Abortion


It was 17 years ago today when Doctor David Gunn, an abortion provider who worked in several clinics throughout the south, was gunned down by an assassin as he walked into his clinic in Pensacola. The assailant, whose name I will not mention lest I give him the attention he sought, is serving a life term in jail.

Doctor Gunn was the first doctor who was killed for performing abortions and the story made headlines across the country. In the wake of his death, his son, David Gunn, Jr., became a national spokesman for clinics all across the country. He appeared on “The Donohue Show” and had to sit on the stage with one Paul Hill as he told the audience that it was “justifiable homicide” to kill a doctor who was going to “kill babies.” A little over a year later, Paul Hill murdered Doctor Baird Britton and his escort at another clinic in Pensacola.

Through the years, David Jr. maintained his dignity and spoke articulately about the need to protect doctors. Indeed, a short while later, the Congress enacted into law the FACE Act (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act), which gave federal protection to clinics. David’s father would have been proud of him.

Years ago, looking to commemorate the memory of Doctor Gunn, pro-choice groups designated March 10 as “Abortion Provider Appreciation Day.” Today, all across the country, advocates of the constitutional right to choose are calling their local clinic to thank the staff people who risk their lives every day to be there for women in need.

If you have a moment today, refer to http://www.abortion.com and look for a clinic near you. Give them a call and tell them “thanks.” It will go a long way.

Every day, there is another angle to this very difficult issue. 

Last year, a 17 year old pregnant girl paid a man $150 to beat her in the hopes of inducing a miscarriage.  Don’t read any further – just think about that young woman for a few seconds and what compelled her to take such a drastic step…

To complicate her already sad situation, she was arrested but ultimately a judge ruled that the mother could not be charged with a crime because there was no law on the books dealing with such a situation.   Yesterday, however, the legislature (which apparently has absolutely nothing to do) and the Governor of Utah came to the rescue!   The Governor signed into law a bill that would allow a woman who arranges such an “illegal abortion” to be charged with criminal homicide.   

I’ve thought about this young woman and have wondered why she did not obtain a safe, legal abortion in her home state.  There are at least three clinics in Salt Lake City that she could have gone to. 

Maybe she could not afford to pay the approximately $400 for the abortion at the clinic. My gut, however, tells me that she was afraid, especially living in a state like Utah, to pick up the phone and arrange to have an abortion. 

The abortion stigma indeed has long tentacles.

I would like to take this occasion to recognize ”International Women’s Day.”   

On this day, we celebrate the political, social and economic achievements of women all over the world.  There is no doubt that great strides have been made over the years, but while we recognize the tremendous progress in certain countries, we must remember that there is much more work to be done.    .

When I think of the barriers that women have endured over the centuries, I think of the fight to maintain power over their own bodies, especially as it relates to reproductive issues.  

In most countries, abortion remains illegal and tens of thousands of women die annually from self-induced or illegal abortions.  Indeed, we must not forget that that is how it was for women in this country before 1973, when the Supreme Court legalized abortion in the Roe v Wade decision.   Before that landmark case, women in this country resorted to illegal, “back-alley” abortions, often with fatal results.  The hospital emergency rooms were filled with women who tried using a coat-hanger or a chemical to terminate their pregnancy.  Unfortunately, this is still the case in much of the Third World because abortion remains illegal in many of those countries.    

Although we have lived with legal abortion in this country for decades, we cannot take this right for granted.  Abortion rights are still under attack. Those who oppose legalized abortion are only two votes away on the Supreme Court from making it illegal once again.   While President Obama is clearly pro-choice and, if he could, would nominate a pro-choice justice, his political position in the U.S. Senate is tenuous and it could be difficult to confirm a justice who is clearly pro-choice.  Even if the Supreme Court continues to keep abortion legal, the anti-abortion movement continues to make access to the abortion procedure more difficult.   And without access to abortion, the right to abortion means nothing.

So, I would like to use this occasion to thank the doctors, the staff and the pro-choice movement for holding firm, for making abortion accessible to over one million women each year.  I would like to congratulate the women of this country who have exercised their constitutional right to have an abortion.   At the same time, while we fight to protect that right here in the United States, we should take a moment to think of our sisters in other countries who are struggling to gain the control over their bodies that they so richly deserve.

In the very near future, the fate of President Obama’s healthcare bill will be determined by the U.S. Congress.  And the issue of abortion could determine whether or not the bill passes.

In November, Congressman Bart Stupak got an amendment added to the House healthcare bill that barred federal funds from being used for abortion.  In response to this action, 64 pro-life Democrats voted for the final bill who, without that language, otherwise would have voted against the overall measure.  Then, the Senate followed suit and inserted language that, while not exactly the same as Stupak’s, was acceptable to a number of pro-life Democratic Senators.  

On the Sunday talk shows, however, both sides of the issue were debating whether the final healthcare bill contains language that would allow people receiving government subsidized healthcare to obtain an abortion. 

For example, this morning, Rep. Jason Altmire said that there is a block of Democrats who voted for the Stupak amendment who now say they will not vote for the final bill unless they tighten the abortion language that’s in the Senate bill.  Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.) said that the Democrats were continuing to work on Stupak.

This one is going to come down to the wire…

A short while ago, a woman filmed herself having a non-surgical abortion (the abortion pill, mifepristone or RU486) and placed her experience on YouTube, Twitter, and other Social Media, etc.   It has gained national exposure.

Her reasoning was to show the public that there is no shame in having an abortion.  Unfortunately, while abortion has been legal since 1973 and over one million women a year have an abortion, there is still a stigma attached to the procedure and even to the medical term abortion.   While there are many national pro-choice groups, one organization, the Abortion Care Network (ACN), has focused most of its resources on encouraging women to speak up about their abortion experience in the hopes that the more women speak, the more “acceptable” the procedure will become.  They are to be applauded.

Thousands of people a day read this blog.  Thousands of you have had abortions.

I’d like to use this forum to encourage women to reply to this post and talk about their abortion experience.   And, yes, if you had a bad experience (see my previous postings on “Bad Doctors”), please let us know.

The more you talk, and experiences are shared, the more people will understand.

For the last week or so, I’ve had a running debate on another Facebook page with a woman who suggests that if women had an ultrasound, then they would never consider having an abortion.   In some states, there are bills pending that would require ultrasounds in every clinic before an abortion. 

Years ago, I visited a clinic and, with the permission of the women, followed several of them through the abortion process.   The vast majority of the women were in their first trimester but, at one point, I was accompanying a woman who was 20 weeks pregnant. 

Before seeing the doctor, we entered a small room with a ultrasound machine.  My pulse started to quicken when I realized that a sonogram was going to be performed.  The nurse turned on the machine, lifted the woman’s blouse up, put on the gel and placed the instrument on the woman’s stomach.  I looked at the sonogram and clearly saw the baby.  I am using the term “baby” because if it were wanted, that’s what it would be called and, well, to me it looked like a baby. 

There ensued a discussion about what they were seeing on the monitor.  At one point, the woman asked if it was a boy or a girl and she was told a boy.  It was an almost surreal moment for me and I waited for the woman to say that she would not have the abortion.  

Then, the nurse asked her if she was okay and wanted to proceed and, without hesitation, the woman calmly said “yes.” 

A reputable clinic will have ultrasound machines and when women are asked if they want to have a sonogram, some say yes and some say no.  Some look at the ultrasound and express surprise that the fetus is not as developed as they thought, ironically making them feel even better about their decision.   And I have no doubt that some women ultimately decide to not have the abortion.  

The providers of abortion services have absolutely nothing to hide.  That is because they trust women to be able to make an intelligent, personal decision.

Let’s talk for a moment about laws that require parents to give their consent before a minor has an abortion.

Proponents of these laws argue that, to foster relations between the parents and the girl, the parents should be involved in this important decision.  Personally, I believe the purpose is to discourage the young girl from talking to her parents about an abortion and to force her to ultimately have the baby.       

But let’s say that a minor becomes pregnant, she tells her parents – and the parents want the girl to have an abortion.  If the pro-life movement insists on the parents being part of this decision process, what do they say if the parents want the abortion and convince the girl that it’s the right decision?      

Hmmm….

I’ve talked to a lot of clinic staff over the years and I’m told that it is not an unusual occurrence for the parents to try to force their daughter into having an abortion.  The reasons are many, but the main one seems to be that they know their daughter is not ready to have a child and they do not want to become the de facto parents of the grandchild. 

A few years ago in Florida, a mother forced her daughter, at gunpoint, to go to a clinic for an abortion.  Fortunately, clinic staff discovered what was happening when they counseled the girl and they refused to perform the abortion.   The mother was ultimately arrested.

So, if the purpose of these parental consent laws is to foster parent-child communications, what does the pro-life movement say when the parents want the abortion and ultimately convince their daughter to have one?

I recently read about an abortion doctor in Philadelphia who apparently is going to be shut down by the state because he is practicing bad medicine.    

We all know there are bad apples in any profession.  There are bad politicians, police, teachers, and priests.  The same goes for physicians, including physicians who provide abortion services.

Of course, one’s definition of “bad” is subjective but we do know that there are abortion doctors who prey on minorities, whose clinic does not provide adequate counseling, who will quote a fee but forget to inform you that there are “add-ons” once you get into the clinic.  There are some doctors who have had deaths in their facility, although even the best doctors can make a mistake or have something go wrong that it totally out of their power. 

The message here is if you are considering an abortion, do some homework.  Find out the name of the doctor and Google him or her.  You may find out something about them.   See if the clinic is a member of the National Abortion Federation (which has standards for its members) or the Abortion Care Network. 

If price is a consideration for you, be careful:   cheap is not always the best.  Indeed, if there is a clinic in your area that is charging $50 less than their competitor for a similar procedure, you might be a little careful.  They may be cutting corners somewhere, like not paying for malpractice insurance or having inexperienced staff people. 

If you discover that the physician has been the subject of a malpractice lawsuit, don’t take that at face value.  For years, an anti-abortion group brought a number of frivolous lawsuits designed to harass abortion doctors that ultimately were dismissed. 

The bottom line is be smart, shop carefully.  Like any other medical procedure, you want to make sure you are getting the best care possible.

I want to take a moment to pay tribute to the doctors who perform abortions in this country and their dedicated staff. 

They go to their clinics every day, not knowing if a bomb has been planted under the shrubbery or if there is an assassin waiting in the parking lot.   They are subjected to verbal abuse when they enter their facility.  They have had to deal with midnight phone calls to their homes and anonymous threatening letters.

Most of them could be working in a less intense and safer environment, but they have decided to put their own lives on the line for women in need.     Since 1973, when abortion became legal in this country, they have seen millions of women who not only needed abortion services but other reproductive health services as well.   They have spent hours upon hours counseling women, making sure that they have thought through their decision.  They have advised them on their birth control options, the goal being that they do not want to see them again.  Most of the time they are successful, sometimes they are not. 

To make these services accessible, they have artificially kept the price of this medical procedure as low as possible to the point where the fee in some clinics is what is was in 1973.  Some clinics will offer free services in special circumstances.

These are amazing men and women who have saved thousands and thousands of lives.   

I applaud their efforts.

A recent report indicates that the number of abortions have risen slightly in the last few years.  Immediately, there was the usual hue and cry from the anti-abortion movement.  The pro-choice movement chimed in as well, expressing concern.

This reminded me of a statement years ago by Kate Michelman, the President of the National Abortion Rights Action League, who said that abortion was a “bad thing.”    Then there was the time when Hillary Clinton said abortion was a “tragedy.”   

When a woman is faced with an unplanned and unwanted pregnancy, there are three possible outcomes:   give birth to the unwanted child, give the child up for adoption and abortion.  All three options are not perfect.    With adoption, the mother will carry a child for nine months and give it up and possibly never see it again.   Think of the guilt, the second guessing.   With childbirth, it goes without saying that the life of an unwanted child might be fraught with problems.  Then, there is abortion where it is possible that a woman might ultimately “regret” that decision later on as her life became more stable.

Then why is it that even the pro-choice movement feeds into the stigma of abortion by saying things like it is a “bad thing?”   Could not childbirth or adoption ultimately be a “bad thing” as well?    

Abortion is not the tragedy.  Indeed, the availability of abortion services has actually saved hundreds and thousands of lives since abortion was legalized in this country.   If anything is a “tragedy,” it is the when a woman is faced with an unwanted pregnancy.  And, instead of stigmatizing the abortion procedure (and, by reference, the abortion doctors), the pro-choice movement should focus on doing whatever it can to insure that every child is a wanted child and will come into this world under the best circumstances possible.

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