New York considers legislation that would allow late-term abortions

New York is reportedly considering a measure that would allow late-term abortions if the fetus was deemed unviable or when there is a danger to the mother's health.

Slate reported that the state Assembly has passed a legislation earlier this year that would allow abortions to be performed after 24 weeks' gestation in cases of fetal nonviability or when the mother's health is at risk.

The measure would also allow advanced practice clinicians like nurse practitioners and physician's assistants, not just doctors, to offer certain kinds of abortion care if the proposal is passed by the state Senate and signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

According to Life News, the current law allows abortion up to 24 weeks for any reason, and later if the woman's life is at risk.

Last September, state Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman issued a legal opinion arguing that the state law conflicts with more recent Supreme Court decisions about abortion.

He expressed his belief that late-term abortions should be allowed in the state in cases when the fetus has a potentially fatal disorder or when the mother's health is in danger.

There are concerns that the "health" exceptions are defined so broadly that they would basically allow any abortion.

"The use of 'life and health' of the mother really means abortion on demand throughout all nine months of pregnancy," said Dennis Poust, a spokesman for the New York State Catholic Conference, in his reaction to the attorney general's opinion.

The New York Times noted that the legal opinion does not overturn the law but it provides hospitals and abortion facilities legal grounds to start performing late-term abortions and challenge the current law.

New York State Right to Life spokeswoman Lori Kehoe has previously disputed the claim that late-term abortions are necessary to protect the life of the mother.

"If a mother needs to end her pregnancy in the third trimester, it can be safely ended with a C-section. A C-section takes minutes and results in a newborn baby. No one has to die. A third trimester abortion takes days, endangering a mother's life, and results in a dead baby," she explained.

According to statistics from the Center for Disease Control, New York has the highest abortion rate in the nation, with 101,674 abortions conducted in 2012.

In New York City, approximately 40 percent of pregnancies end up in abortion, and the number rises to 60 percent among African Americans, according to city health department data.