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In Their Own Words
Parents Need Time, Not Deadlines, After Fetal Diagnoses
Abortion Restrictions Can Backfire, Pushing Families to End Pregnancies
Print:
The following excerpt is from an op-ed that first appeared in The Kansas City Star on October 12, 2025.
As a nurse and researcher who specializes in pregnancies complicated by fetal conditions, I’ve spent 16 years studying what happens when prenatal testing reveals a potential physical or developmental disability. And here’s what most people don’t expect: Policies that limit abortion after a certain number of weeks can actually push families toward ending a pregnancy. Families facing an unexpected diagnosis are often overwhelmed, uncertain and still learning what it even means. They need time. Time to understand. Time to recalibrate hope. Time to weigh what they can carry — for themselves and their child.
Yet that’s precisely what abortion restrictions rob them of.
Missouri is now at a pivotal crossroads. After voters passed a landmark amendment in 2024 restoring abortion rights up to viability (24 to 26 weeks), the state became the first in the nation to overturn its near-total ban. But access remains limited and under threat. Procedural care is scarce, and a new proposed amendment would repeal those protections and replace them with one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, banning abortion in most cases after 12 weeks.
For Missouri families receiving complex prenatal diagnoses, these shifting policies raise urgent questions: Will care be available? Will they have enough time to make informed decisions?
Read the full op-ed here.
Author
Abigail Wilpers, PhD, WHNP-BC
Assistant Professor, Family & Community Health, Penn Nursing
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