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A Teen’s View on How Abortion Affects Women

Suicidal thoughts, future infertility, life-threatening conditions, and substance abuse.

Maria D. 

20 February 2021

While the Pro-Life Movement has drawn attention to abortion being murder, abortion’s effect on women has not been stressed enough. Post-abortive (PA) mothers suffer from depression, suicide, future infertility, addiction, and cancer. 

Suicide

An Italian study revealed that the rate of maternal deaths after abortion is more than twice the rate as those giving birth. 

A similar Finnish study reported similar results. 

A U.S. study of about 170,000 low income California women showed they had a 154% higher suicide risk than if they had given birth. They had twice the risk of dying in the next two years.  

A British study says post-abortive women are 35% more likely to display suicidal behaviors and 21% more likely to commit suicide than non-abortive women. Other studies have decided PA women are 2.6 times more likely to commit suicide. 

Post Abortive Syndrome

After giving birth or adopting, mothers have a 10-20% chance of developing postpartum depression. At least 19% of post-abortive women suffer from PAS, or Post Abortion Syndrome. Half of post-abortive women have some, but not all symptoms, which include easy irritation, rage outbursts, trouble sleeping, flashbacks to the abortion, anxiety attacks, and severe grief on the anniversasry of the abortion or child’s due date. They also may experience nightmares and abuse drugs and alcohol.

Danger, Complications, and Future Pregnancies 

Abortion is the 5th leading cause of maternal death in the United States, following infection, hemorrhage, pulmonary ebolism, and anesthetic issues. Abortion can lead to ectopic pregnancies. 

An ectopic pregnancy occurs when the fertilized egg grows outside of the uterus. This is life-threatening for the mother; if it gets too big it will infringe on other organs. Sadly, the baby cannot be saved. An ectopic pregnancy can cause reduced fertility. The odds of having one of these are increased by medicated abortions more than surgical.

Twenty percent of women experience physical complications after an abortion. Some complications: infection, bleeding, embolism (the blocking of an artery), uterine perforation, cervical damage, and shock. Minor complications include nausea, diarrhea, and bleeding. Studies have proven that these risks are higher with medication. 

One fifth of patients who receive medical abortions needed another surgery, as their first was not sufficient. 

Having an abortion can lead to fertility problems and miscarriages. Women who got abortions as teens have a 3.3 times greater chance of having a stillborn first child. Their chances of having a premature child are double, and their child will have a 2.7 times greater chance of having a very low birth weight. A  miscarriage is 60% more likely to occur. Abortion may cause future labor complications the woman would not have had. 

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, or PID, can lead to ectopic pregnancies. PID can occur when a woman gets an abortion while infected with chlamydia (¼ chances). Five percent of women who get an abortion without being infected will also get PID. It is also life-threatening and reduces fertility. 

Abortion can cause endometritis, which causes fevers, pain in the low abdomen, and abnormal bleeding. Endometritis is the number one cause of infection after giving birth.

Two percent of women will have immediate life-threatening complications after an abortion, according to Heartbeat International. Nine instant, major complications are infection, severe blood loss, embolism, damage to the uterus, anesthesia complications, convulsions, hemorrhaging, cervical injury, and endotoxic shock (caused by a drop in blood pressure). Injury to surrounding organs caused by a mistake by the doctor is also a risk.  

All these risks are magnified with multiple abortions. This is important because nearly half (45%) of abortions are repeat ones, meaning the woman has already aborted one child prior. 

Asherman’s Syndrome

After a D and C, or dilation and curettage, a surgical abortion (D&Cs are not always abortions, but in this article the only dilation and cutterages written of will be in reference to the surgical abortion), women may hemorrhage, get infections, or get uterine damage. D and Cs are the cause of 90% of Asherman’s Syndrome cases, says Cleveland Clinic. Common symptoms of Asherman’s Syndrome are interruptions to or an abnormal menstrual cycle, severe cramping and pain, and an inability to get or stay pregnant.

The Mental Impact

After the loss of a pregnancy, the American Pregnancy Association states that the following are all normal feelings: guilt, anger, shame, remorse, regret, loss of self esteem and confidence, feeling isolated and lonely, sleeping problems, trouble in relationships, and suicidal thoughts. 

The British Journal of Psychiatry showed that post-abortive women had an 81% increase in mental health issues. In this study, 163,831 of 877,181 women had an abortion. According to the study, post-abortive women are 27% more likely to use marijuana, 21% more likely to show suicidal behaviors, and 35% more likely to commit suicide. 

Post-abortive women exhibit twice the alcoholism, and an increased risk of drinking during the following pregnancies. They are more likely to abuse their future children and get divorced. One study found that drug use is 6.1 times higher in them, and they are 4.5 times more likely to use drugs during their next pregnancy. 

Ten to thirty percent will have serious psychological problems. The odds of anxiety issues are 34% higher, and depression is 37% higher. If you have had multiple abortions, the chance of perinatal mortality, or a late miscarriage, are raised by 80%. 

Sleep disorders within the first six months after pregnancy are doubled with abortion, compared to a woman who gave birth. The abortive one will have a higher chance for four years, but less than double. 

Another study says suicidal thoughts are raised by sixty percent after an abortion.   

Cancer

A 2009 study by the American Association for Cancer Research showed women with abortions had a 40% higher risk of contracting breast cancer. They also have raised chances of cervical, ovarian, and liver cancer. 

“Abortion is Safer than Giving Birth?” 

A 2012 study by Dr. David Grimes supported the pro-choice, “Abortion is safer than birth,” claim. However, this study cannot be seen as perfect and flawless because the man in charge is partial. He is a retired abortionist and abortion activist, and was affiliated with Planned Parenthood. 

The information he relied on was supplied by Planned Parenthood’s Guttmacher Institute. 

The Study: Death risk with birth and with abortion. 

  1. He used a close to perfect number to represent the deaths in a full-term pregnancy.
  2. He used an inaccurate number of deaths with abortion, as it is not madatory to report those, so he could not have had a near-accurate number. 
  3. His study was interpretation of estimates.
  4. Denmark and Finland studies show opposite results.

“Compared to women who delivered, women who had an early or late abortion had significantly higher mortality rates within 1 through 10 years,” NCBI says on the Denmark study. 

In conclusion, abortion harms women in addition to the unborn. Suicide, depression, cancer, and bleeding are not empowering.

Citations:

Howard, Hannah. “New Study: Elevated Suicide Rates Among Mothers after Abortion.” Charlotte Lozier Institute, 10 Sept. 2019, lozierinstitute.org/new-study-elevated-suicide-rates-among-mothers-after-abortion/. 

“Facts About Postpartum Depression.” Illinois Department of Public Health, http://www.idph.state.il.us/about/womenshealth/factsheets/pdpress.htm. 

Coleman, Priscilla K. “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009.” Cambridge Core, 2 Jan. 2018, http://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/abortion-and-mental-health-quantitative-synthesis-and-analysis-of-research-published-19952009/E8D556AAE1C1D2F0F8B060B28BEE6C3D. 

Medical News Today , 9 Aug. 2018, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/313098#abortion_and_depression. 

“How to Cope with Depression after Abortion.” Medical News Today , 9 Aug. 2018, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/313098#abortion_and_depression. 

Danielsson, Krissi. “Abortion and the Increased Risk of a Future Miscarriage.” Very Well Family, 14 Apr. 2020, http://www.verywellfamily.com/abortion-future-miscarriage-risk-2371749#:~:text=Abortion%20and%20Future%20Miscarriage,subsequent%20fertility%20issues%2C%20including%20miscarriage. 

“Asherman’s Syndrome.” Cleveland Clinic, 29 June 2019, my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16561-ashermans-syndrome. 

“Can Abortion Cause Infertility?” Healtline, 16 Jan. 2020, http://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/can-abortion-cause-infertility#types. 

“Abortion Harms Women.” Nebraska Family Alliance, Jan. 2014, nebraskafamilyalliance.org/policy/life/abortion-harms-women/. 

“Ectopic Pregnancy .” NHS, 27 Nov. 2018, http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ectopic-pregnancy/. 

Reardon, David C., and Priscilla K. Coleman. “Short and Long Term Mortality Rates Associated with First Pregnancy Outcome: Population Register Based Study for Denmark 1980–2004.” NCBI, 1 Sept. 2012, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3560645/. 

“Abortion Hurts Women Physically.” Heartbeat International , http://www.heartbeatinternational.org/pdf/physical_risks_factsheet.pdf. 

Ronan, Alex. “First Legal Abortionists Tell Their Stories.” The Cut, 13 Oct. 2015, http://www.thecut.com/2015/10/first-legal-abortionists-tell-their-stories.html. 

“Endometritis.” Diagnostic Gynecologic and Obstetric Pathology, by Christopher P Crum et al., 2006, p. 1216. 

“Septic Shock.” NHS Inform, 10 Feb. 2020, http://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/blood-and-lymph/septic-shock#:~:text=Septic%20shock%20is%20a%20life,to%20a%20reaction%20called%20sepsis. 

Images from:

Depression and Addiction

https://www.protective.com/learn/life-planning/divorce

https://imgflip.com/memetemplate/229042831/Kermit-the-frog-rain-window

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Meet Our Ambassadors! Part 1

Taya and Makayla

1 August 2021

Maria Demel

Hi, I’m Taya and I’m a GreatLife Ambassador!
I’m 17, I come from a family of 5, where I’m the youngest, with two older brothers. My family supports me in all that I do, especially the activities in the pro-life movement. I’d say that I’ve always been pro-life, but slowly over time as I understood more about the movement, I became very passionate about being pro-life. About a year ago I watched the movie Unplanned, after which I realized that I couldn’t just believe in the pro-life stance, I had to be active in the movement to help make a difference. Then I got involved by starting a teen pro-life group at my church, and getting more involved recently by becoming a GreatLife Ambassador!
Outside of being involved in the pro-life movement, I enjoy photography, playing soccer, and helping with the youth programs at my church.

Hi! I’m Makayla. I’m a 15 yearr old Christian going into the 10th grade. I’ve been prolife for about three years, not only because I’m adopted or a Christian but because I recognize that it is morally wrong to intentionally kill a preborn life. Out of all the other prolife organizations, I chose to apply at GreatLife because they’ve showed their dedication to building a culture of life back to America. They’ve shown to be incredibly hands on in their communities in order to make a difference. And I love that. I truly believe abortion can be abolished in our lifetime.

If you want to become an ambassador alongside these awesome women, follow @greatlife_teens on Instagram, as that is where it will be announced if we are ever looking for new ambassadors!

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The Gift of Adoption

“I can fulfill any desire because my mom chose life.”

24 July 2021

Nikki Tankus

2003

In 2002, I could have been found dismembered, thrown away—unknown and forgotten. I could have been passed off as a heavy period or a miscarriage. But neither of those things happened. Instead, I am blessed and loved by my friends and adopted family. I can fulfill any desire because my mother chose life.

I was adopted from ZhuZhou in the province of Hunan, China. I personally do not recall anything from my orphanage or the period where I was first bonding with my adopted family. I was about 18 months old at the time. My story is pretty much a mystery as I was left with nothing from my biological mom/family. There was no little note saying goodbye, no baby toy that I might have played with, no one to see who left me behind. I believe I was left at a police station or at some corner where the police found and rescued me.

God blessed me in more ways than one. Not only did He save me from an abortion—as many others would undergo due to China’s one-child/two-child policies—but He also provided me with a wonderful orphanage to provide for my needs. There are so many memoirs and books about how adopted children grow up with attachment struggles due to the harshness or unloving environments which is how my sister grew up. Rather, I had a place that loved and wanted to take care of me. I remember my adopted mom feeling jealous that my caretaker had such a special bond with me.

I was proud (and still am) of being adopted. It made me feel special—I had an aura of mystery around me. I never really thought too much about my biological family. I was never upset that I was adopted as I had read about some children who were. It was simply a part of me. But recently, I have begun to reflect on my adoption more. Sometimes, when I tell people, they feel sorry for me telling me how they find it awful that moms could just abandon their kids. That made me really stop and think. Sure, I sometimes felt sad as I theorized why my mom could have left me. Maybe she had me out of wedlock and simply did not want me. Maybe she wanted me, but the government or family did not. Maybe she lost me by accident. But I rarely dwelt on those thoughts.

Adoption should not be considered or equivalent to abandonment. Instead, adoption should be considered a gift-giving or a blessing from God. All mothers care for their children in some way or another. Even if they did not, adoption simply shows that God rescued that child and mother from the pains of abortion. I never thought of my adoption having a purpose. Now, however, I have been growing in the Pro-Life movement. I realized that my story could help persuade women to choose life and offer their children up for adoption. I know that I and others (who have been adopted) are a beacon to those considering putting their child up for adoption as well as others who are considering adoption. We are a beacon to those who were left in foster care or orphanages. I believe that is my purpose.

2021

Thumbnail from https://www.instagram.com/p/CRAXWUALXJd/?utm_medium=copy_link

***original article from nosuchthingasunplanned.org used for GreatLife with permission of author

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What is the Day of Tears?

And why should we lower our flags January 22nd?


10 July 2021

Maria D. 

Day of Tears Incorporated is a pro-life organization with two goals that, if accomplished, will alter how our country views abortion. 

The first of these goals is to make January 22nd, the anniversary of Roe Versus Wade, a day of remembrance titled the Day of Tears. This is in memory of the millions of children whose lives were taken by “doctors” in a “women’s health clinic,” or the ones who were killed through an at-home pill. Day of Tears wishes to make a national day of mourning, similar to how the country has Memorial Day. 

The second goal is to have everyone lower their flags to half-staff on January 22. This is so important because it would honor the lives lost to abortion, similar to how we honor lives lost to shootings or the recent coronavirus. Secondly, a visibly lowered flag will spark conversation. 

Conversation is essential to keep the pro-life movement moving forward. There are videos done by Live Action (https://www.instagram.com/tv/CRHFTkzr2KE/?utm_medium=copy_link) and Charlie Kirk (https://youtu.be/tEDgpJ8GExM) that show how just talking to someone or showing them what an abortion is can change minds. If someone sees a flag lowered, they will wonder why. Be someone who spreads awareness of this day and encourages people to lower their flags. 

Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Louisiana have passed the Day of Tears Resolution. If you want to help the pro-life movement in a simple way, write to your state’s congressmen/congresswomen and senators, asking them to work towards a national day of remembrance. 

Day of Tears website: 

https://dayoftears.com

Sources:

https://dayoftears.com

Day of Tears Resolution passed in Louisiana

Images from:

https://prolifelouisiana.org/memorial-for-the-unborn/ (image brightness and saturation edited for better visibility) 

https://m.facebook.com/pages/category/Nonprofit-Organization/dayoftears/posts/

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Pro-Life Bible Verses

You can’t be Christian and pro-choice. Here are some Bible verses to support that.

3 July 2021

Makayla Obasun

•Genesis 1:27

So God created mankind in his own image,

    in the image of God  he created them;

    male and female he created them.

•Job 31:15

Did not he who made me in the womb make them?

    Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?

•Psalm 127:3-5

Children are a heritage from the Lord,

    offspring a reward from him.

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior

    are children born in one’s youth.

Blessed is the man

    whose quiver is full of them.

They will not be put to shame

    when they contend with their opponents in court. 

•Psalm 139:13-16

For you created my inmost being;

    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful,

    I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

    when I was made in the secret place,

    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

    all the days ordained for me were written in your book

    before one of them came to be.

•Jeremiah 1:5

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

    before you were born I set you apart;

    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.

•Exodus 20:13

You shall not murder.

All from the New International Version of the Bible. 

Images via:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/wiirocku.tumblr.com/post/185650136050/genesis-127-nkjv-so-god-created-man-in-his/amp

https://www.google.com/amp/s/slideplayer.com/amp/6975650/

https://www.redbubble.com/i/greeting-card/Psalm-127-3-5-Scripture-Wall-Art-Printable-Bible-Bible-Psalm-Children-Are-a-Heritage-from-The-Lord-Bible-Verse-Scripture-Christian-Home-Decor-by-Dzhenka-Balimez/45913538.5MT14

https://www.redbubble.com/i/photographic-print/Psalm-139-13-16-For-You-Created-My-Inmost-Being-Bible-Verse-Wall-Art-Scripture-Art-Inspirational-Quote-Christian-Home-Decor-Watercolor-Greenery-by-Dzhenka-Balimez/45956417.6Q0TX

   

   

    

   

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Where is the Father?

Pro-choice feminism is inhibiting male responsibility.

27 June 2021

Annick Tankus

The Pro-Choice narrative “My body, my choice” shines the spotlight purely on the woman: the mother. This spotlight matches the new-wave feminism that many who are Pro-Choice appear to embrace. The woman is in control. She has the say. She has the right. Let no man tell her what to do. Yet, at the same time, these Pro-Choice feminists demand men to “do more than the minimum” and “take responsibility for their actions.” This double-sided narrative has done nothing more than allow for men to continue in their wayward acts or prohibit men from wanting to fulfill their responsibilities.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the father figure has changed over the course of time from sole breadwinner of the traditional family to stay-at-home dad and more. And let us be real, the man as a symbol has not always been the most righteous, godly, upstanding image—regarding the treatment of women. We have seen the abusiveness, immorality, and irresponsibility of many fathers that have pervaded society. Nevertheless, the man as a father plays a vital role in the upbringing of children, especially their sons. They serve in the roles of provider, supporter, comforter, role model, etc. A poor father figure often leaves many children to feel lost and neglected which negatively shapes their view on fatherhood affecting future generations. But instead of wanting to break this vicious cycle, the new-wave feminism and Pro-Choice agendas strengthen and continue it.

Johnathon Abbamonte, from Pop.org, cites that “73.8% of women with a history of abortion…experienced at least subtle forms of pressure to terminate their pregnancy.” The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) further states that “partner related reasons” makes up 31% of why women choose to abort (Understanding Why). If she does not abort, she will most likely account for raising one of the 18.3 million (1 out of 4) children who will be raised without a father (US Census Bureau according to Fatherhood.org). The US Census Bureau continues in their “Survey of Income and Program Participation” to state that out of all the fathers, 7 million (20.2%) will be absent (Two Extremes of Fatherhood).

NCBI, in the same article, also states that 41% of abortions occur due to financial reasons. It can be clearly seen that mother cannot solely rely on herself to provide for her child and herself. Whether society wants to call it stereotypical/sexist or not, the mother looks towards the father to offer aid. While this dependence was meant and is beautiful, sin has allowed for man to look at the woman as vulnerable and weak, easy to coerce. This is obviously not all men, but it does explain the mindset of partners or one-night stands who pressure for abortions. They recognize that the woman relies on them whether because of “love” or for support.  

Thus, abortions only allow for these types of men to be able to remove responsibility from themselves and place the “problem” on the mother only. Is this really what a woman wants? Is this truly freedom? Or is this—in modern society ideology—another misogynistic, sexist ploy to oppress the female? Besides the other moral issues surrounding abortion, removing and degrading the role/responsibility of the father and fatherhood has done nothing more than to hurt women, children (boys/men regarding this topic), and society.

Society and feminism complain of the lack of men taking responsibility and action yet mocks and scorns the idea of masculinity. Starting at a young age, males are brought up hearing that they are sexist and misogynistic and unfair to women. Then they hear that they are not doing the “bare minimum” even though a few seconds before they were accused of not allowing a woman to do what a man can do. With abortion, “My body, my choice” (or any abortion argument) sends a message to men that their actions have no consequence. They are free to go around and have no care in the world for what they have done.  

But this is clearly immoral and unfair. He does share a role in a woman’s pregnancy. To tell men that they have no voice because they do not have a uterus is simply ignoring the father’s role in creating the child. Yes, women definitely feel the pain and everything that entails pregnancy, but let us remember that without the man, she would never have such a situation. Society needs to stop with its double negative. If it wants to criticize the male population, call them to take responsibility and stop prohibiting men from doing so.

So now what? How can society rectify this? Break the cycle. Break the cycle of boyfriends forcing their girlfriends to have an abortion so they can escape the responsibility of raising their child. Break the cycle of fathers abandoning their families so that their boys will not grow up thinking it is ok to do the same thing. Break the cycle of society destroying the beauty and goodness of the family nucleus and the moral upbringing of children.

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/11/the-two-extremes-of-fatherhood.html

https://www.fatherhood.org/father-absence-statistic

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3729671/

https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/138/1/e2

Image from: https://www.viacharacter.org/topics/articles/my-father-as-a-kaleidoscope-of-character-strengths

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Making Abortion Illegal will Protect Women

Fear that banning abortion will force mothers to undergo unsafe abortions and will increase those death rates is unfounded.

20 June 2021

Annick Tankus                                                     

Recently the news is all about Texas banning abortions as early as six weeks and the Mississippi case that might overturn Roe vs. Wade. These are eventful landmarks in the history of Pro-Life and Abortion in the US. Many of the Pro-Abortion & Choice community are up in arms because they believe these policies will do nothing but make abortions unsafe and hurt more women. 

The Texas Heartbeat Act is not new as other states like Georgia have introduced and implemented other similar bills. However, the outcry against such legislation has been increasingly growing during this month. Angry Instagram stories of individuals and groups protesting such a bill saying that their “reproductive rights” are being violated as women do not even know they’re pregnant before 6 weeks. They claim that their basic healthcare is being taken away. 

What many do not realize is that abortions have never been safe. Whether these abortions were back alley or in a surgical room of Planned Parenthood, mothers face the possibility of death, lifelong health problems, and mental and spiritual effects. There are many who will deny these things and will proudly exclaim that they felt nothing, have no regret, and are perfectly healthy after receiving an abortion procedure, but that is not the case for many other women. To use the words of Sackin “even one woman’s death from abortion before it was legal is one too many” (Sackin quoted by Washington Post), and I would add that even when abortion is legal, one woman’s death is one too many.

Many Pro-Abortionists, especially those part of Planned Parenthood and NARAL, have frequently admitted that they had exaggerated their figures regarding the number of women dying from unsafe abortions. Dr. Bernard Nathanson is repeatedly used to exemplify this point. He states that:

How many deaths were we talking about when abortion was illegal? In NARAL [the National Abortion Rights Action League], we generally emphasized the frame of the individual case, not the mass statistics, but when we spoke of the latter it was always ‘5,000 to 10,000 deaths a year.’ I confess that I knew the figures were totally false, and I suppose the others did too if they stopped to think of it. But in the ‘morality’ of our revolution, it was a useful figure, widely accepted, so why go out of our way to correct it with honest statistics? The overriding concern was to get the laws eliminated, and anything within reason that had to be done was permissible. (Nathanson quoted by EWTN)

EWTN continues by reporting that Marian Faux makes a similar claim—”An image of tens of thousands of women being maimed or killed each year by illegal abortion was so persuasive a piece of propaganda that the [pro-abortion] movement could be forgiven its failure to double-check the facts.” And finally, the same Washington Post article admits that Sackin’s calculations of “as many as 5,000 annual deaths” did not have any citations to accurately prove that they were correct (Kessler).

Why are these abortion industries lying about their figures? Why not be truthful? The fact is that these people want women to believe that without them, they [the women] would die or be hurt. In their minds, women need abortion industries so that they don’t end up like the 1800s dropping dead from pregnancies. Whether these pregnancies of the past ended in natural childbirth deaths, nasty miscarriages, or harrowing back-alley abortions, women no longer have to fear these things because legalized abortions are so much safer. 

I must admit when I considered the whole legalize or not issue, I thought legalized abortions would keep women safer. After a careful examination, I realized I too had fallen into the same promise/lie that the abortion industries wanted women to believe. 

1). Illegalizing abortions would actually protect women should they find that Planned Parenthood or any other organization has wronged them. They can sue them for losses. Due to legalized abortions, it is much harder to confront these groups as they do have the backing of the law. Many Pro-abortion doctors and medical professionals would simply shrug off a woman’s complaint saying along the lines of “it’s done and over” or “you chose to go through with it” or “it’s not our problem anymore.” However, with laws partially illegalizing abortions like the Texas Heartbeat Bill or, in the future, those that fully illegalize abortions, mothers or family members can properly sue such agencies and actually stand a chance in court. 

2). Legalized abortions are not 100% safe as these organizations claim them to be. Many women suffer from long term affects due to surgeries or the pill. These include feeling nauseous, cramping, abdominal pain or even bleeding, damage to organs, and complications with future births (Foundations of Life). Mayo Clinic even admits that the woman may have vaginal bleeding or the risk of having to have more than one abortion should the first attempt fail. 

3).  Mary Steichen Calderone quoted by the Washington Post confirms that unsafe abortions are becoming safer due to many women who go to trained physicians “undercover.” The article also mentions that sulfa drugs and penicillin help keep abortions safer. Most of these drugs are already over the counter and are not deemed illegal. 

In summary, abortion can be illegalized without severe repercussions for the woman. The fear that illegalizing abortions will force the mothers to undergo unsafe abortions and will increase those death rates is unfounded. Because of the rise of modern medicine that can be purchased over counter, performing an illegal abortion or, at least, one not sanctioned by tax dollars would still be possible and have the same amount of safety as legalized abortions. Abortion should be illegal. Even though abortions would still occur illegally, as both sides know, it would still prevent the murder of millions. Do not be tricked by pro-choicers saying everyone who wanted an abortion would go through with it and do so in a way that would cost the mother’s life as well.

Sources:

Click to access HB01515I.PDF

https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/big-lie-thousand-of-illegal-abortion-deaths-9596

Risks About Abortion

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/medical-abortion/about/pac-20394687

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/05/29/planned-parenthoods-false-stat-thousands-women-died-every-year-before-roe/

Image from:

https://thetexan.news/governor-abbott-signs-texas-heartbeat-act-banning-abortions-after-detectable-pulse/

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Debunking Paxton Smith’s Valedictorian Speech

A response and examination of a spontaneous pro-choice speech.

12 June 2021

Maria D.

Debunking Paxton Smith’s Valedictorian Speech

Paxton Smith, a teenager and valedictorian, just graduated from Lake Highlands High in Dallas Texas. She finished at the top of her class. At graduation she was to speak about media, however, she decided to speak about something she deems an injustice. She finds Texas’ new laws in regards to abortion wrong. In summary, these rules make it difficult to murder your child. Once the heartbeat can be detected, the abortion is illegal (a great win for the pro-life movement and for the unborn). 

She and her speech have received great congratulations, with most of the comments on her Instagram posts calling her a queen and saying she is an inspiration. I do agree that she is an inspiration in one way: she spoke out against what she believes is wrong. It takes a lot of courage to do, and I respect her for it. However, I disagree with her speech and view on abortion. 

Let’s take a look at her speech:

“Starting in September, there will be a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, regardless of whether the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest.”

If a child is conceived through these morally wrong ways, it does not change the value of its life. A human with a criminal father is just as good as a human with a non criminal father. Adding to this, as we pro-lifers know, abortion is not good for women. It causes a lot of trouble for them- emotionally and physically. The trauma of rape combined with the trauma of being responsible for your child’s death would be a huge stress on the mother. 

 “Six weeks. That’s all women get. And so before they realize, most of them don’t realize that they’re pregnant by six weeks, so before they have a chance to decide if they are emotionally, physically, and financially stable enough to carry out a full term pregnancy, before they have the chance to decide if they can take on the responsibility of bringing another human being into the world, that decision is made for them by a stranger. A decision that will affect the rest of their lives is made by a stranger.”

First of all, she brings up being financially unstable to carry a baby. There are so many organizations that would help with this. Knights of Columbus, for example, raises money to fund sonograms for women. There are also a lot of groups that will advertise “help mom ‘k’ choose life” and collect money to help pay the mother’s bills. There are pregnancy resource centers that will also happily help. If you plan to put the child up for adoption, you can make arrangements with whoever wants to adopt it and have them pay for your medical bills. 

Second, how emotionally or physically ready you are is probably not something you’ll know during your pregnancy. It’s expected that you have a lot of emotional ups and downs. Your emotional stability, however, does not change the fact that there is a living human inside of you. Once you are pregnant, to put it frankly like Ben Shapiro, “Facts don’t care about your feelings.” The fact is that you are with child. You may feel stressed out, and rightfully so, but that does not justify killing a human. 

Third, she says “that decision is made for them by a stranger.” Did you know strangers also decided to make murdering a born person a crime? I don’t know who it was exactly that made the rule saying I can’t kill someone purposely on my way home from school and go unpunished, but I’m not upset about that. Sometimes strangers use logic and make good laws with it. 

“I have dreams and hopes and ambitions. Every girl graduating today does, and we have spent our entire lives working towards our future, and without our input and without our consent our control over that future has been stripped away from us. I am terrified that if my contraceptives fail, I am terrified that if I am raped, then my hopes and aspirations and dreams and efforts for my future will no longer matter.” 

A child does not ruin your dreams, hopes, or ambitions. It may alter them a little, but it won’t make all of your hard work worthless. Even if your goal in life is to be a single, successful businesswoman, you can still be that. You can keep your child and achieve all of your goals, or you can put it up for adoption and make a family very happy. 

Your control over the future should not require ending someone’s life. Imagine if you killed the person that gets on your nerves, just to make your life easier. That wouldn’t be right, morally or lawfully. 

It is so anti-woman to believe a child ruins ambitions. Women are amazing, right? Everyone should agree with this. So, because a woman has children, she can’t be successful? That doesn’t make sense. Aren’t working moms one of feminism’s highly honored positions?

Paxton (far right) is pictured with two of her band mates

“I hope you can feel how dehumanizing it is to have the autonomy over your own body taken away from you.”

I hope one day Paxton’s eyes are opened to how dehumanizing abortion is. After all, abortion (along with other massive injustices in history) dehumanizes living people. A fetus is a developing human like you and I, just much smaller, yet pro-choicers love to call them “clumps of cells.” 

Your control over your body should be just that- not control over the life inside of it. The other body is the one without control. While it is so small, it can be murdered. That isn’t letting it govern its own body, which is the whole concept of autonomy. 

Let’s talk about bodily autonomy. There are rights you should have in regards to your body. Some of these include getting piercings, tattoos, and deciding what you eat. It is all about having control over yourself. What pro-choicers miss is that there is another person in the picture. The law generally agrees that your rights end where another person’s rights begin. 

If it was her body, it would be her being aborted. She would have 20 digits (not 20 fingers as someone recently pointed out to me, saying thumbs are digits but not fingers), 20 toes, four arms, two brains, two hearts, and so on. Half of the time, she would have to be two separate genders at the same time. She would also have two different sets of DNA. There is so much proof the fetus/embryo is not its mother’s body. 

Lastly, abortion betrays women and women deserve better. 

Source of speech transcript: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/valedictorian-paxton-smith-abortion-rights-speech-transcript/amp

Image sources: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bly_dTUFb8P/?utm_medium=copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/COYYe-6LCUr/?utm_medium=copy_link

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“Personally Pro-Life”

You may have heard the phrase, “I’m personally pro-life, but I don’t want to make that decision for somebody else.” Let’s talk about that stance.

5 June 2021

Grace Hartsock

As we all know, abortion is one of the most controversial human rights issues of our time. We meet many people who are strictly pro-life or pro-choice.  But what about the people on the fence? Have you ever talked to someone who is ‘personally pro-life’? You may have heard the phrase, “I’m personally pro-life, but I don’t want to make that decision for somebody else”.  

According to a 2015 poll, 39% of the American public don’t pick a side when it comes to abortion.  This position is extremely dangerous.  Either the pre-born are human people deserving of life, or they’re just a blob of tissue that can be simply removed at the mother’s whim.  Science shows that human life begins at conception, and there is no other scientific data that supports the idea that life begins at any other time.  In fact, 96% of liberal, pro-choice, and non-religious scientists agree that human life begins at conception.  

Even if you are ‘personally against abortion’, to be pro-choice about abortion is to be pro abortion. The only good reason for being ‘personally’ against abortion is that you know that the preborn is a human person, which gives you a moral obligation to preserve his life.  This is the only good reason for being against abortion, and it demands that we stand against those who choose to have an abortion for themselves.

There is no ‘even ground’ for this debate.  How can we say that someone is free to believe abortion is murder, but should not act as if that is true and stand up to save lives?  It’s simple – you are either pro-abortion or anti-abortion.  Speak for yourself, but I am against killing innocent people, no matter their age. 

A post by Live Action speaks on the personally prolife stance perfectly: 

In summary, it is impossible to be ‘personally pro-life’ and not take a stand against abortion.  

Citations:

I Asked Thousands of Biologists When Life Begins. The Answer Wasn’t Popular

https://www.vox.com/2018/2/2/16965240/abortion-decision-statistics-opinions

Image Sources:

Pro-Life and Pro-Choice: What Does It Mean?
Are You Pro-Life or Anti-Abortion?
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Pro Choice = Pro Abortion

The pro-choice side loves to say they support choice, but in truth, that choice is death.

29 May 2021

Annick Tankus
I saw a post that said, “Pro-Choice doesn’t mean Pro-Abortion.” It went on to say that Pro-Choice simply wants to give the woman the ability to have a right over her body. To which I say—No! What the post fails to see (or purposefully chooses to ignore) is that Pro-Choice and Pro-Abortion works hand-in-hand which is why the Christian must say no to such statement. 

What does Pro-Choice mean? If we go by how the post explained it—the simple act of allowing women to have right over her body—it seems pretty good and makes sense. Women should have their right to their bodies. However, like most things, there is a limit. Just as someone cannot go into a filled stadium and yell “fire” because they have free speech, a woman does not have the right to every single action directed to her body. This post is focusing too heavily on the never-ending divide between men and women. It implies that men can do anything they want with their bodies because they are masculine, and we live in such a “patriarchal society.” 

This is true to some extent that the male figure appears to be allowed to do things that a woman could not do. However, it fails to realize that the past is the past and that it is the job of this generation and future ones to change these stereotypes and conformities within our society. It also ignores the very fact that just because the “man” does it, does not make it right for him either. Both male and female do not have rights over their bodies. It is hard to understand this concept without a moral and Christian background. The moment when one realizes that God owns the body because He was the creator, it makes sense why Pro-Choice cannot work. 

Pro-Choice may seem to give the woman the right to take responsibility for her action(s), but really it is allowing her to ignore the fact that actions have consequences. It is hard to separate Pro-Choice from Pro-Abortion as the only reason the term “Pro-Choice” exists is to advocate for a woman to have the right to an abortion. This begs the question: should woman be allowed to be Pro-Choice? The answer is yes. God gave each being free will—the right to chose to be righteous or unrighteous. Nevertheless, this free-will/choice becomes an issue the moment one infringes on the right of another. 

And that is exactly what Pro-Choice does. It allows for the infringement on another’s life through Pro-Abortion. It offers an option (the option to abort) and because it does so, it must be condemned. One already has the right to do “whatever” with their bodies. People can choose if they want tattoos, piercings, nose jobs, etc… but they do not have the right to choose when it comes to a life inside of the mother. Anything that allows even the possibility to murder an innocent human being is wrong—even in the smallest form. Thus, Pro-Choice is Pro-Abortion.

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Responsibility

What is responsibility in regards to abortion?

23 May 2021

Benaiah Lohnes

While abortion is wrong because it is murder, it is also wrong on another level. When the mothers actually abort the child, they are critically failing in one singular way- their responsibility. It is in their duty to their child, the child they carried and nourished, that they fail. They assume the duty, the responsibility, at the moment of conception, and that responsibility is carried until the moment that the child is aborted, and then, at that exact point, that duty is willfully broken and scattered. What makes abortion crucially terrible is the fact that a responsibility that is the duty owed to an innocent is intentionally ignored. In fact, ignoring our own responsibilities is one of the most wicked things we can do, because our duties are given in trust, and by failing in our duties, we are intentionally or unintentionally breaking trust. Trust, when broken, is irreparable. 

But what is responsibility? Responsibility is the duties given to us by trust, and by trust, we are held by our honor, and an innate sense of justice, to fulfill these obligations. Responsibility is an account. We are morally held to be accountable. As Christians we are responsible to live well; for this we will give an account. During times of war, warriors must give an account to their commanders. During judicial trials witnesses must, by oath, give an account of their responsibilities and of how they failed or how they didn’t fail. 

We are not forced, however, to act with honor towards these ties we’ve made. We’re compelled by our inner senses of justice, honesty, and virtue. That is why we shun those who dishonor their responsibilities, because by doing so, they’re proving that they have no sense of honor, justice, or honesty. People without such things are truly to be pitied. 

Our actions distinguish us. By walking with grace, judging with honesty, being firm with justice, by proving that we are trustworthy do we show that we will treasure such responsibilities, such duties. By allowing people to ‘fact-check’ our words, works, and actions, we give them the opportunity to safely bestow their trust. Trust is a valuable thing, and not something to be taken lightly. It’s fragile and it must be treasured. Trust is the inner heart of a relationship, and responsibility is the duty to protect that. Our hearts are the center of our bodies; without them we cannot survive. Just so, relationships cannot survive without trust; that is the mark of someone truly responsible; they prove that trust is something worth protecting. We earn trust; it isn’t lightly given. And those who earn trust, treasure it. 

Yet some are forced to give trust without being given the opportunity to know who they trust; those who do this are the most innocent, the most defenseless, the most vulnerable. It is the common duty of all to protect these. ‘To promote the general welfare’ is to protect the innocent. To ‘provide for the common defense’ is to defend the vulnerable. To ‘insure domestic tranquility’ is to insure the safety of all. The calling to defend the helpless is a calling of the highest order, and its weight carries great responsibility, and those who carry it are duty-bound to honor it. And the duty of a mother and a father is no less.

A family is filled with duties and obligations: a father to love his wife and care for his children; a mother to love and raise her children; a child’s duty to respect their parents; these duties exist from the moment a family is formed. When a mother gives birth she alone does not carry the responsibility of the child. Although legally she may, it is the father who is entrusted with the support and livelihood of the child. So just as we shame mothers for abandoning their child and breaking its trust, a father is equally to blame for when they abandon the mother to fend for herself. A family is a battleship; each sailor, not the captain alone, is responsible to fulfill their chosen duties (their responsibilities) in order to ensure that their ship doesn’t sink. The crime of betraying the trust of a babe is horrific. They are totally dependent upon their trust being upheld and honored; they cannot survive by themselves, they depend upon others, so by breaking their trust, they are being broken themselves.