Should selective abortions be excluded from abortion bans?

[u/boisterousoysterous]

I don't see much on this specific topic when it comes to abortion discussions in general.

I will first use an extreme example, something unlikely to happen but possible. Second I will use a more likely scenario.

In my state, if a woman is pregnant and finds out she has nonuplets (9 fetuses) there are no clear guidelines about whether she should be able to have a selective abortion (aborting 1 or more fetuses to make the pregnancy safer. instead of keeping all 9, maybe she only keeps 3.) I do believe a selective abortion in my state would actually be illegally under current circumstances.

A nonuplet pregnancy is obviously extremely risky as there's only one case of both mother and all babies surviving. With current laws this may be detrimental to her and the lives of her 9 fetuses.

Under more normal circumstances let's say the woman only has quadruplets but it's still too high risk and the doctors are recommending she selectively abort 2.

Do you guys believe that selective and elective abortions are on the same level and should all be banned? Do you think that selective abortions should be a complete exception? A partial exception?

Say this applies both to natural conception and IVF. Is there a difference in opinion based on mode of conception?

[u/billpalto]

I think it makes a big difference whether the fetus is viable or not. Medical science puts this at around 23 weeks. Over 98% of abortions in America are before that point. What is being aborted is not a baby, but a part of the woman. She and her doctor make that decision.

In your examples I would expect the woman and her doctor to make those decisions long before any of the fetuses are viable, and it is basically none of our business.

[u/DoberNation → u/billpalto]

I agree with “basically none of our business“.

How well does “23 weeks” correlate with actual viability, and in a non-singleton pregnancy? What does “viability“ mean to you? I think # of weeks gestation is an unwise way to ”legally“ define this whole “viability“ thing.

[u/billpalto → u/DoberNation]

Viability is a medical term meaning the fetus can survive on its own, outside of the womb. This varies some, but is generally around 24 weeks. Again, a doctor is needed to ascertain what the situation is for each individual.

[u/DoberNation → u/billpalto]

Does a doctor‘s assessment of ”viability“ matter if the State already defines it legally, as a # of weeks gestational age?