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Abortion advocates ensure us that women only have abortions they “need.” How, then, can they explain why women change their minds after a failed abortion attempt? If the birth of this baby is truly going to utterly ruin the woman’s life, wouldn’t she still “need” the abortion when she learned it had failed to kill the fetus?

“Liz” has an abortion at a Planned Parenthood on September 22, 1990. As it turned out, the pre abortion ultrasound had shown a twin pregnancy, but only one twin was aborted. Planned Parenthood was short staffed when it came time for Liz’s 3-week follow-up appointment, so they canceled it. Liz repeatedly attempted to reschedule, but the phone would be busy when she called at 8 AM as instructed, and when she would call later in the morning they would tell her to call back again at 8 AM because that is their time for scheduling appointments. Liz later returned to Planned Parenthood for a counseling appointment in October, but she was not given an examination. During her annual physical in February of 1991, her doctor discovered that the surviving fetus was still gestating. Although Liz feared that the abortion attempt had harmed the surviving fetus, she continued the pregnancy. The surviving fetus was born on May 16, 1991, and named Jordan.

Source: Rhode Island Superior Court Case No. 91-7127

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“Glenda” had an abortion at a Family Planning Associates facility on August 20, 1981, and was assured that “the abortion…had been successful and that she was no longer pregnant.” The abortion had failed to kill the fetus, however, and Glenda had the baby.

Source: Orange County Superior Court Case No. 390004

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“Emily” has a suction abortion by Basil Bisca on September 24, 1983. The lab report indicated that “only a few fetal tissue were seen which was a direct indication that it was very likely that the pregnancy was not interrupted during the abortion procedure.” Emily’s pregnancy continued, and she gave birth to a full term infant on April 29, 1984.

Source: Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Case No. 84CV-11-6384

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Sixteen-year-old “Tawnya” had an abortion done by Joseph Booker at New Woman Medical Center September 29, 1990. Booker did not send the tissues to the lab, and therefore did not realize that he’d removed a portion of the placenta but had left the fetus alive and entact. Four and a half months later Tawnya gave birth by C-section to premature infant boy who died from multiple birth defects about five hours later. Tawnya sued not only for the failed abortion, but for the premature birth and death of her baby, blaming the prematurity and death on damage done by the abortion attempt. She was given a $75,000 verdict by the jury.

Source: Clarion-Ledger 5-18-94, 5-20-94

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“Lena” has an abortion by Dr. Gay Boyle at Birmingham Women’s Medical Clinic November 21, 1982. Although staff there assured her that the abortion had been successful, she learned later that the fetus had survived and that she was in the second trimester of pregnancy. When she informed the facility, they advised her to have another abortion because the fetus might have been harmed by the abortion attempt. Nevertheless, Lena chose to continue to term despite considerable emotional distress caused by worry about the baby, who was born July 23, 1983.

Source: 10th Judicial Circuit Court of Alabama Civil Action No. CV83-5839

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“Latisha” had a positive pregnancy test on December 30, 1981. The staff at Her Medical Clinic recommended an abortion, which she had that day. When she returned to Her Medical Clinic on February 22, 1982, they told her she was still pregnant. Latisha “could not bear the emotional trauma of a repeat abortion at that stage in her pregnancy,” so she had the baby.

Source: LA County Superior Court Case No. C447811

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“Kathleen” had an abortion at Women’s Health Center of West County April 13, 1984. When she reported for Army Basic Training a few weeks later, she was found to be 13 weeks pregnant. Kathleen was discharged from the Army, and gave birth to her baby on October 19, 1984.

Source: St. Louis City Circuit Court Cause No. 542086

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“Peg” had a D&C abortion at Dr. Burton Krafte’s office when she was eight weeks pregnant. Upon returning for a follow up visit, Peg was discovered to be 18 weeks pregnant. She had the baby.

Source: New York Appellate Court 98 A.D.2nd 128, January 12, 1984

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“Addie” had abortion done by Marvin K. Levin at Family Planning Centers on November 1, 1978. When she returned on December 20 for her follow-up appointment, she told them that she still felt pregnant, but they assured her that the abortion had been successful. Addie went to a clinic for a pregnancy test on January 9 of 1979, and was informed that she was indeed still pregnant. By then, Addie was 14 weeks pregnant and decided to carry to term.

Source: LA County Superior Court Case No. C309011

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If, as abortion advocates would have you believe, women seeking abortions are adamant that they “need” them, then wouldn’t women always have a second “safe and legal” abortion to kill the fetus that survived a first abortion attempt? The fact that a cursory glance through my notes found these cases, and more, should give us pause. Is abortion something women are really so sure about? Or is it something they resort to in a moment of crisis, something that they’re ambivalent enough about to change their minds even after undergoing an abortion procedure to get rid of the “unwanted” pregnancy?

The preceding was by Christina Dunigan

This article by Christina Dunigan discusses abortions that are said to be needed because of health issues.

“Don’t like abortions? Don’t have one.” It makes a great bumper sticker slogan. If only it were that simple in real life. Abortion advocates would have us believe that all legalization did was allow those women who would have had dangerous “back alley” abortions to have “safe and legal” abortions instead. It’s all supposed to be about each woman making her own choices based on her own religion, her own ethics, her own plans, her own wants. But that’s not the way it has turned out in practice.

David Reardon’s research of post-abortion women showed that over 60% of them felt “forced” into unwanted abortions by people or circumstances. Nowhere is this more apparent — or more dastardly — than in the realm of “medically indicated” abortions.

This is not to cast aspersions on those rare women whose lives are endangered by a pregnancy. Sometimes the death of the unborn child is the unwanted but tragically necessary side effect of treatment necessary to save the mother’s life. A conscientious doctor will struggle with such cases, and will make all reasonable efforts to preserve the child’s life if possible. The trouble lies in the fact that abortion advocacy efforts have created a climate in which many doctors feel safest recommending abortion at the first sign of trouble.

We’ve all seen how often a small group of troublemakers can cause grief to others. Abortion proponents have painted abortion as a “right,” rather than an evil to be avoided. They have filed suit against conscientious doctors, doctors adhering to the Hippocratic Oath, for failing to advise them to abort in the face of a possible problem with the baby or with the woman’s health. Because these folks are loud and expensive to deal with, they have gotten what they want at the expense of other women and the lives of wanted children.

Over a decade before widespread legalization of abortion, even Planned Parenthood’s Medical Director, Mary Calderone, recognized that “it is hardly ever necessary today to consider the life of a mother as threatened by a pregnancy.”(1) But thanks to the efforts of abortion advocates, pregnancy is perceived as dangerous, and women are being steered by litigation-shy doctors into needless, unwanted abortions, ostensibly for maternal or fetal indications.

Nobody knows how often women are channeled into such abortions. The fact that an abortion was prescribed unnecessarily is usually only discovered if the woman persists in her resolve not to abort, or if someone investigates the situation after the abortion. The very fact that such cases happen proves the lie behind the slogans about women choosing abortions freely. We can also hazard a guess about how frequently women are sold needless, unwanted abortions on medical grounds by looking at the experiences of doctors who take the mother’s desire to preserve her child’s life more seriously.

Dr. Thomas Murphy Goodwin is affiliated with an obstetrical service specializing in high-risk cases. His reflections on cases he has seen in his practice are described by him in The Silent Subject.2 In Goodwin’s cachement area, there are approximately 30,000 births a year. The Centers for Disease Control estimate that there are slightly over 330 abortions for every 1,000 live births. That would mean that there are about 9,900 abortions per year in the area served by Goodwin and his colleagues. The Alan Guttmacher Institute estimates that 3% of abortions are for maternal health indications and another 3% are because of fear of fetal problems. So if we look at only half the problem — maternal indication abortions — there are approximately 300 abortions done for maternal indications in Goodwin’s cachement area every year. Goodwin indicates that in his practice, he and his colleagues will see one or two women a year with health problems that mean they have a greater than 20% risk of death from carrying the pregnancy to term.
That’s one or two abortions that are actually medically indicated for every 300 women who abort because they believe their lives are in danger. This is, to say the least, overkill — in the ugliest sense of the word.

Goodwin tells poignant stories of women who had been sent to his practice for unnecessary abortions. One 21-year-old woman was referred for “immediate abortion” of her 19-week pregnancy because she had been diagnosed with a congenital heart lesion. She was so distressed at the idea of aborting that a physician referred her to Goodwin and his associates for a second opinion. An evaluation that could have been done by the woman’s referring physician showed that her heart abnormality was not endangering her life. She continued the pregnancy, with unremarkable labor induced, and a healthy baby delivered, at 38 weeks.

Another woman, 32 years old, had a test at 7 weeks gestation that was positive for cytomegalovirus. She was advised to abort lest her baby be born with mental retardation and multiple organ problems. Her doctor even told her that he had confirmed this grim prognosis with a “high risk pregnancy specialist.” With great regret, the woman scheduled an abortion. A physician neighbor learned of her plight and referred her to Goodwin’s practice. A review of her test results showed that there was a 4 in 100 chance that her baby had been affected by the virus, and that even if the child was affected, there was a 50% chance that the consequence would just be some hearing impairment. “She was stunned and relieved,” Goodwin wrote, “to learn that the risk was no greater than that.” More precise tests were done which showed that there had been no infection at all. Thanks to the kindly advise of a neighbor, this woman was spared the tragedy of an abortion, and gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

Yet another woman was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was told that she needed immediate chemotherapy, that the chemotherapy would certainly harm her baby, and that trying to continue her pregnancy would worsen her prognosis. She was instructed to abort her 11 week pregnancy so that chemotherapy could be initiated. She scheduled an abortion, but was referred to Goodwin’s practice by her pastor. There she learned that breast cancer did not require abortion for treatment, and that the fetus was likely to tolerate the chemotherapy well. The woman was able to have her chemotherapy, and delivered an apparently healthy baby boy. “That many chemotherapy regimens can be continued without apparent ill-effect in pregnancy is information readily available to any interested physician,” Goodwin notes. “Why was the patient not informed?”

Although these women were put through needless anguish, they were spared the trauma of abortion. Other women have not been so fortunate.

This is the end to Dunigan’s article. I would like to add a few more thoughts.

To further show how rare the need is for abortion to protect a woman’s health, see this quote from abortion provider Don Sloan. Dr. Sloan has been performing abortions for over thirty years and was very active in campaigning against abortion laws before Roe Vs. Wade. He has written two books which discuss his opinion on the need for legalized abortion.

However, he is quoted saying:

“Abortionist Don Sloan is quoted saying the following:

“…if a woman with a serious illness- heart disease, say, or diabetes- gets pregnant, the abortion procedure may be as dangerous for her as going through pregnancy – with diseases like lupus, multiple sclerosis, even breast cancer, the chance that pregnancy will make the disease worse is no greater that the chance that the disease will either stay the same or improve. And medical technology has advanced to a point where even women with diabetes and kidney disease can be seen through a pregnancy safely by a doctor who knows what he’s doing. We’ve come a long way since my mother’s time – The idea of abortion to save the mothers’ life is something that people cling to because it sounds noble and pure- but medically speaking, it probably doesn’t exist. It’s a real stretch of our thinking.”(3)

This is not anti-abortion propaganda!

While no woman should be forced to give up her life for her child in principle, the instances where this is truly a reality are rare. The “need” for abortion to preserve the woman’s life should not be a wedge for legalizing abortion.

1. Calderone, Mary; “Illegal Abortion as a Public Health Problem;” AJPH v. 50 n. 7. pp. 948-9, July 1960
2. Stetson, Brad (ed); The Silent Subject: Reflections on the Unborn in American Culture; Praeger Publishers, CT, 1996
3. Don Sloan, M.D. and Paula Hartz “Choice: A Doctor’s Experience with the Abortion Dilemma” New York: International Publishers. 2002 pgs 45-46

Losing a child by abortion.

The mental pain and anguish suffered by women who abort their babies is well known and widely publicized within the pro-life movement. In addition, an extensive, grass roots network exists to assist women who face the aftermath of abortion.
What about a man involved in the decision to abort his baby?

Does he too suffer negative psychological effects? If so, where can he turn for help to cope? As we investigate these questions and more, you will be surprised by the answers.

Peter and his girlfriend had sex only once. A short time later she phoned to tell him that she was pregnant, even though they had each used contraception. With him as a reluctant participant, she aborted their child. Their relationship was one of the first casualties of the abortion. Peter cited a lack of trust as the reason for the split. Within a couple of months he was using alcohol and drugs to get temporary relief from the pain. In an attempt to deal with his grief, he reached out to his brothers and sisters, only to be told that he did the right thing. His fear of women kept him from dating for 8 years.

Tad was divorced when his girlfriend got pregnant and they agreed to abort their baby. In the process, the relationship was destroyed. Not long after his second marriage, his daughter got pregnant and he assisted her to abort his grandchild. It wasn’t until his daughter planned her second abortion that Tad realized the humanity of the unborn child. In his effort to bury his feelings about the abortions, he assumed a “wooden demeanor”. During this time Tad said he did a lot of damage to his wife and children by being withdrawn.

These are just two of more than thirty-million men who are struggling to cope with the loss of their children through abortion. For many they willingly participated in the decision to abort and assisted their partners in securing an abortion. Several even pressured their partners into having an abortion. Sadly, some watched helplessly as their precious unborn child was aborted in spite of their pleas to give their baby life. Still others weren’t told of their fatherhood until after their child had already died in the abortion chamber.

Motivating factors

In many ways men and women respond very differently to the loss of a child from abortion. To empathize with a man’s reaction to this profound loss, it is important to first understand what motivates the human male species.
Instinct drives men to achieve success in five key areas of their lives. Men are often defined by their ability to: [enjoy] pleasure, procreate, provide, protect and perform. Let’s briefly examine each of these instincts in the context of abortion.

Pleasure. The desire for men to enjoy pleasure extends beyond the need for sexual satisfaction and fulfillment. It also encompasses the enjoyment of having children, watching them grow, learn and become independent and productive citizens in their own right. Men also seek the pleasure of a life-mate, a wife who will provide companionship through the ups and downs along the way.

Procreate. Perhaps the most important element motivating man is his desire to procreate. Men provide an essential role in the continuation of the human race. Almost every man, whether he verbalizes it or not, values the idea of having offspring of his own flesh and blood – carrying on the family name or bloodline.

Provide. A man’s reproductive cycle ends with the act of sex – the same time that a woman’s cycle begins. Therefore a man’s priority shifts from procreation to providing for the mother and the unborn offspring he has fathered. He instinctively knows that this new family will look to him for many of the day-to-day necessities. In his mind it is important that he succeeds in providing for them.

Protect. Like providing for his family, man is highly programmed to protect his family. During his child’s lifetime there will be many dangers to continually guard against – the threats of illness or injury, making wise decisions and knowing when to say no to a myriad of tempting offers throughout life. The need for a man to protect his offspring should not be underestimated.

Perform. When talked about in contemporary society, this word most often refers to a man’s sexual ability. While this applies, it is not limited to sexual activity. Performance encompasses man’s ability to perform in various aspects of life. Job performance is often primary to defining a man’s success – the income it generates, the social standing it provides and the attained admiration of his peers.

Successful performance in the social arena secures friendships and helps a man achieve his desire for pleasure.
Society often judges a man based on his ability to be successful at pleasure, procreation, provision, protection and performance. When a man experiences abortion, these key elements of life are seriously damaged, or often totally obliterated.

The symptoms

Perhaps the most consistent and evident symptom in men due to loss of a child from abortion is anger. A counselor, who personally experienced the abortion decision, indicated that every man he has counseled has a higher level of anger than before the abortion. In addition, each has acted on that anger in some way that was harmful to himself or someone else. Another counselor likened this anger to that of a “ticking time-bomb just waiting to go off.”

A man’s anger and frustration of not being able to protect and provide for his unborn baby, because of abortion, manifests itself in several ways. He often turns to alcohol and drugs to dull the pain of knowing he participated in or was too “weak” to prevent the death of his unborn baby. Many become workaholics to avoid contact with other people or in a desperate effort to succeed in a crucial aspect of their life.

The relationship most always fails after a decision to abort. In addition, future relationships with women are often difficult or impossible. A woman has total control over the decision to abort their baby, leaving the father no legal recourse. This lack of control regarding a critical, life-impacting decision often generates considerable resentment and mistrust towards women. As a result of a previous experience, they do not want to be put into another situation where another pregnancy may occur and they have no control of the outcome. Men may suffer from forms of sexual dysfunction such as impotency and addiction to pornography and masturbation.

Other symptoms of a man struggling with a loss from abortion may be that he suffers from sleeplessness, panic attacks, poor coping skills, flashbacks, nightmares or self-imposed isolation. He may be unable to hold a job due to his inability to handle decision making, or he may be an excessive risk-taker in work and social environments, setting himself up for failure. This may come from the feeling that he deserves what he gets for being a loser and failing when it counted most – protecting his unborn baby.

Dealing with the symptoms

To be most effective, a man should receive counsel from another man when dealing with the grief and shame caused by an abortion decision. A man can better assist another man struggling with the loss of his child and fatherhood.
In general, men are more successful than women at burying their feelings after an abortion. If a man fails to face the emotional aftermath of losing his child to abortion within the first couple of months, he will often suppress it for many years, making it more difficult to face. Many men acknowledge various problems in their life without connecting them to a previous abortion decision.

Society makes it doubly tough for men to deal with the aftermath of abortion. First, most in the secular realm don’t even acknowledge the existence of Post-Abortion Syndrome (PAS) in women. Secondly, men are often taught as children that it is less than manly to show weakness or cry. As a result, men have no societal incentive to realistically deal with their abortion decision.

When addressing post-traumatic stress in men, it is not effective to approach it from the angle of PAS. Men tend to be compartmental thinkers. A vast majority of them have bought into the false rhetoric that abortion is solely a woman’s decision. Talking to them about PAS will only enforce their belief that this is something that affects only women.

A man may be more open to talking about and dealing with the loss of his child in the context of abortion. That loss has affected him dramatically. However, he may not yet be aware that it is the root-cause of his problems. It may be helpful to talk about the symptoms commonly experienced by other men after an abortion decision. When he realizes that he shares many of those symptoms, he is more apt to look at the cause for his problems in a new light.

Most experienced counselors advocate a gentle but direct approach. This is no time for subtlety. Tell him it’s OK to grieve for the baby he will never see or hold in his arms. Let him cry for his profound loss. Let him cry as much and as often as he needs to. He needs to grieve the loss and shame.

Almost every woman who has begun the road to recovery after her abortion has given credit to the fact that she returned to, or discovered, her religious faith. That has proven to also be true with men. Allow him to experience the joy of knowing he has complete, divine forgiveness. This will enable him to move on to the next crucial stage of obtaining that God-given peace within himself. This is likely the hardest step to complete. Because of his deep fear and distrust, he may feel unworthy of a relationship with God.

Counselors encourage churches to deal openly with this problem. “There are many Christian men, sitting in pews, who haven’t dealt with their abortion decision,” said one counselor. When speaking of his own experience he said, “If one man or the church had said something, I would have responded.”

For churches and organizations that deal with counseling from a religious perspective, there are men’s bible studies available, tailored to suit various groups. Other resources are also available when dealing with men and their grief.
These resources are still in their infancy, but will be able to assist men facing a post-abortive struggle. Please call or write Life Issues Institute for a free list of resources including experienced counselors who deal with men’s loss after abortion.

Life Issues Institute is working to network people and materials in this field. Please send us samples of any materials or information on anyone you have in your area, qualified to assist these men. Write to: Life Issues Institute, 1721 West Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45239. Or phone (513) 729-3600.

This article was published in Life Issues Connector June 1996 edition. It was written by Bradley Mattes.

Note: Religious beliefs and organizations are not necessarily endorsed by the webmaster.

Some people believe that an unborn baby is not “alive” or a “person” until he or she is able to live outside the womb. The problem with this is that viability, or the time that a baby is developed enough to live outside the mother, is constantly changing.

According to the Miami Herald, baby Kenya King was born in plantation, Florida at 21 weeks .She weighed 510 g “18 ounces” 10.5 inches. After lengthy stay in the hospital, she came home, perfectly healthy baby.(1)

What about the allegations that a baby born this early will suffer from extremely serious handicaps? Some babies who survive this early to have handicaps later in life. However, survey done of teenagers who were born between 20 and 23 weeks revealed the following:

“[They] view their health-related quality of life is quite satisfactory.”(2)\

Here are ads offering to kill children beyond 23 weeks, clearly after viability

Note: “fetal anomalies” often means conditions like Down Syndrome and other nonlethal problems in the baby.

Sometimes children aborted this late survive the abortion procedure and have to be disposed of by the doctors. See the section on “born alive after abortions” in the menu for some of these stories.

Footnotes

1. JC Willke “Why Can’t We Love Them Both: Questions and Answers about Abortion” (Cincinnati, Ohio: Hayes Publishing, 1997) P91
2. “Self Perceived Health Status and Health Related Quality of Life of Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants At Adolescence” JAMA, August 14, 1996, P453