Some cultural groups in the US strongly oppose abortion (often, though not always, in addition to birth control, interestingly enough.) In the "mushy middle" the farther along the fetus is, and the closer to being viable outside the womb, the more people are opposed to abortion. This has led the anti-Choice crowd to target those abortions specifically, because they can get more support from people who think advocating forced birth for only the last four months, instead of all nine, is moderate. The upshot of this is that in those rarer and rarer cases where a pregnancy has proceeded farther and farther before a woman obtains an abortion (usually because of late-discovered fetal nonviability or because of serious danger to the woman's life), it gets harder and harder to find a doctor who is willing and trained to perform the procedures.
Tiller was one of (I think) three doctors in the entire US who would perform late term abortions, meaning after 5 months or so. At one stroke the anti-Choice crowd has gotten rid of 1/3 of the availablity of late-term abortion. This affects the nature of the accomplishment, or "accomplishment" depending what side one is on, so it makes the news.
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Date: 2009-06-01 11:41 pm (UTC)Tiller was one of (I think) three doctors in the entire US who would perform late term abortions, meaning after 5 months or so. At one stroke the anti-Choice crowd has gotten rid of 1/3 of the availablity of late-term abortion. This affects the nature of the accomplishment, or "accomplishment" depending what side one is on, so it makes the news.