“Democrats support the right to choose throughout the 40 weeks of pregnancy. But babies are now viable outside the womb at 22 weeks.”
David Brooks wrote that in his New York Times op-ed column last week.
That’s the argument made by the pro-life movement.
It is misleading, if not incorrect.
Roe v Wade limits a woman’s right to choose in the third trimester of a pregnancy.
An abortion can be performed if necessary to protect the life or health of the woman or if the fetus is affected by genetic defect or serious deformity or abnormality.
Maryland law imposes the same limitations after a fetus is viable – in the attending doctor’s medical judgment, there is a reasonable likelihood of the fetus’ sustained survival outside the womb.
I don’t expect the pro-life movement to be accurate in its depiction of the pro-choice position.
It’s our obligation to make our position clear.
