Here's my personal story re. abortion for medical reasons:
My wife got pregnant about 6 months after our marriage. She began having problems almost immediately--severe headache; much greater than usual abdominal swelling, pain, and fluid retention; and--worst of all--almost constant nausea with frequent vomiting. Some days she'd just barf everything she ate--she needed IV fluids on one occaision. High doses of medication didn't really control it. An ultrasound confirmed polyhydramnios and was consistent with major fetal anomalies--including a probable heart defect and an omphalocele (organs outside the body.) The OBs couldn't give an exact diagnosis, but they estimated about a 10% chance that the pregnancy could go to term. And they wouldn't speculate at all if the baby could survive if it was born. I am a health care provider myself, affiliated with a major medical school and teaching hospital. I know that medical specialists are fallible, but there was no doubt in my, or my wife's mind that this definitely was a non-viable pregnancy. And there was no way that, as sick as she was, I would let her continue this pregnancy to it's natural outcome. So we terminated by suction curettage at 12 weeks. Of course, it was sad and very disappointing, but it was absolutely the right decision for us. I won't argue with anyone who disagrees, and thinks our decision was morally wrong. But I will argue with anyone who thinks that the state should legislate that decision out of our hands.