Most partial-birth abortions are performed in the fifth and sixth months of pregnancy. At this stage, an infant who is born spontaneously is usually born alive. There is abundant medical evidence that the baby at this stage is extremely sensitive to pain. Some partial-birth abortions are performed in the seventh month and later -- and not only in cases of fetal disorders or maternal distress

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accurately described the partial-birth abortion method in his dissent in Stenberg v. Carhart (2000): "After dilating the cervix, the physician will grab the fetus by its feet and pull the fetal body out of the uterus into the vaginal cavity. At this stage of development, the head is the largest part of the body. . . . the head will be held inside the uterus by the woman's cervix. While the fetus is stuck in this position, dangling partly out of the woman's body, and just a few inches from a completed birth, the physician uses an instrument such as a pair of scissors to tear or perforate the skull. The physician will then either crush the skull or will use a vacuum to remove the brain and other intracranial contents from the fetal skull, collapse the fetus' head, and pull the fetus from the uterus."

Graphic Diagram of the procedure