Dr. Warren M. Hern is the Director of the Boulder Abortion Clinic.
Women who come to my office for late abortions are, without exception, in extreme distress. The most difficult situations are those in which the pregnancy is desired but a diagnosis of fetal abnormality or genetic disorder has been made. Also, medical conditions occur that require termination of the pregnancy, sometimes under emergency conditions. These are not uncommon, especially in a practice such as mine that specializes in late abortion. The anguish that women and their partners and family experience under these circumstances is profound. It is a major life event and it is a terrible loss.
There are teenagers who have become pregnant following a
Special Series first sexual intercourse and who are uninformed about anatomy, physiology, and pregnancy. They are often terrified and don't know what to do until a family member sees the obvious evidence of advanced pregnancy. Outside of tribal societies in which adolescent pregnancy and family formation is the norm, what 14 or 16 year-old girl in this society is prepared to raise and nurture a child? The medical risks of adolescent pregnancy are very serious, and they have life-threatening and life-altering effects.
