Pro-Life Groups Pitch 'Unbortions' to Women

It's a way to stop multi-day procedures once they've started
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 19, 2011 3:11 PM CST
Pro-Life Groups Pitch 'Unbortions' to Women
File photo.   (AP Photo)

Anti-abortion groups—and at least one Catholic hospital—are embracing a procedure being called an "unbortion," and The Week offers a primer. It involves stopping a second-trimester abortion after it has begun, possible because the procedure takes more than one visit to complete. In the first step, doctors insert a dilator, then send the woman home. If she changes her mind at that point—through the persuasion of a "sidewalk counselor," say—doctors could remove the device when she returns so she can carry the baby to term.

A Roman Catholic hospital in Chicago has signed on, notes the Tribune, and anti-abortion groups want it to become a model for other Catholic hospitals around the nation. Critics say the procedure is "uncharted territory" and carries additional risk for women. So far, three have followed through with it since October. For one critic's view, click here. For more background, click here. (More abortion stories.)

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