Carrying a burden: Perinatal hospice and the latest front in the abortion conflict

Advances in technology have improved doctors' ability to detect and diagnose fatal birth defects; however, there is no corollary cure or treatment available for these pregnancies. Choosing the best way to proceed is an intimate, deeply personal issue that is shaped by a multitude of factors that are different for every woman. Most women decide to terminate their pregnancy while other women decide to proceed with their pregnancy. Perinatal hospice programs were created for women who choose to continue their terminal pregnancies.

Perinatal hospice services are relatively unknown to the general public; however, they are becoming the newest front in the antiabortion movement's strategy of targeting the margins of the abortion debate using a strategy of incrementally chipping away at abortion policy. Many crisis pregnancy centers have started to fold perinatal hospice programs into their services. Recent policy gains at the state level, namely fetal pain legislation, is positioning the antiabortion movement to use perinatal hospice programs to eliminate abortion as an option for women facing a fatal fetal diagnosis.

This project analyzes the development of perinatal hospice programs and the legislation that is providing the ammunition to hamper women's choices when faced with a terminal pregnancy. The analysis will include a content analysis of state legislation passed between 2010 through 2012, and in-depth interviews conducted with individuals working in perinatal hospice programs.