The abortion industry is not as strong in America as it once was, but pro-abortion extremism is, ironically, still fighting for its life. Under financial pressure from the Trump administration, fifty Planned Parenthood clinics have closed this year. But as these clinics close, pro-abortion extremists are erecting new ones—and they’re much worse.
On October 14, RISE Collective opened an all-trimester clinic to specialize in late-term abortions up to 34 weeks’ gestation in Boulder, Colorado. In New Jersey, Luminosas Wellness Collective is set to launch an all-trimester abortion clinic next spring; the clinic will be the first in the state to advertise abortions as late as 34 weeks’ gestation.
Any baby born after 22 weeks’ gestation can survive and thrive outside of his mother’s womb with appropriate NICU care—but for perspective on the Colorado and New Jersey clinics’ extremism, meet Kip, who was born at 34 weeks. Over at babycenter.com, mothers are told their babies “can respond to sounds, light, and touch” in the womb at this age.
In states where there are no legal restrictions on abortion, though—Alaska, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont—it is legal to kill a child of Kip’s size, age, and stage of development in the womb for any reason.
Eight clinics in the United States perform very late-term third-trimester abortions (28 to 40 weeks’ gestation): Washington Surgi-Center and Dupont Clinic (District of Columbia), Hope for Women Clinic (Illinois), C.A.R.E. Clinic and Partners in Abortion Care (Maryland), Cherry Hill Women’s Center (New Jersey), Southwestern Women’s Options (New Mexico), and the newly established RISE Collective (Colorado).
Some pro-abortion advocates deny that third-trimester abortions happen. The existence and celebration of these clinics prove otherwise. And just three years ago, in Washington, D.C., a group of pro-life advocates found five deceased third-trimester children in a waste bin outside of the Washington Surgi-Clinic.
Those who acknowledge and defend third-trimester abortions often focus their defenses on “life of the mother” scenarios where pregnant women face life-threatening conditions like preeclampsia, hemorrhage, infection, or cardiovascular collapse. That argument is dishonest. Abortion is never medically necessary at any stage in pregnancy, and abortion in the third trimester is particularly unnecessary.
Why? Late-term abortions are dangerous, long, and traumatic. Abortions in the third trimester take three to four days: on day one, the baby’s heart or head is injected with poison by a needle pierced through her mother’s abdomen, inducing cardiac arrest, and killing her; on day two, the abortionist dilates the mother’s cervix; and on day three or four, the mother delivers her stillborn child.
A four-day procedure intended solely to kill and expel a child can’t save a woman suffering from sudden preeclampsia, infection, or hemorrhage.
Early delivery or cesarean section can, however. In an emergency, early induced labor or c-section, when successful, preserves the lives of both patients in the pregnancy: mom and baby. Live birth is the safest, fastest, and most promising course of care in life-threatening scenarios.
Retired abortionist Dr. Don Sloan, who committed 20,000 abortions during his career, agrees: “The idea of abortion to save the mother’s life is something that people cling to because it sounds noble and pure—but medically speaking, it probably doesn’t exist. It’s a real stretch of our thinking.”
Third-trimester abortion exists to kill a 28 to 40-week-old baby slowly. Early delivery exists to save the life of a mother and her baby quickly.
Why do third-trimester abortions happen, then? The only motivation for a late-term abortion, it seems, is to prevent live birth. Some women who seek late-term abortions do so after obtaining new information about their baby: a diagnosis of a disability or life-limiting condition like Down Syndrome, for example. Some decide after a sudden change in financial circumstances. Others simply waited for an abortion or did not discover their pregnancy until the third trimester. In any case, abortion in the third trimester is always elective and always painful for both mother and baby.
As RISE Collective and Luminosas Collective launch their late-term abortion clinic in Colorado and New Jersey, remember—third-trimester abortion isn’t “reproductive freedom.” It’s not “healthcare,” either. It’s just barbarity.
