The tale of  Salon contributor  Mikki Kendall  getting an abortion to save her life serves as an example.

She relates a late term (20 weeks) gestational hemorrhage  (possibly from placenta abruptio, detachment of the placenta) and postulates  that an abortion was needed to save her life.

The trouble is that neither this nor other causes of late term  gestational bleeding  are  addressed with  abortion procedures.  If the bleeding cannot be stopped,  an emergency delivery, usually  by C-section, is done, and frequently  the baby is lost due to prematurity, or complications stemming from the condition of the mother.

The patient admits to being incompetent to sign permission for surgery,  due to her medical condition.   Her memory of events also appears to be significantly impaired.

Another important note  is that  hospital records and discourse  utilize the term “abortion” for any end to a pregnancy which involves the baby’s demise prior to birth.   This includes  natural causes,  result of injury or disease, and purposely  induced abortions.  This is possibly what has led to the notion that a surgical abortion procedure was involved in this case.

If accuracy in describing Kendall’s  treatment was desired,  medical records could have been utilized  in order to correctly relate what had occurred in her treatment.

Instead,  the procedure is described simply as an abortion, and utilized by Salon for the political purpose of  generating a feeling of need for  induced  abortions.

This hospital pharmacist can attest that it is quite possible to enter an emergency room which does not have a physician present who can manage late term gestational bleeding.  In that case, a physician who can handle the situation is called in.   Normally a physician arriving late in the evening under emergent conditions is not accompanied  by  her own “cadre of students“.

This particular Salon story serves mainly as  a means to propagandize the wonders of  induced abortion to those who don’t  know how  late term gestational bleeding  is  properly managed.