If you are considering an abortion after 24 weeks, you may be facing fear, pressure, financial concerns, relationship problems, housing instability, or uncertainty about the future.
You do not have to face those circumstances alone. You have options.
At this stage of pregnancy, your baby is highly developed, with a growing nervous system, functioning organs, movement, and the ability to respond to the world around them. Understanding what is happening to your baby is an important part of making an informed decision.
But information is only part of the answer.
If your pregnancy feels impossible, let's look at what can make it possible.
Know the facts
What happens after 24 weeks?
By 24 weeks, your baby is no longer simply at an early stage of development. The major structures of the body are formed, the brain and nervous system are rapidly developing, the lungs are maturing, and your baby can move and respond to sounds and other stimulation.
At this stage, survival outside the womb is possible. Advances in neonatal medicine, specialized hospitals and neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) have made it possible for some babies born extremely prematurely to survive and continue developing outside the womb. The chances of survival generally increase with each additional week of pregnancy.
An abortion at this stage ends the life of a developing human being who may already have the capacity to survive outside the womb with intensive medical care.
Learn more about fetal development and abortion after 24 weeks here.
Can they feel pain?
Scientists continue to debate exactly when conscious pain perception begins, but there is growing evidence that the developing fetus has pain-related neurological pathways and responds to invasive procedures with measurable physiological and behavioral changes.
Fetal surgeons use anesthesia and pain management during invasive fetal procedures. Premature babies born around the edge of viability are also routinely treated for pain.
When there is a possibility that an unborn child can experience pain, that possibility deserves to be taken seriously. Unlike fetal surgery, where anesthesia may be used to provide pain relief to the fetus, induced abortions generally do not administer anesthesia to the unborn child.
Learn more about fetal pain here.
You have options
Whatever is making you consider abortion, there may be practical help available.
Need pregnancy support?
Pregnancy resource centers can provide free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, counseling, material assistance, parenting support and referrals.
Find a pregnany center near you here.
Worried about money?
Massachusetts programs can help eligible families with food, health care, cash assistance and other needs.
Learn about financial and family assistance in Massachusetts.
Worried about housing?
Sheltering programs can provide housing and support for pregnant women and mothers.
Were you told your baby may not survive?
A serious or life-limiting diagnosis can be devastating. You do not have to end your pregnancy.
Many families choose to continue their pregnancies with support from perinatal hospice and palliative care. These services can help you prepare for your baby's birth, manage your baby's needs, and make the most of the time you may have together.
You may have the opportunity to hold your son or daughter, comfort your baby, and create a more peaceful experience for you both that abortion does not provide. Women who deliver babies in these situations even describe a long-lasting "joy" they received during the precious few moments they had with their child.
Learn more about perinatal hospice and palliative care here.
Worried about child care?
Financial assistance may be available to help eligible families afford child care.
Learn about child care assistance.
Not ready to parent?
Adoption can provide a permanent family for your child. Foster care and other resources can also provide support.
Learn more about adoption and foster care.
You don't have to make this decision alone
You may have arrived here because someone told you that abortion is your only option.
It isn't.
You can learn what is happening to your baby. You can talk to someone who will listen. You can identify the problems making your pregnancy feel impossible. And you can find people willing to help you address those problems.
Before making a decision that cannot be undone, take the time to learn what your options really are.
You have options. You have support. And your baby has a future.