; as a result, they would opt for an abortion late in their pregnancy..

Health Condition and Genetic Defects

Pregnancy is very risky for those women who are too old or too young to get pregnant. Women in these age brackets can easily develop complications, some of which are life threatening. There is an increased risk for fetal defects to develop as well. While most of these defects can be discovered early in the pregnancy, other fetal defects can only be confirmed usually after 20 weeks of gestation. When life threatening conditions develop in the teen mother and that carrying the fetus to full term will mean the death of the mother, a late term abortion is considered. Also, some mothers would choose an abortion over giving birth to a child only to die in case of severe genetic defects of the fetus.

Choice of Late Term Abortion Clinic is Important

since most hospitals do not offer abortions late in pregnancy, a late term abortion clinic is generally the only option. With many states passing laws to ban abortions past 20 to 22 weeks from their last period, the patient may be forced to go out of their state to another where the procedure is legal. It is important that one finds a facility offers a sterile, safe and proper abortion procedure. The clinic should also provide women and their families a comfortable, caring and compassionate medical staff. The necessary medical and high technical equipment should be available to care for the patient.