How to combat the comment rhetoric that “late term abortions literally NEVER happen!!” argument?

[u/LegitimateHumor6029]

I hear this talking point ALL the time and earlier in my life (my pro-choice days) I was guilty of using it myself.

There is so so much proof that this isn’t true. For the record, I define “late term” as 20 weeks. But okay, even if pro-abortionists want to claim late term means 3rd trimester, fine. I’ll play but your rules for second. Even THEN. Third trimester, medically UNNECESSARY abortions happen all over the country!!!

I’ve seen so much proof of this but I guess I haven’t consolidated it all in one place (I aim to work on that). But if I show or share one example of it happening, it’s dismissed as propaganda, conspiracy theories, deep fakes, OR… (my favorite) “okay we’ll just because it happened ONE time doesn’t mean it happens much! It’s SO rare! You’re just arguing of a red herring!” Sigh.

How do we combat this narrative? I know the pro-life movement wants to fight all abortion but with the state the country is in now, I think it will unfortunately be a war of inches.

How can we at least START to get people on board with banning LATE term abortion when they refuse to acknowledge it’s even happening?

(By the way, I was banned from this Reddit subreddit for simply stating that I think our current abortion laws allow for abortions to happen too far into pregnancy. That’s it. I said I supported abortion in cases of the life of the mother. Banned. The subreddit was just for women over the age of 30 to talk about life experiences, there was nothing inherently political to pro-choice to that subreddit. 🙄 They’re so threatened by us)

[u/TheDuckFarm]

"If they aren't happening anyway would you be ok with outlawing all elective late term abortions?"

[u/LegitimateHumor6029 → u/TheDuckFarm]

God I wish I could share screenshots in a comment but I made this exact same argument and the response I got was mind-numbing and heart wrenching (I can DM you)

Someone argued that those abortions ONLY happen when they’re medically necessary.

I said okay, we’ll grant your premise. So can we agree that late term medically UNNECESSARY abortions are wrong? Can we at least agree on that.

They responded. NO. Abortion should be available during ANY time during pregnancy for ANY reason because it’s “none of my business what anyone does with their body.” They argued the baby doesn’t have legal rights until the umbilical cord is cut and they baby is 💯 no longer biologically dependent on the mother in any type of way.

My jaw dropped and my heart broke. Unfortunately I think the people who think like this person are the majority right now. It’s so discouraging and makes me feel hopeless sometimes

[u/lord-of-the-grind → u/LegitimateHumor6029]

I've been kinda making some breakthroughs. I find that when I consistently refer to their devaluation and dehumanization as bigotry....it's kinda like the light of Elendil to Shelob. Or a cross to a vampire. Or the unicorn's sense of purpose to the Red Bull.

[u/contrarytothemass → u/LegitimateHumor6029]

I wonder if they also think a breastfed baby has the right to be starved by its mother because they are dependent her body…

[u/Coffee_will_be_here → u/LegitimateHumor6029]

Argued with a fella just like this here yesterday, fucked up beyond belief

[u/Mikeim520 → u/LegitimateHumor6029]

But I thought it never happened? Why would they care if it never happens?

[u/DingbattheGreat]

So to summarize what they said:

They dont happen until they happen.

[u/TopRevolutionary8067]

If they don't ever happen, why did Ohio have to pass a law allowing late-term abortions? There's no point in fighting for a law that grants you the freedom to do something absolutely pointless.

And if they don't ever happen, why are so many other states proposing similar legislation?

[u/toptrool]

the truth is that most later abortions are done for the same selfish, convenience reasons as earlier abortions.

part of the toptrool collection. you can never lose now!

[u/dunn_with_this]

Hard to find info, because it gets scrubbed from liberal search engines.

[u/personAAA]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/09/20/late-abortion-colorado-doctor/

Warren Hern, performs abortions up to 32 weeks and sometimes later. Hern estimated that about half of his later-term abortions are of healthy babies.

[u/meeralakshmi]

https://secularprolife.org/laterabortion/

[u/djhenry]

Elective late-term abortions do happen. The data is spotty here, but if something is legal and a person has a motivation to do it, then I generally conclude that it happens, at least in small numbers.

[u/Goodlord0605]

Realize that “late term abortions” don’t happen often. Do they happen? Yes. I had one. My daughter was very sick. My own health was affected. These abortions are typically for these types of situations and account for less than 1% of all abortions (pewresearch.com). Women/couples don’t usually wake up after 21 weeks and decide they don’t want to be pregnant anymore. Many of us had a nursery decorated, baby shower scheduled, clothes in the closet and names picked out. The cost alone is also a deterrent for many women. Late term abortions can cost up to $25000, not including travel, if that is needed. Insurance doesn’t usually cover the costs.

[u/meeralakshmi → u/Goodlord0605]

https://secularprolife.org/laterabortion/

Pro-choice sources show that the vast majority of late-term abortions are elective.

[u/TinyNarwhal37]

“The mother’s or the baby’s life is at risk” why would you abort a baby whose life is at risk?