Later Abortion
Like abortions earlier in pregnancy, later abortions happen for a myriad of reasons that — despite common later abortion messaging — aren’t only limited to medical reasons. Later abortion means a procedure during the second or third trimester.
Many of us seek later abortions because abortion access was limited when we first wanted a procedure or we couldn’t afford it. It’s hard to access care when you don’t have enough money, your insurance won’t cover it, you don’t have an abortion clinic nearby or you didn’t realize that you were pregnant. Abortion restrictions don’t prevent us from having abortions, they only make it harder for us to access care. The cost of abortion increases throughout the weeks of pregnancy because it takes more medical care and services are limited, usually because state governments are trying to end access. For people traveling for an abortion, the costs can be high because they include lodging, gas, plane or bus tickets, sometimes totaling up to thousands of dollars in costs. Fortunately, there are abortion funds and other organizations that may be able to provide us with assistance for these costs.
Some of us also don’t know we’re pregnant right away, which can be especially difficult in most states that are trying to limit abortion earlier and earlier. Some states only allow exceptions to this in cases of rape, incest, or if the pregnant person’s life is at risk which is wrong because you shouldn’t have to have trauma happen to you or be near death in order to get the care you need. While most states have a time limit on abortion, the limit can be higher in some states — and a few don’t have a limit at all—although access can still be hard there.
You deserve to have access to care at any time and for any reason.
Unfortunately, because of these limits, people who need an abortion in the second or third trimester have no choice but to travel out of state to access the healthcare they need.
“The crisis pregnancy center told me that I was 16 weeks along. I left that situation feeling like I didn’t have any more clarity, and it didn’t really add up. I ended up going to a hospital in town, just deciding that it didn’t matter what I did; I was going to have to tell my family anyway. The hospital ultimately told me that I was a few days away from being 26 weeks. I think [the crisis pregnancy center] had a better idea, and they knew that if they wasted just a few more days of my time, I wouldn’t have had a choice — which is true. Had I believed them, I wouldn’t have had a choice. I was able to go to a clinic in Albuquerque because I got all my paperwork and everything filed, all set to go, before it was too late legally.”
— We Testify storyteller Beth Vial
The language and information surrounding later abortion can be confusing. That’s on purpose because people who want to ban abortions are trying to confuse, mislead, and shame us for needing care.
Later abortions vs. “late-term abortions”
People who want to ban abortion use phrases like “late-term abortions” to stigmatize us and make it seem like what we’re doing is too late or wrong to justify their attempt to ban abortion. The truth is, they misuse and misapply the phrase to abortion when it has nothing to do with abortions. If someone is “late-term” in their pregnancy, that means they’ve gone past 41 weeks—the end of a pregnancy is commonly 40 weeks. Medically, ‘late-term’ refers to a pregnancy at a gestational age of 41 weeks to 41 weeks and 6 days, and abortions are not performed at this stage of a pregnancy.
“Fetal pain”
Sometimes when people have their abortions they wonder if the embryo or fetus can feel it. The best medical evidence we have suggests that a fetus cannot feel sensations that we might think of as pain until at least the 28th week of pregnancy. It’s a common curiosity but also one that the anti-abortion movement exploits to try to ban abortion rather than offering information and comfort to people who have genuine questions. In fact, they’ve used the idea of “fetal pain” to ban abortion as early as 20 weeks, but it has nothing to do with science and everything to do with limiting access and shaming us.
Misinformation and stigma only increase barriers we face and the isolation we feel when seeking later abortions.
Getting a later abortion.
If you need to access a later abortion, the following states have higher or no gestational limits when it comes to abortion, but some require medical approval or only in the case of a health emergency:
No limit
Alaska
Colorado
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
Oregon
Vermont
24 weeks
New York
Pennsylvania
Nevada
Florida
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Washington, DC (25 weeks)
If you’re traveling to one of these states, practical support organizations like The Brigid Alliance, Fund Texas Choice, Northwest Abortion Access Fund, Access Reproductive Care - Southeast, the Yellowhammer Fund, or the New Mexico Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice may be able to help you with travel costs. While some of us may have assistance from health insurance to cover abortion costs, many of us are forced to unexpectedly find thousands of dollars for the abortion on top of travel costs. So, if you need help paying for your abortion, you can contact abortion funds in the city you live in and are traveling to for assistance. The National Network of Abortion Funds has resources listed by state that may help you access and pay for the care you need, and you can also call the National Abortion Federation’s hotline for funding help. You can also ask the clinic if they can help you get financial assistance when you call.