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Could Science Help Ban Abortions?

(Worthy News)-- Premature babies are surviving earlier than in the Roe v. Wade era, potentially shifting the Supreme Court's guidepost of when abortion can legally be banned, the Washington Examiner reported.

When the court legalized abortion four decades ago, babies born before 28 weeks gestation didn't typically live. Now, medical professionals consider the point of fetal viability to be 24 weeks. But survival rates are rising for babies born even earlier at 22 weeks.

That's a victory for neonatal medicine, which has seen major advances in supporting premature babies until their hearts and lungs are developed enough to function properly. But it also could carry some legal implications in the ever-impassioned abortion wars.

At issue is the concept of fetal viability — the point at which a baby can survive outside the womb. In its Roe decision, the Supreme Court left open the door for states to ban abortions, but only after the point of viability. --[wp_colorbox_media url="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/could-science-help-ban-abortions/article/2564223" type="iframe" hyperlink="Source"]