Abortion Not a "Viable Treatment Option" to Save Women's Lives: Doctor

Tells Legislators Abortion Entails "Undue and Dangerous Delay" in Providing Life Saving Care

From the testimony of Dr. Anthony Levatino, an ob-gyn who formerly performed abortions and has treated women with high-risk pregnancies, before the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, on a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks:

"Before I close, I want to make a comment on the necessity and usefulness of utilizing second and third trimester abortion to save women’s lives. I often hear the argument that we must keep abortion legal in order to save women’s lives in cases of life threatening conditions that can and do arise in pregnancy.

"Albany Medical Center, where I worked for over seven years, is a tertiary referral center that accepts patients with life threatening conditions related to or caused by pregnancy. I personally treated hundreds of women with such conditions in my tenure there. There are several conditions that can arise or worsen typically during the late second or third trimester of pregnancy that require immediate care. In many of those cases, ending or “terminating” the pregnancy, if you prefer, can be life saving. But is abortion a viable treatment option in this setting? I maintain that it usually, if not always, is not."

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Later Abortion Linked to More Psychological Problems, Ambivalence

This week, experts testified before a Congressional subcommittee on a bill that would ban abortions nationwide past 20 weeks. A 2010 study of women who had abortions found that women undergoing later abortions face increased psychological risks, are more likely to be ambivalent about having an abortion and are more likely to need counseling and support.

The results came from an online survey of 374 women who answered a detailed questionnaire about the circumstances leading to their abortions, their previous mental health history, history or physical or sexual abuse and emotional state following abortion. The small study is the first to compare the experiences of women having early abortions compared to women having later abortions (in the second or third trimester).

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Links to Important Information and Resources

Additional Resources

• Visit www.AfterAbortion.org for research, news and commentary, and to post comments

• Visit www.TheUnChoice.com for free, user-friendly resources and educational materials

• Visit the world's largest online bibliography of studies on the effects of abortion at www.AbortionRisks.org

• Join the Church Awareness Project

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