A November 2023 study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (AJOG) found that 11.2 percent of second-trimester induced abortions result in a live birth. The authors conducted a retrospective cohort study of 13,777 induced abortions that occurred in hospitals in Quebec, Canada between April 1, 1989 and March 31, 2021. The abortions were performed on preborn babies of gestational ages ranging from 15 to 29 weeks. According to the study, the most common reason for these abortions was fetal anomaly (48%), and the most common method was induction of labor. 1,541 abortions resulted in a live birth. Compared to abortions performed at 15-19 weeks’ gestation, those performed at 20-24 weeks’ gestation were 4.8 times as likely to result in a live birth, and those performed at 25-29 weeks’ gestation were 1.34 times as likely to result in a live birth. The article also noted that feticidal injection reduced the risk of live birth by 57 percent, with intracardiac and intrathoracic injection being particularly effective.
This study reveals a couple of important points: first, the article makes exquisitely clear that the purpose of induced abortion is to produce a dead fetus. Abortion advocates have attempted to distract from this reality, instead stating disingenuously that the purpose of induced abortion is merely to end a pregnancy. But studies like this one, which frame live birth as an undesirable outcome, make it clear that induced abortion is distinct from other pregnancy-ending medical interventions in that it intends not to result in a live birth. A live birth after an abortion is a “failed” abortion. The separation did not fail to occur. The baby failed to die. Clearly in this study, live birth is discussed as an outcome to be avoided. The study states, “feticidal injection may protect against this outcome.”
Also, this study demonstrates that a significant percentage of later abortions do result in a live birth, contrary to what is frequently implied by abortion advocates. This calls for deeper discussion on the care owed to children born alive after failed abortions.
