Reply #33: I agree with one of your statements...

[colinmom71]

That one not need be a woman to have a valid opinion on abortion laws (after all, it was a panel of men on the Supreme Court who ruled on Roe v. Wade). But your statement of D&X as "monumentally brutal" makes me wonder if you've ever actually read the surgical protocol on ID&X (as it's known now).

Or have you only read the "PBA" version of how ID&X is performed? Such as the depiction of the fetus's skull being "smashed in" or "crushed", which is not at all true. The "PBA" description would also have us believe that a huge hole is crashed into the skull and the brain is "sucked out", which also is not true. The "PBA" description would also have us believe that all this occurs while the fetus is still alive. Well, according to reports on physicians who perform these procedures I've read over the years, this also is not true.

With an actual ID&X, the fetus is euthanized via injection before the actual surgery. The fetus is then partially removed through the dilated cervix, a small incision is made at the base of the skull into the meningeal sac, excess cerebrospinal fluid (and sometimes part of the meningeal sac and some soft brain tissue) is suctioned out through the incision by a small suction catheter. This decompresses the cranium and allows for the restof the fetal body to pass safely through the cervix. While it's not nice to hear, ID&X is actually a far more humane and gentle procedure than D&E, where the fetus is dismembered with forceps and removed from the uterus. Heck, fetal surgeriees to repair certain fixable medical problems like diapragmatic hernias, etc. are more harsh procedures on a fetus than a 2cm incision in the neck.

And in some instances, ID&X is the safer option for the woman's health, such as with women with bleeding disorders diagnosed as having a fetus with severe hydrocephaly. Now, that doesn't mean that another procedure can not be performed to acheive the same end (abortion). But the ID&X presents the fewest risks for serious complications for women with certain medical problems. This ban just ties doctors hands in being able to give their patients the best options for their particular health challenge.

By the way, the language of the "PBA" ban is rooted in the language of the "PBA" propoganda. Because the PBA ban is worded as banning a procedure that is an "overt act" that kills the fetus by crushing the skull, etc. while the fetus is still alive, the law in fact bans nothing. ID&X is neither properly described or even named as a banned procedure in the bill, so while the legislative intention was to ban a procedure, the result wound up being that they technically banned a fictional entity...