Initiative on Later Abortion Care

Initiative overview | “Putting Women First” initiative: Researching fetal pain | Clinics providing abortions

Overview

The Second Trimester Abortion Initiative was launched in 2007 to promote a strategic vision for securing access to and provision of second-trimester abortion care in the United States. The project had two initial phases. We began by conducting a literature review, collecting original data, and collaborating with a diverse group of colleagues to develop strategic recommendations for securing access to second-trimester abortion. These findings and recommendations were presented at several conferences including those of the American Public Health Association, the National Abortion Federation, the National Network of Abortion Funds, the Consortium of Abortion Providers, and the Training and Access Working Group, as well as Reproductive Health 2008.

In September 2008, ANSIRH hosted a national Summit on Securing Access to and Provision of Second Trimester Abortion. Summit participants included 45 experts and leaders from a diverse group of organizations. (Read summary of the Summit.) In preparation for the summit, ANSIRH produced a white paper summarizing what we know and don't know about this issue. At the summit, participants reviewed the white paper and refined a set of recommendations for securing access to second-trimester abortion in the United States.

The Second Trimester Abortion Access Network (STAAN), under the leadership of Ibis Reproductive Health, was formed to promote these recommendations. In 2009, after the tragic murder of Dr. George Tiller, the scope of the Initiative at ANSIRH was expanded to include both second-trimester abortions and abortions after the second trimester. In 2010, Ibis expanded the scope of STAAN and changed the Network name to The Later Abortion Network (LAN).

This research was funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

Information on fetal pain

The “Putting Women First” initiative was developed to meet the need for clear information on fetal pain issues. Scientific evidence on the subject has been subject to a good deal of misrepresentation, and the topic has new legal significance given the law enacted in Nebraska that limits abortion based on an assumption of fetal pain. See a bibliography on what is known about fetal pain.

Clinics that provide second-trimester abortion

Location of clinics that provide second-trimester abortion

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.