I've known one woman to have one of these. She was very anti-choice. The baby that she so wanted was found at just under 7 months to have severe hydrocephalus and spinal bifida. She was told there was no question the child would be profoundly mentally retarded and would need life long institutional care. After a few weeks of prayer, her and her husband decided to have the procedure.

I think this is exactly the sort of realistic and difficult scenario that comes up with optional late term abortions and often isn't frankly discussed. People talk about rape, incest, and the health of the mother. There is another scenario: The baby may be broken, severely. Is it murder to abort such a pregnancy? This is going to become a vital question very soon now, and I think that searching for theological explanations is as useful here as it is in explaining the age of the planet. This is a deep moral, philosophical problem that absolutely requires an analysis of the alternatives on their impact and merit. I don't really know if anyone deeply addresses this, and I think popping out with a strict interpretation of some scriptural verse is a cop out that avoids taking this issue head-on and does not properly prepare people to handle this situation.

RE: Late Term Abortion Ban Upheld by Supreme Court