Editing Abortion (section)

===Gestational age and method===
{{multiple image
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| image1 = UK abortion by gestational age 2019 histogram.svg
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| image2 = US abortion by gestational age 2016 histogram.svg
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| footer = [[Histogram]] of abortions by [[Gestational age (obstetrics)|gestational age]] in England and Wales during 2019 (left). Abortion in the United States by gestational age, 2016 (right).
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Abortion rates vary depending on the stage of pregnancy and the method practiced. In 2003, the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) reported that 26% of reported legal induced abortions in the United States were known to have been obtained at the end of 6 weeks of gestation or less, 18% at 7 weeks, 15% at 8 weeks, 18% at 9 through 10 weeks, 10% at 11 through 12 weeks, 6% at 13 through 15 weeks, 4% at 16 through 20 weeks and 1% at more than 21 weeks. 91% of these were classified as having been done by "[[curettage]]" ([[Suction-aspiration abortion|suction-aspiration]], [[dilation and curettage]], [[dilation and evacuation]]), 8% by "[[medical abortion|medical]]" means ([[mifepristone]]), >1% by "[[instillation abortion|intrauterine instillation]]" (saline or [[prostaglandin]]), and 1% by "other" (including [[hysterotomy abortion|hysterotomy]] and [[hysterectomy]]).<ref name="cdc2003">{{cite journal | vauthors = Strauss LT, Gamble SB, Parker WY, Cook DA, Zane SB, Hamdan S | title = Abortion surveillance--United States, 2003 | journal = Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Surveillance Summaries | volume = 55 | issue = 11 | pages = 1–32 | date = November 2006 | pmid = 17119534 | url = https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5511a1.htm | url-status = live | author7 = Centers for Disease Control Prevention | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170602171423/https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5511a1.htm | archive-date = 2 June 2017 }}</ref> According to the CDC, due to data collection difficulties the data must be viewed as tentative and some fetal deaths reported beyond 20 weeks may be natural deaths erroneously classified as abortions if the removal of the dead fetus is accomplished by the same procedure as an induced abortion.<ref name="guttmacher">{{cite web |publisher=The Guttmacher Institute |title=The limitations of U.S. statistics on abortion |work=Issues in Brief |location=New York |year=1997 |url=http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/ib14.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404080239/http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/ib14.html |archive-date=4 April 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Guttmacher Institute estimated there were 2,200 [[intact dilation and extraction]] procedures in the US during 2000; this accounts for <0.2% of the total number of abortions performed that year.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Finer LB, Henshaw SK | title = Abortion incidence and services in the United States in 2000 | journal = Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health | volume = 35 | issue = 1 | pages = 6–15 | year = 2003 | pmid = 12602752 | doi = 10.1363/3500603 | doi-broken-date = 17 May 2025 | url = http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3500603.html | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160122204324/http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3500603.html | archive-date = 22 January 2016 | url-access = subscription }}</ref> Similarly, in England and Wales in 2006, 89% of terminations occurred at or under 12 weeks, 9% between 13 and 19 weeks, and 2% at or over 20 weeks. 64% of those reported were by vacuum aspiration, 6% by D&E, and 30% were medical.<ref>{{cite web|author=Department of Health |year=2007 |title=Abortion statistics, England and Wales: 2006 |access-date=12 October 2007 |url=http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsStatistics/DH_075697 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206002417/http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsStatistics/DH_075697 |archive-date=6 December 2010 }}</ref> There are more second trimester abortions in developing countries such as China, India and Vietnam than in developed countries.<ref>{{cite web| vauthors = Cheng L |date=1 November 2008|title=Surgical versus medical methods for second-trimester induced abortion: RHL commentary|work=The WHO Reproductive Health Library|location=Geneva|publisher=World Health Organization|url=https://www.who.int/rhl/fertility/abortion/CD006714_chengl_com/en/index.html|access-date=10 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090215134007/http://www.who.int/rhl/fertility/abortion/CD006714_chengl_com/en/index.html|archive-date=15 February 2009}} commentary on:<br />{{cite journal | vauthors = Lohr PA, Hayes JL, Gemzell-Danielsson K | title = Surgical versus medical methods for second trimester induced abortion | journal = The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews | issue = 1 | pages = CD006714 | date = January 2008 | pmid = 18254113 | doi = 10.1002/14651858.CD006714.pub2 | s2cid = 205184764 }}</ref>

There are both medical and non-medical reasons to have an abortion later in pregnancy (after 20 weeks). A study was conducted from 2008 to 2010 at the University of California San Francisco where more than 440 women were asked about why they experienced delays in obtaining abortion care, if there were any. This study found that almost half of individuals who obtained an abortion after 20 weeks did not suspect that they were pregnant until later in their pregnancy.<ref name=":7">{{cite web |date=December 5, 2019 |title=Abortions Later in Pregnancy |url=https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/fact-sheet/abortions-later-in-pregnancy/ |website=KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) |access-date=10 November 2023 |archive-date=10 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110191733/https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/fact-sheet/abortions-later-in-pregnancy/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Other barriers to abortion care found in the study included lack of information about where to access an abortion, difficulties with transportation, lack of insurance coverage, and inability to pay for the abortion procedure.<ref name=":7" />

Medical reasons for seeking an abortion later in pregnancy include [[Birth defect|fetal anomalies]] and health risk to the pregnant person.<ref name=":6">{{cite book |last=Vaughn |first=Lewis |title=Bioethics: Principles, Issues, and Cases |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2023 |isbn=978-0-19-760902-6 |edition=5th |pages=328}}</ref> There are prenatal tests that can diagnose [[Down syndrome|Down Syndrome]] or [[cystic fibrosis]] as early as 10 weeks into gestation, but structural fetal anomalies are often detected much later in pregnancy.<ref name=":7" /> A proportion of structural fetal anomalies are lethal, which means that the fetus will almost certainly die before or shortly after birth.<ref name=":7" /> Life-threatening conditions may also develop later in pregnancy, such as [[Pre-eclampsia|early severe preeclampsia]], newly diagnosed cancer in need of urgent treatment, and [[Chorioamnionitis|intrauterine infection (chorioamnionitis)]], which often occurs along with [[Prelabor rupture of membranes|premature rupture of the amniotic sac (PPROM)]].<ref name=":7" /> If serious medical conditions such as these arise before the fetus is viable, the person carrying the pregnancy may pursue an abortion to preserve their own health.<ref name=":7" />