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[–] 16343147? ago 

Section 2 of the bill creates a new Article 25-A of the Public Health

Law (PHL), which includes section 2599-aa, Policy and Purpose, and

section 2599-bb, Abortion, which states that an abortion may be

performed by a licensed, certified, or authorized practitioner within 24

weeks from the commencement of pregnancy, or there is an absence of

fetal viability, or at any time when necessary to protect a patient's

life or health.

Did anyone actually read the law?

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[–] 16350624? ago 

Of course they didn't. Every time there's an outrageous headline on /pol/, five minutes of digging is all it takes to see that it's almost always overblown and/or boiled down.

>>12713729

Here's what 'health' means in the case of abortion, as defined by the US Supreme Court (which I believe is also the UN definition):

all factors – physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman's age – relevant to the well-being of the patient.

physical/the woman's age

Seems obvious. Pregnancy is a fairly taxing process even for an able-bodied woman. If pregnancy presents a greater-than-average chance to kill her, it makes sense to terminate.

emotional/psychological

I'm rolling these into one because they're close enough. Having to deliver a rapist's baby, a stillborn, or a braindead child would probably fall under this quite easily.

familial

I'm less clear on this one. The best interpretation I can give is power-of-attorney in cases where the pregnant woman doesn't have the mental strength needed to understand the consequences of having sex and can't provide for herself, which would put the burden of a child on the family.

So, 'health' doesn't here mean what it means in a colloquial sense. Women can't get late-term abortions because they're a little more tired than usual. They can only get them when their life is in the balance, they have a drastic change in standard-of-living (e.g. homelessness), or there's a serious issue with the fetus that only shows up near the end. All of these must be verified by a licensed practitioner.

Of course, that doesn't mean doctors won't take under-the-tale payments to "verify" these things in the same way it doesn't stop pharmacists from doing the same thing for prescription drugs. There's also a lack of data on the reasons for late-term abortions specifically, and trying to extrapolate from a broader set isn't helpful given that the vast majority (~80%) are first-trimester.

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[–] 16352374? ago 

So, 'health' doesn't here mean what it means in a colloquial sense. Women can't get late-term abortions because they're a little more tired than usual. They can only get them when their life is in the balance, they have a drastic change in standard-of-living (e.g. homelessness), or there's a serious issue with the fetus that only shows up near the end. All of these must be verified by a licensed practitioner.

Way to make it clear that you didn't even read the bill.