used, and defined in the law, means the intentional killing of a child within the womb.  After a miscarriage, a D & C may be required, but that is clearly completely different from abortion.  Removal of a tubal pregnancy is also not an abortion because the purpose of the procedure is to save the mother. It is simply not possible at present to also save the child in that situation. It is not the procedure that kills the child, but the lack of the uterine environment that was not present anyway.  Thirty-seven states clearly define abortion to not include those situations.

    Another issue is the fear of women being prosecuted for abortions, or even for miscarriages, since they may appear similar to the result of a chemical abortion.  In rare cases, women have been prosecuted for intentionally taking a substance knows to be harmful to a preborn child, which resulted in miscarriage. But most laws banning abortion expllicity deny prosecution of the woman seeking one. Abortion is analogous to the case of illegal drugs.  Drug addicts and women seeking abortions are both seen as victims, not criminals.  It is the seller who sells a product without truthfully informing the buyer about the product. Law enforcement therefore focuses on shutting down the provider. But pro-choice people are also saying that doctors will not be able to provide “needed” abortions. The assumption here is that the need is real, for the mother’s health or in the case of rape or incest.  But the law does allow exceptions for serious physical health threats that cannot be treated by delivering the baby.  While the child may not survive after delivery, they will at least have a chance. As for exceptions for rape and incest, we must always express compassion for those victims, but the fact is that mothers who abort under those circumstances can be just as wounded by abortion as any other mother. Even if abortion would help the woman heal, we don’t allow someone to kill another person to enable their own healing.