The discomfort of abortion discussion is articulated in many ways in this article by Pru Goward. Her concern, founded in medical advances in caring for very premature babies, and gestational limits around abortion, are on the surface, genuine and worthy of discussion.
What she fails to address, or maybe even to understand is that healthy babies, of physically healthy mothers are terminated at viable gestations on a regular basis in Australia. In Victoria around half of all post 20wk terminations are for psychosocial concerns and many of these are past gestations at which the babies could survive with minimal harm (if any), if given appropriate care.
In fact, it would be far less risky for the women to be delivered of a live baby than to undergo invasive procedures to ensure foetal death prior to delivery. Why aren't we discussing this?
Mostly because abortion advocates prefer to tell the public that such occurrences don't exist, in spite of the government reports which detail them.
Decriminalisation of abortion in NSW, the last Australian state to do so, will not be the end of the matter of abortion as it will continue to be uncomfortable for any but the most ardent abortion supporter and women will continue to suffer and have their suffering ignored.
When articles such as Goward's are presented in the mainstream media, it is important that we support the questions, allow the discomfort and continue to challenge the dominant discourse which is more concerned with perceived 'rights' then the reality of women's lives, or the reality of unborn human beings.