I also wanted to say that there are many reasons why people would choose to have an abortion in the second trimester. In the states anyway (I don't know what it's like in the UK), many states have laws that make it extremely difficult to get a timely abortion. Young girls who can't tell their parents for whatever reason (incest, or fear of being kicked out, for instance) have to go to court to be allowed to have abortions. Women in rural areas often have to travel for an abortion, meaning missing work, finding lodging, childcare, etc. Money can be an insurmountable obstacle, especially if women have to travel. The further along the pregnancy, the more expensive it is... and women often get caught in cycles of trying to get together the money, only to find that now they need more. State laws putting unnecessary burdens on clinics drive the costs up. Women can be unaware that they are pregnant for months (in fact someone recently posted that she had periods until she was five months along). And there are the reasons already mentioned: birth defects, high maternal risk, etc. So someone seeking a 2nd trimester abortion is not necessarily making a frivolous last minute choice. I can't imagine getting to the 5th month and deciding I didn't like the sex of the baby, for instance, and I think that the general conception that this is why people have late term abortions, is pretty demeaning of women.