Ken King said:
Given the state's compelling interest to protect life one would think that inducing would be the only acceptable solution, anything less is giving preference to one life over another, which in itself would be unconstitutional.
In medical emergencies, I think that's what most women do. But we're talking about wanted pregnancies, where the woman wants to protect her baby if she can.
There's no reason for partial-birth abortion. It's just moral and ethical mumbo-jumbo that clouds the issue. The scenario I've heard most is that man and wife get pregnant, he leaves her for his secretary while she's in her third trimester, so she decides she no longer wants to bear his child and be tied to him for the rest of her life (or something along those lines).
In those rare instances, too bad for her. She can put the baby up for adoption. She can grow up and raise her child anyway. She can relinquish parental rights to the father.
At the end of the day, people need to re-learn to be responsible for their actions and decisions. And if we have quick-fixes like late-term abortions, they never will. In my opinion, partial-birth abortion is just another way to keep women dependent and not allow them to develop into fully functioning responsible adults.