Half-Aborted
Why do "reductions" of twin pregnancies trouble pro-choicers?
This is what tortures pro-choicers. "I just couldn't sleep at night knowing that I terminated my daughter's perfectly healthy twin brother," says a commenter in the Times story. A Jezebel reader worries about "all the poor surviving twins who will one day find out that their other is missing." Another Jezebel reader writes:
I'd have a much easier time aborting a single baby or both twins than doing a reduction. When you reduce, the remaining twin will remain a persistent reminder of the unborn child. I think that, more than anything would make killing that fetus feel like killing another human, even though it wasn't fully developed. It would feel that way because you would have a living copy of the person you killed.
That's the anguish of reduction: watching the fetus you spared become what its twin will never be. And knowing that the only difference between them was your will.
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Will Saletan covers science, technology, and politics for Slate and says a lot of things that get him in trouble.



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