Ashley Lefebvre hugs her unborn daughter’s urn each night. Sarah Halsey treasures the tiny hat worn by her baby who lived just 38 minutes. Abi Frazier moved away from her home with a furnished nursery.
All ended wanted pregnancies because of grave fetal medical problems.
It’s a side of abortion seldom discussed in national debates — the termination of pregnancies because of fetal anomalies or other often-fatal medical problems. These terminations often happen in the second trimester, when women have already picked out names, bought baby clothes and felt kicking in their wombs. They’re far different from the most common abortions, performed earlier in pregnancies.
Women say these terminations for medical reasons don’t feel like a choice — instead they are forced upon them by the condition of the fetus they carry. And the constant drumbeat of new abortion bans, rulings and news since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade has reopened raw wounds. Such abortions were already shrouded in secrecy and guilt, the women say. They fear the path will be even tougher for those who follow.
There are no recent statistics on the frequency of terminations for fetal anomalies — including genetic or chromosomal abnormalities — in the U.S., but experts say it’s a small percentage of total procedures. They typically occur later than the 93% of abortions performed at or before 13 weeks of pregnancy.
In the wake of the high court’s decision, a growing number of women in this smaller group are coming together to support each other and share their voices. They say more people will face the same hurdles they did — traveling long distances, rushing agonizing decisions, navigating a maze of changing abortion restrictions — with an even narrower window for care.
The vast majority of states ban abortion at some point in pregnancy, and roughly a dozen have exceptions for fetal anomalies, most just for fatal medical problems. Even in states with exceptions, providers may be reluctant to perform terminations for medical reasons, and cases can fall into gray areas.
Gray seeps across the spectrum of abortion, say the women who’ve experienced these procedures.
Here are some of their stories.
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When Abi Frazier was pregnant last year, she and her husband created a nursery — Cadi’s room, with a hand-me-down crib, toys and clothes. But Cadi never came home.
At Frazier’s first ultrasound appointment, nothing seemed amiss. She…
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