I believe that in terms of the woman's health, all abortions
are safer than delivery, statistically. Removal of a developed
fetus is no more dangerous than removal of a benign cyst or
tumor.
Second trimester abortions are more serious in the sense that
they are the equivalent of any other invasive operation and
are not a simple outpatient procedure. Usually they are done
in a hospital rather than a clinic, sometimes with anesthetic
(full anesthesia greatly increases the danger, but it is still
merely that of a C-section anesthesia-- i.e. nearly trivial).
Third trimester abortions are restricted mainly b/c they may
involve a viable fetus and many people equate them with murder.
As premie care gets better, the # of weeks that are "iffy"
rises. 26 weeks used to be the cut-off, but 22 week premies
have been kept alive now (though with very serious defects)
so the trend is to restrict abortions in the 2nd trimester range--
but this is not for the sake of maternal health.
The only real danger in a 2nd trimester abortion is when the
woman lies or is mistaken and says that she is only in her first
trimester. If the clinic misses the signals of an advanced pregnancy
and uses a 1st-semester procedure where it is inappropriate,
there can be serious complications or even death. Still, fewer
deaths than in childbirth.
(I too did massive research for my abortion clinic play, UNDER
SIEGE.) (9/23/05)
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