Sunday, August 28, 2011

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. 

18 comments:

  1. I found this particular 'reality' out of context as relating to what was written along with with.

    I'm not surprised you found it bewildering, because you had just got done claiming that women are poor little dears who are mentally crushed by the enormity of what they've just done when they seek out an abortion, and this fact blows that your claims out of the water.

    These pro-life organizations creating 'counseling' centers is no more evidence of a need for counseling than a marketing campaign inventing the condition "chronic persistent halitosis" out of thin air demonstrates the widespread need for a mouthwash. If there were such a condition, it would be dealt with by actual professionals, and not left to insincere and conniving anti-abortion ideologues who cannot be trusted with issues of medical privacy.

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  2. "because you had just got done claiming that women are poor little dears who are mentally crushed" I did not say that, but the fact is, some women are. For you to deny that fact is ridiculous.

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  3. Indeed, I absolutely must believe whatever any anti-choice ideologue tells me, especially if it's unsupported by evidence, because God knows I wouldn't want to look ridiculous in that ideologue's eyes.

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  4. "Pro-aborts don't talk about the women who died due to having an abortion."

    Is there a website that lists the names of all the women (let's say since 1973) who've died in childbirth? Childbirth is dangerous and should be left up to the woman whether she wants to undergo that risk. Not you.

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  5. There are sites that list the numbers of women who regret their abortions. Large numbers. Numbers that belie abortion proponents' claim that women don't regret their abortions.

    Nullifidian - define 'professionals'. What is the defining characteristic of a 'professional'? Are 'professionals' the only individuals qualified to provide counseling? Who confers the status of 'professional'? Are you a 'professional'? Do 'professionals' relinquish that status when they provide services without remuneration? Does the title 'professional' indicate a certain level of expertise?

    glad the ship is sinking.

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  6. Childbirth is dangerous, Jackie? How melodramatic! Childbirth is a completely natural and normal part of a woman's life. Our incredible bodies were designed to accomplish this magnificent task. Stop making it sound like a doomed crapshoot where odds are you'll die. Geez, pro-aborts make women sound wimpy, frail, and incapable of handling a little pain. And before you get too upity, I've given birth three times, all natural. Women are warriors.

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  7. Jackie - the current maternal mortality rate in the US is 13.3 per 100,000 women. Hardly the danger you purport it to be. Abortion, on the other hand, kills 1.3 million unborn children annually in the US. Put another way, there are almost 2000 fetuses killed for every 100,000 women who are pregnant. It's clear that being a fetus in the US is a lot more dangerous than being a pregnant woman.

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  8. #6 is a bold faced lie.

    Women who abort have a suicide rate 4-6 times higher than women who give birth and 2-3 times higher than women who have never been pregnant. Marcotte is a liar.

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  9. read it - It only stands to reason that women who give birth, have someone, their child, to live for. After reading your comment, I did a little research on 'abortion suicide' statistics. There is not a lot out there. What I did find though, is that women who attemped suicide after abortion, had underlying mental health issues already. I did not find that surprising.

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  10. There was a study in Finland that linked abortion with a much higher rate of suicide among women. I found it after the bogus study was released that only used a sample size of less than one-hundred to say that abortion had no psychological impact on women. I believe it was in the British Journal of Medicine.

    When a woman reports she is "relieved" after her abortion, does this necessarily mean it lessens the psychological impact? Relieved is a rather subjective term. I can see Guttmacher twisting it to fit their specific agenda, can't you?

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  11. An abstract report on Suicides after pregnancy in Finland, 1987–94 http://www.bmj.com/content/313/7070/1431.full

    Anonymous - She may feel immediate relief, meaning her parents won't find out, or she doesn't have to miss classes, but in the long term, she will at some point miss the child she never knew.

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  12. I'm of the belief that ultimately, every woman will express the profound regret she has suffered from having consented to, and conspiring in the death of her child.

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  13. I disagree that women who tried to commit suicide after their abortions had mental issues before it.

    It is just another way proaborts try to deny the very real grief, pain and regret that women feel after they abort.

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  14. Carla - I did read that on the web, but I don't remember where, I should have linked it.

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  15. Carla - If you know of any data out there regarding this issue, I would like to read it.

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  16. Even if women did have mental issues before they killed their child, who's to say the abortion was not what drove them over the edge. It's a poor defense.

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  17. A prostitute is a 'professional'.

    Some prostitutes are even 'experts'.


    A simple question for feministas that any fifth grader could answer correctly, but is above mr. bo-jangles/b o's paygrade:

    When your momma was pregnant with you, what species of embryo/fetus was present in her uterus?

    If feministas are truly interested in equality and really want to be taken seriously, then stop demanding that someone else pay for your meds and your elective surgery.

    Keep your uterus out of my wallet.

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  18. "When your momma was pregnant with you, what species of embryo/fetus was present in her uterus?"

    Excellent question, thanks for posting it.

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