They said it.
In a textbook meant to teach future abortion workers, it says:
“Adolescents can present the counsellor with sharply delineated views and feelings, they tend to be dissatisfied with the choice of abortion, viewing abortion as “wrong” and perhaps because of this often present late. Research shows that they can report greater severity of psychological stress and deserve careful counseling.”
Joanna Brien, Ida Fairbairn Pregnancy and Abortion Counseling (London: Routledge, 1996) 56
Share on FacebookIn a textbook for future abortion providers, it states that some women may decide on abortion and yet still want to protect their babies from harmful substances. These women would make an abortion appointment, but still avoid drinking or doing drugs that could damage the baby:
“Women who know they want to end a pregnancy can nevertheless be reluctant to take anything that could be harmful to a foetus.”
Joanna Brien, Ida Fairbairn Pregnancy and Abortion Counseling (London: Routledge, 1996) 27
this seems to indicate a certain amount of ambivalence.
Share on FacebookLooking back on her abortion, one woman said:
“Had I been counseled properly concerning the pain and the development of my unborn child, I doubt that I would’ve chosen abortion. I was not forewarned of the health risks or the deep psychological aftereffects of abortion. As a bright college graduate, I had a promising future ahead of me. Following my abortion, I became deeply depressed, suicidal, and unable to hold a job. I never mourned the loss of my appendix, so why did I grieve over the passing of an enigmatic uterine blob? The answer is that it wasn’t a mere “blob of tissue.” It was a living baby. I realized at the moment I saw his dismembered body. I realized it too late.”
Susan Neiburg Terkel Abortion: Facing the Issues (New York: Franklin Watts, 1988) 37
Share on FacebookAn abortion doula, who works in abortion facilities to comfort women as they have abortions, admits:
“Sometimes you are dishonest. In the beginning, I shadow a more experienced doula as she reassures a patient that the woman in the next room screaming wildly is not here for the same procedure, though, of course, she is.”
Alex Ronan “My Year As an Abortion Doula” The Cut SEPTEMBER 14, 2014
Share on FacebookAn abortion clinic inspected in England was cited for paying employees bonuses based on how many women went through with their abortions. The clinic had “Key Performance Indicators” that they had to meet. The KPI mandated the number of abortions workers were expected to sell. This encouraged workers to pressure women to have abortions and also led to women being rushed through the facility so that more abortions could be done.
From the report:
“Staff expressed concern that they were assessed and bonuses were paid based on performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) … Staff felt that this corporate focus on achieving KPIs worked against the concept of patient choice.
The team meeting minutes dated 14 April showed that staff had raised concerns with the manager about the KPIs and the pressure this put staff under to rush consultations…..
Staff we spoke with talked about a lack of time and need to keep the appointment on track. One member of staff said about the information provided, “They can’t take it all in, it’s so fast”. This presented a risk that consent was not fully informed.
We observed a member of staff passing the consent form to the patient to read and sign whilst they cleaned the room. There was no opportunity given for discussion or questions and when questioned the member of staff felt this was because of a lack of time….
Staff were concerned that ‘Did Not Proceed’, the term used when women decided not to proceed with treatment… was linked to their performance bonus. They felt that this encouraged staff to ensure that patients underwent procedures.
Staff were also concerned that the pressurised environment and linking of KPIs to performance bonuses meant that there was a culture that worked against patient choice….One staff member describe it as “feeling like a hamster in a wheel” and said the word, “Cattle market” came up quite a lot.”
Care Quality Commission on Marie Stopes International, Date of inspection visit: 17 May 2016 Date of publication: 02/10/2017
Share on FacebookAbortion doula Whitney, who comforts women while their babies are killed in abortions, had an abortion herself. She remembers a woman walking out:
“She remembers that on the day of her own abortion, a patient walked out – just decided she wasn’t going to do it. It struck Whitney, who was waiting patiently by the window in her medical gown and her hospital socks. She wondered what was going to happen with her.”
Mary Mahoney and Lauren Mitchell The Doulas: Radical Care for Pregnant People (New York: Feminist Press, 2016) 99
Sometimes women do change their minds at abortion clinics.
Share on FacebookIn a webcast by And Then There Were None, former Planned parenthood director Abby Johnson talks about Planned Parenthood abortion quotas:
“There’s a quota for everything. So why wouldn’t there be a quota for abortion, right? Because that’s just another service they provide. However, it is their most revenue generating service.”
She goes on to say:
And I can tell you, nobody got in trouble, nobody’s heads rolled if we weren’t meeting our family planning quota. But when we weren’t meeting our abortion clinic quota, that was when, it was like, we’re going to have to start firing people, you guys have got to step it up. And I remember getting into an argument with my boss one time (this is right before I left) because I said, I don’t know how you want me to – what you want me to do? Do you want me to go out on the streets and start asking people if they are pregnant and get them in the door? I mean, there’s only so many people that you can get in the door and talk them into having an abortion. That’s essentially what we were doing. We were salespeople for the abortion industry.
This is not the first time Abby Johnson spoke out about Planned Parenthood abortion quotas. You can read more her
Sarah Terzo “Women pressured to abort at Planned Parenthood to meet abortion “quota” Live Action News December 8, 2017
An abortion doula, who works in a clinic comforting women who have abortions, writes about the small talk she engages in while the woman’s baby is being killed:
“Some of the doulas and some of the patients believe in astrology. Mitchell had said that it was a great thing to talk to patients about because everyone loves hearing about themselves, but I never memorized all the signs. Instead, I default to the Kardashians, whom most patients either love or hate. Waiting for the doctor, we exchange theories, discuss which sister is the most annoying, and debate whether anything on the TV show is real. We also talk about what food they will eat when they’re out, since they’ve been fasting since midnight to meet anesthesia requirements. To the morning patients, I say, “Well, at least you’re not in the afternoon.” To the afternoon patients, I just say, “You’ll be able to eat soon.” The doulas I talk to in North Carolina tell their patients the protestors will be gone by the time they leave.”
Alex Ronan “My Year As an Abortion Doula” The Cut SEPTEMBER 14, 2014
To illustrate what is going on while the doula is talking about the Kardashians, here is a picture of a preborn baby at 10 weeks
Here is a picture of what the baby looks like after the abortion process:
While the doula is chatting casually with the mother, her baby is being torn to pieces.
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In this quote, an abortion doula (a volunteer who comforts women while they have their abortions) responds to a woman who is on the table about to have an abortion. The woman having an abortion is named Kim:
“Kim exhales, looks up at the ceiling then back at Kat [the doula]. “Is it gonna hurt?”
Kat pauses. This is one of the most common questions a doula gets asked before a procedure. It’s covered extensively in training, and while every doula has a slightly different turn of phrase, there is a standard approach that the Doula Project and the clinics we work with use. “Do you get cramps with your period?”….
“You will feel something,” Kat explains, carefully choosing her words. “Everyone has a different reaction but for a few minutes it will feel like very strong period cramps.”
Mary Mahoney and Lauren Mitchell The Doulas: Radical Care for Pregnant People (New York: Feminist Press, 2016) 86-87
Based on the anesthesia they get and their individual tolerance for pain, women say different things about the pain from an abortion. Some women say the pain was extreme
Share on FacebookA woman who went to an abortion clinic to abort her baby tells her story:
“I took a good friend with me, as well as my boyfriend. It was a three hour drive to Houston and no one said much. As we neared the abortion facility protesters with large, grotesque signs came into view. I averted my eyes. I had a sick feeling as I sought to push away the reality of what I was about to do.
Once in the facility, I checked in and my boyfriend and friend sat down with magazines….
There were so many women there of every age, race, and seemingly socio-economic class. We were grouped together as we made our way through the process. At one point, I was given an ultrasound, and the tech matter-of-factly declared, “5 weeks.” Then it was on to group “counseling.” A young woman explained the process and then opened the floor to questions. I knew the answer to mine before I even asked, “Is it alive?” The response was, “It’s a clump of villi.” It was what I wanted and needed to hear, but I knew better.
Then it was back to the waiting room where we all sat until we were called, one by one, to do the actual procedure. I was struck by the tea party like atmosphere. Most women chatted seemingly nonchalantly. At one point, a woman tapped her foot impatiently, glanced at her watch and said, “How long is this going to take, I have stuff to do.” I was shocked, and wondered to myself, “Does she not have any idea of the significance of what she’s about to do?” A pretty brunette suddenly offered, “My husband keeps saying we’re going out tonight. He just doesn’t get it.” She told us she was 13 weeks pregnant and had a three year old daughter. Again, all I could think was, “You’re married with a child, why are you here?”
I found myself talking to a woman to next to me. At 38, she was older than most of us. Inexplicably, I began trying to convince her that she could do it, raise her baby. She gave me all the reasons why she couldn’t.
Out of all of us present in our group that day, there was only one woman who, in my view, was having the appropriate response. She never stopped crying, never made eye contact with anyone, never spoke. She just sat there, curled up in a fetal position, as she stared off into space, and wept.
One by one we were called. I sat there, stomach churning, knowing in my heart of hearts that this was SO wrong. I had not been able to quiet that inner voice that kept gently telling me, “No, you must not do this.” I argued back and forth with that voice. It was so gentle, so serene, but also very persistent. My name was called. I got up and made my way to the table. “Take everything off below the waist and lay on the table, feet in the stirrups.” I reached for my pants.
I hesitated. I stood frozen. The nurse noticed my reaction and advised me to go back to the waiting room and let a few more go ahead of me, until I felt more ready. Ready never came. When I was called a second time, the same thing happened. The nurse looked at me and said, “You don’t really want to be here.” I replied, “Does anybody really want to be here?”
She told me I was early and had lots of time to come back. Plenty of time. I knew I was walking out of that place and NEVER going back.”
“22 years ago, my daughter survived her abortion appointment” Live Action News September 1, 2017
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