partial-birth abortion
noun
: dilation and extraction
… upholding a ban on so-called partial-birth abortion, a nonmedical term devised by the powerful antichoice lobby to attack a particular late-term abortion procedure.—
Edd Doerr
Edd DoerrExamples of partial-birth abortion in a Sentence
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Not a single Democratic candidate has expressed reservations about abortions, and a number of them have fought proposed restrictions on partial-birth abortions.
—Victor Davis Hanson, The Mercury News, 5 July 2019
More than policy shapes senators’ confirmation votes Collins was one of only three Republican senators who voted against the ban on partial-birth abortions, a 2003 law that prohibited certain late-term abortions.
—Michele L. Swers, Washington Post, 6 July 2018
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Victor Davis Hanson, The Mercury News, 5 July 2019
More than policy shapes senators’ confirmation votes Collins was one of only three Republican senators who voted against the ban on partial-birth abortions, a 2003 law that prohibited certain late-term abortions.
—Michele L. Swers, Washington Post, 6 July 2018
Cite this Entry
“Partial-birth abortion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/partial-birth%20abortion. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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partial-birth abortion
noun
par·tial-birth abortion
ˈpär-shəl- 
: dilation and extraction
Antiabortion-rights activists created an attention-getting, less clinical name for D&X—"partial-birth abortion" …—Mary Leonard, The Boston Globe
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