Countering misinformation

What do we know about fetal pain? | Mental health issues and abortion | The issue of “viability”


woman talking with her doctor


The questions of fetal pain during abortion and of the effects of abortion on women’s mental health are two areas in which significant misinformation has been disseminated, and this misinformation has been used as the basis for new legislation limiting abortion. In April 2010, the Nebraska state legislature enacted a law that prohibits most abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy, based on the assumption of fetal pain. And a number of states have passed or are considering legislation that mandates that women considering abortion be counseled that the procedure can adversely affect a woman’s mental health. The scientific evidence, however, does not support either of these assumptions.

In addition, while the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision determined “viability” as a critical marker for finding a balance between the right of a woman to end an unwanted pregnancy and the interests of the state, there is no clear legal or medical definition of viability, leaving state legislatures free to define the term for themselves, with little uniformity between states.

Read more on these three issues:



A note on terminology and “late-term abortion”:

The terminology used to discuss abortions after the first trimester varies enormously. There is no agreement in the law or in the medical community about what constitutes the limit of the second trimester, for example. In scholarly journals, these abortions are variously referred to as “mid-trimester abortion,” “second-trimester abortion” (which is used to describe abortions up to 24 weeks or up to 27 weeks, depending on the writer or the state law) and late abortion. Within the mainstream media, the phrase “late-term abortion” is often used in articles about abortion policy and advocacy. These competing terms do not provide accurate clinical descriptions or contribute to public knowledge about abortion care and the differences at various stages of gestation. It is for this reason that we do not use the phrase “late-term abortion” here, and recommend against its use. Instead, we use and recommend the phrase “later abortion” to identify any pregnancy termination after 17 weeks of gestational age.