"Ron Fitzsimmons, the executive director of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, said he intentionally misled in previous remarks about the procedure, called intact dilation and evacuation by those who believe it should remain legal and 'partial-birth abortion' by those who believe it should be outlawed, because he feared that the truth would damage the cause of abortion rights.
In the vast majority of cases, the procedure is performed on a healthy mother with a healthy fetus that is 20 weeks or more along, Mr. Fitzsimmons said. 'The abortion-rights folks know it, the anti-abortion folks know it, and so, probably does everyone else.'"