Feticide and late termination of pregnancy: an essential component of reproductive health care

[Extract] Most pregnant women in Australia undergo some form of antenatal screening for fetal anomalies. This includes ultrasound scanning for fetal structural anomalies and combined first trimester screening, which is largely publicly funded, and non-invasive prenatal screening for certain chromosomal or genetic conditions, currently available only at private expense. Most severe fetal anomalies are detected by 20 weeks’ gestation, and most parents choose to terminate pregnancies in which they are identified, an option available on request in all Australian jurisdictions. However, a small number of very severe anomalies and an even smaller number of maternal conditions are not always diagnosable by 20 weeks, and sometimes not until the third trimester, and can therefore be reasons for requesting a termination in the latter part of the second or during the third trimester.