10 Things I'd Say To Pro-Aborts Who Blame Conservatives For Their Abortion

Recently, at AlterNet, Amanda Marcotte listed 10 'realities' pro-choicers should 'throw in the face' of pro-lifers.  @TheNatFantastic from Twitter, has asked me to respond to this article.  Listed below are the 10 'realities', with a snippet from each, and my pro-life response to them.

1) Most abortions take place early in pregnancy.

Additionally, the growth of medical abortion means a much larger percentage of abortions---62% overall---take place before the 9th week of pregnancy. In fact, in most abortions, the term “fetus” is incorrect, as doctors classify it as an embryo until the 11th week of pregnancy. At 8 weeks, and embryo is about ½ an inch long, and at 12 weeks, the fetus is a little over 2 inches long. In contrast, a full-term baby is an average 20 inches long, a full 40 times larger than the size of the average embryo during an abortion.

This is the most common arbitrary argument of the pro-aborts.  They believe it's ok to kill them, based strictly on their size and level of development.  What they don't seem to understand, is that an 8 week embryo, is the same human being he/she is at full term.  Embryos have all the genetic material required to determine their sex, skin tone, hair color, even the color of their eyes.  Abortion erases that tiny innocent human being from the planet.

2) If not for anti-choicers, even more women would get abortions much earlier in their pregnancies.

Most women want to terminate unwanted pregnancies as soon as possible, but there are some women who wait until 12 or 16 or even 20 weeks to terminate a pregnancy for elective reasons. Why do about 10% of women having abortions wait until early in their second trimester? It’s not because they’re stupid or indifferent to the growing fetus inside them. Research indicates that women delay having abortions because they have trouble deciding, they struggle to come up with the funds, and because they may have to travel and overcome legal obstacles to get an abortion.

This is no more than blaming pro-lifers for later term abortions.  The argument here, is that if pro-lifers would make it easier for women to have earlier abortions, they would.  Remember, pro-life is against abortion at any stage.  Knowing that most pro-aborts also struggle with the concept of later term abortions, gives pro-lifers hope that at some point, it will be unacceptable to kill a developing human being, at any stage.

3) Doctors perform late term abortions because of medical indications, often on women who desperately wanted the baby.

the rule of thumb with abortion is, “The later the termination, the higher the odds that the woman needed it for medical reasons.” Indeed, doctors who perform abortions after 24 usually require, as a matter of practice and of law, that the women have medical necessity reasons for abortion. Before he died, Dr. George Tiller had to have a second doctor confirm every diagnosis of a medical condition allowing post-24 week abortions.

Medical reasons?  Perhaps a diagnosis of Down-Syndrome?  Cleft palate?  Granted, there are worse fetal anomalies, such as spina bifida.  None warrant the killing of an innocent human being.  Who did Dr. Tiller use for that second opinion?  Dr. Ann Kristin Neuhaus.  Well, let's be honest.  To have a diagnosis confirmed, a woman would need to see a specialist, not an abortionist.  Dr. Neuhaus didn't 'confirm' any diagnosis.  What she did, was supply Dr. Tiller with a legally required second signature.  What Dr. Tiller did, was rid women of less than perfect babies.

4) Women who get abortions aren’t afraid of being mothers.

Anti-choice protesters like to shout at women going into clinics about how they would really like motherhood if they tried it out. In reality, women who have abortions are fully cognizant of the joys and pains of motherhood; 61% of women having abortion are already mothers.

The 61% figure, is often used by pro-aborts in an attempt to justify terminating succeeding pregnancies.  They just don't understand the concept that whether it's the 1st, or the 15th pregnancy, all of the fetuses are just as much human as the ones privileged enough to be born, and all deserve the same respect, and the same right to life. 

5) Abortion is physically safe.

The truth is that abortion is a simple outpatient procedure that’s on the high end of safety for a medical procedure. The vast majority of abortions have no complications at all, and abortion is considered many times safer than childbirth.

Pro-aborts don't talk about the women who died due to having an abortion.  The truth is, there have been hundreds of them.  While abortion may be a relatively safer procedure for women today, it is never safe for the tiny human suctioned from the womb, and it never has been.

6) Abortion is mentally safe.

repeated studies show not only that abortion doesn’t cause depression, but that giving birth can. In fact, mental illness can be a medical indicator for abortion; for women for whom giving birth can aggravate mental health problems, an abortion is often necessary to prevent further degradation of their mental health.

Once again, childbirth results in a live baby, abortion results in a dead baby.  As for 'abortion doesn’t cause depression', it surely can, and does.  You may have heard of the pro-life "Silent No More Awareness Campaign", or the pro-choice "Exhale", 'an after abortion counseling talk-line'.  Both were created because abortion can, and often does affect the mental health of the women who chose that option.

7) Women who get abortions take responsibility for their decision.

The truth is that women who get abortions know that they’re terminating a pregnancy and are determined to do it long before they set foot in the doctor’s office.

I found this particular 'reality' out of context as relating to what was written along with with.  But I will touch on what is there, an attack on the mandatory use of ultrasound.  If there is one woman who changes her mind after seeing her baby on the ultrasound screen, it is worth it.

8) Abortion providers are responsible medical professionals who work to make sure their patients are healthy and avoid future unintended pregnancies.

Your average abortion costs around $500. The average cost of childbirth is 17 times as much.

Interesting comparison, considering a surgical abortion takes only a few minutes, and doesn't concern the health and well-being of the fetus.  Childbirth on the other hand, is often a long and difficult process, and usually occurs in a hospital, fully staffed with obstetrical doctors and nurses, and equipped for any emergency.  How much is your baby's life worth?  What about the mother?  Indeed, abortion is a cheap way out of the responsibilities of motherhood.

as the nation’s single largest provider of abortions, Planned Parenthood, is a non-profit.

'Non-profit' is a tax status.  It does not mean a business can't profit from the services they provide. 

Additionally, Planned Parenthood works tirelessly to reduce the abortion rate by promoting sex education and contraception,

But does that promotion do any good? 

I will let the following two statements from Guttmacher, Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States, speak for themselves.

"Each year, two percent of women aged 15–44 have an abortion. Half have had at least one previous abortion". 

"Fifty-four percent of women who have abortions had used a contraceptive method (usually the condom or the pill) during the month they became pregnant." 

9) Women get abortions because they’re being responsible.

Abortion is often characterized, even by some pro-choicers, as the result of women’s irresponsibility. Women are assumed to get pregnant because they were being irresponsible, and all too often, abortion is characterized as the “easy way out”. The truth is more complex. More than half of women getting abortions were trying to prevent pregnancy by using a contraception method the month they got pregnant.

What part of irresponsibility do pro-aborts not get?  "Fifty-four percent of women who have abortions had used a contraceptive method (usually the condom or the pill) during the month they became pregnant."  Does this mean they were acting responsibly?  Not if they didn't use the condom 100% of the time, and not if they didn't take 'the pill', every day, on time.  Condoms are 98% effective when used correctly.  Birth Control pills, are 99% effective when used correctly.  If you have access to either method, and still became pregnant, there is a 98% - 99% chance that you were irresponsible.

10) Conservative policies cause the abortion rate to be higher than it needs to be.

Women aren’t getting pregnant on purpose so they can enjoy an expensive suctioning of their uterine lining. So why are there 1.2 million abortions a year in America?

46% of women who get abortions weren’t using a contraceptive method the month they got pregnant, indicating that conservative policies that discourage regular contraception use---everything from abstinence-only education to objecting to any measures that make contraception cheaper and easier to obtain---have been effective in keeping women from using contraception as regularly as they should.

In a pro-aborts mind, it's MY fault you got pregnant!  It's time to stop this blame game, and ask every young man and woman to take responsibility for themselves.  And if they should fail to do so, take responsibility for the new life they created. 

When is Late Term Abortion Necessary?

Pro-lifers like me, are so often accused of not caring about women, especially, pregnant women.  If you listen as the choicer's tell it, we would let every woman die that had a life threatening event during her pregnancy.  I assure you, this is not the case.  All any pro-lifer will ever ask, is that everything possible be done to save the baby, but never at the expense of the mother's life. 

Today, I read an article entitled "I don’t like that you do abortions, but if you didn’t, I would probably be dead".  Within the article, an anonymous physician tells of his experience with a 'very pro-life' couple, who in the end, opted to abort their unborn baby.

A woman had arrived on Friday with ruptured membranes. She was 21 weeks along in her pregnancy and now there was no amniotic fluid left at all. She and her husband wanted everything done. Despite the dismal prognosis for her baby, in respect for the patient’s autonomy, antibiotics were started. Within 24 hours it was clear she had an infection.

Delivery was recommended as these infections are potentially deadly. The parents refused. “The antibiotics might work,” they said. And no amount of discussion about the overwhelming medical evidence that supported delivery could sway their decision. Inducing labor at 21 weeks while their baby was still alive was abortion.

The infection worsened despite the antibiotics. The patient, who was  rapidly deteriorating, and her husband reluctantly consented to an induction of labor.

The induction didn't work.  The doctor goes on to say how he convinced them that termination was the only way to save the mother's life. 

Prior to the surgery, the husband asked:

“How did you learn to do these procedures?"

The doctors answered:

"By doing abortions. Lots of them. I have done more late term abortions than most doctors of my generation. That makes me very skilled. But the privilege of helping women end their pregnancies safely also gave me the skill to help women like your wife." 

The article intentionally left it unclear which procedure was used.  Was the fetus taken intact?  If so, did it live for a few minutes?  If so, were the parents given the opportunity to hold, to love, to create memories of their baby?  My guess is no, no, and no.

According to AAPLOG (American Association of Pro-life Obstetrician's and Gynecologist's), this is one of a few instances when termination may be the only way to save the woman's life.  As an addendum to their mission statement, they wrote:

What is AAPLOG’s position on “abortion to save the life of the mother?”?

Abortion is the purposeful killing of the unborn in the termination of a pregnancy. AAPLOG opposes abortion. When extreme medical emergencies that threaten the life of the mother arise (chorioamnionitis or HELLP syndrome could be examples), AAPLOG believes in “treatment to save the mother’s life,” including premature delivery if that is indicated — obviously with the patient’s informed consent. This is NOT “abortion to save the mother’s life.” We are treating two patients, the mother and the baby, and every reasonable attempt to save the baby’s life would also be a part of our medical intervention. We acknowledge that, in some such instances, the baby would be too premature to survive.

Indeed, we acknowledge that some babies are just too premature to survive, but.we.still.try.  Might there have been an alternative for this patient?  Perhaps.  

An article on AAPLOG's web-site, "Is Late-Term Abortion Ever Necessary?" (also available in PDF) sheds some much needed light on the issue of late-term abortion.  The author, Mary L. Davenport, M.D., writes:

Although most late-term abortions are elective, it is claimed that serious maternal health problems require abortions. Intentional abortion for maternal health, particularly after viability, is one of the great deceptions used to justify all abortion. The very fact that the baby of an ill mother is viable raises the question of why, indeed, it is necessary to perform an abortion to end the pregnancy. With any serious maternal health problem, termination of pregnancy can be accomplished by inducing labor or performing a cesarean section, saving both mother and baby. If a mother needs radiation or chemotherapy for cancer, the mother’s treatment can be postponed until viability, or regimens can be selectedthat will be better tolerated by the unborn baby. In modern neonatal intensive care units 90% of babies at 28 weeks survive, as do a significant percentage of those at earlier gestations.

Another part of the same article gives clarity to the reason some doctors, such as the anonymous physician, choose not to try to save the baby.  Law suits.  Stated plainly, there is less risk of a doctor being sued after performing an abortion, than there is in attempting to save the baby (and the mother).

If there was any advice to give after reading these articles, it would be this.  If someone you love has a similar event during her pregnancy, call a maternal fetal specialist, not an abortionist. 

Abortion Advocates Still Hiding Behind 'Privacy' Laws

A Pro-Life WIN in the UK!  From BBC News:

The Department of Health has lost a court battle to keep secret some details on abortion statistics.

Be sure to watch the video embedded in the BBC article.  Josephine Quintavalle of ProLife Alliance says people want to know why.  The public, in the UK and the US, have a right to know why abortions are being performed.

The privacy argument is nothing new, it's what Roe v Wade in the United States was based on.

In an article in the Guardian, the author, Kate Smurthwaite,  argues that a woman's privacy will be put at risk by allowing late term abortion stats to be publicly released. 

In 2009, there were 136 abortions in the UK among women who had passed 24 weeks of pregnancy. Numbers are fairly consistent – around the 130 mark each year. The range of conditions involved is very wide, predominantly involving a variety of brain and cardiac abnormalities; most common foetal abnormalities, such as Down's syndrome, are typically revealed earlier in pregnancy at the 12 or 20-week scan. As such, many conditions will be listed with only one or two cases a year, effectively providing one individual woman's medical record.

Kate admits that the majority of fetuses with Down Syndrome, are diagnosed before they would be considered 'late term'.  The fact is, 90% of Down Syndrome babies are aborted, most prior to late term status.  This is only a portion of what abortion advocates want to hide.  There are other cases of non-fatal fetal abnormalities such as cleft lip and palate.  In the UK, these are often recorded as 'social abortions', never revealing the true nature of the anomaly.

In the case of Down Syndrome related abortion in the UK, Mail Online reports:

The National Down's Syndrome Cytogenetic Register said that over the last four years fewer than half of abortions of Down's babies were recorded properly.

It is so important to track trends in Down Syndrome diagnoses, as well as other physical anomalies.  Abortion advocates are skewing the numbers, by hiding the data.  This needs to stop.  No one wants to know the name and address of the women that aborted, or the abortionist that performed the act.  But we deserve accurate data relating to abortions.