They said it.
Tameka S Bright wrote a book about her abortion and postabortion trauma. She describes how she felt when she got pregnant years after her abortion:
“With my pregnancy, I was so scared that something would be wrong with my child. The guilt of the abortion came back to me and I thought I would be punished and possibly lose the baby.”
Tameka S Bright Broken for the Purpose (2020) 66
Share on FacebookIn her memoir, former abortion worker Andrea Abrams (who is pro-choice) describes how, after Medicaid regulations were changed, abortion workers coached pregnant women to falsely claim they were raped in order to get their abortions covered:
“The counselors were informed of the new regulations and laws…
Although everybody was careful not to say it openly, it was instantly apparent that the counselor could tell women about the Medicaid restrictions in a way that would suggest to the woman that she could claim to have been raped, thereby qualifying for medical assistance coverage.
There was no reporting requirement attached to the law at the time. So, when counseling, I could say, “Medical assistance will only pay for abortions that are the result of rape or incest,” and let the woman decide how to proceed from there.
I spoke with one or two women who immediately said that they had been raped. Others were not as quick to pick up the possibility, or too honest to do so.
I was facing a dilemma. Prior to my work volunteering at Blackwell, I had been a volunteer counselor at the Philadelphia rape crisis center, Women Organized against Rape, and was still active there.
At WOAR, it was a core belief that women did not lie about being raped. In fact, the vast majority of rapes were, and still are, not reported. A woman who did report a rape was, in all probability, telling the truth. But I did not feel like I could counsel women, even indirectly, to say that rape was the cause of their pregnancy if it had not been.
However, I understood the position of women on medical assistance, who were no longer able to use it to pay for an abortion except by making this desperate claim…
I decided that it was time to stop doing pregnancy and abortion counseling. I could not handle the Medicaid dilemma, and felt that stopping altogether was one way to avoid it. I said goodbye regretfully to the other counselors, the volunteer coordinator, the doctors, nurses, and staff.”
Andrea Abrams Bearing Children: A Memoir of Choices (2019) 27, 28
Share on FacebookOB/GYN Dr. Lori Buzzett describes how she went from pro-choice to pro-life:
Hi, I’m Dr. Lori Buzzett. And I’m an obstetrician gynecologist. I believed that the government shouldn’t have a say in what a woman did with her pregnancy. I felt that abortion shouldn’t be used as a form of contraception, but there were certain circumstances where I felt that it was acceptable for a woman to undergo an elective termination.
I began my training at a university based OBGYN residency program. In our training, we were actually required to go through the procedure and how to learn to do an elective termination.
My mentor showed me how to do the first abortion and then he had me take his seat and he walked me through the steps of the termination. And at the end, I just remember feeling very nauseated. As I left, I ran into one of the staff and he told me how proud he was that I had participated in that activity. And I don’t remember what I said to him, but I just remember thinking that is nothing to be proud of.
I knew that I would never do an elective termination, but I still held my pro-choice views at that time.
After I completed my residency, I entered into private practice and soon after that, my husband and I were expecting our first child. We were very excited. And because I had an opportunity as an OB to have an ultrasound early on, we were able to see our baby’s heartbeat.
I found myself lying on the ultrasound table, looking at a screen where our baby’s heart lay motionless. I left myself a little bit of time to cry, but then quickly collected myself and decided upon learning of our baby’s demise that I would spontaneously miscarry. I felt very responsible that I had lost the baby.
I shoved those feelings down, eventually miscarried, and soon buried myself back into my busy schedule of call and deliveries and surgeries. Because after all, once a woman experienced an early pregnancy loss, everything went back to normal, right?
The next six months [it] became more and more difficult for me to go to work. I finally confided my feelings with a close friend of mine, and she told me that I was grieving the loss of our child. I hadn’t let myself recognize my grief because of the following thought: if life didn’t begin until a baby could sustain itself outside of the womb, why was I in so much pain?
So, my pro-choice stance started to crack. As I continued on in my practice, I was given a new set of eyes with these revelations, and I began seeing the brokenness that these terminations were causing, and it has just made me realize that as obstetricians, we need to stop being complacent and allowing these babies to be disregarded.
When we completed our medical training, we took an oath to do no harm. And in what I’ve seen, there are two of our patients that are suffering when we allow elective terminations. It’s time for us to really take a hard look at what our profession is doing. And advocate for our patients’ health and well-being.
I would invite you to join me as we hold out our hands to help the most vulnerable in our society, our unborn children.
Share on FacebookThe authors of a study on teen pregnancy and the abortion decision found that:
“The knowledge that as a teenage mother they would not be on their own and still considered as a part of their family was crucial to many young women in their decision to continue [with the pregnancy].”
They quoted a teenage girl named Leone who decided against abortion. She said:
“If my mum and dad said they wouldn’t support me I think that would have changed my mind, because I wouldn’t have been able to afford to look after her.”
Sharon Tabberer, Christine Hall, Shirley Prendergast, and Andrew Webster Teenage Pregnancy and Choice: Abortion or Motherhood: Influences on the Decision (York, UK: Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2000) 24
Share on FacebookCG Richardson wrote a memoir about her postabortion trauma. She had four abortions and deeply regretted them. She describes the reaction of her boyfriend, Alex, to her pregnancy, and how his reaction led her to have an abortion:
“… Before long I was uttering this to Alex, “I’ve missed my period!” His response was not the reaction I expected! “So what do you want me to do about it?” I was crushed at his insensitivity! I became very upset at how cold and callous he was…
I had all but forgotten about it when next month rolled around and still “No Period!”…
“You’re pregnant?” questioned Alex. “Are you sure?”… He paced for a minute or two and said, “I can’t support a baby right now; I have big plans for my career! I don’t intend to stay a fast-food manager all of my life!”…
“I’ll arrange to have an abortion,” I said to Alex. I spoke it in haste hoping he would try to talk me out of it but he didn’t; instead, he let out a sigh of relief. “You want me to go with you?” he asked. I couldn’t believe my ears!…
As we talked further, he didn’t think he should have to pay for it all, so I agreed to split it with him!…
I had never realized how selfish he was before and I began to wonder how I ever cared about him at all.”
CG Richardson No One to Hear Their Cries (Lulu, 2007) 46, 47 – 48, 49, 52 – 53
While this may not fit the category of “coerced abortion” exactly, it’s clear that Richardson wanted her baby and it was the father’s decision to abort. She was not empowered by her abortion, nor was it her free choice.
Share on FacebookIn her book, pro-life leader Lila Rose wrote about the church she attended growing up:
“Like many churches, abortion was almost never talked about at our church even though, at the time, more than a million women were having an abortion each year. The abortion industry’s own surveys show that 70% of American women who had abortions considered themselves Protestant or Catholic…
Despite the prevalence of abortion, even among churchgoers, our pastors never addressed the topic at youth group and would very rarely address it with the larger congregation. Statistically, however, it was inevitable that many women – and men – at my church had been affected by abortion. I decided to call one of my pastors and point-blank ask for permission to give a presentation…
It took a full year of work to finally convince our pastors to allow our pro-life group to come and talk about abortion.
My friends and I had to meet with our pastors multiple times to explain exactly what we planned to do, show each presentation in detail, make some compromises on the material, and more.”
Lila Rose Fighting for Life: Becoming a Force for Change in a Wounded World (Nashville, Tennessee: Nelson Books, 2021) 47 – 48
Source for statistic:
Rachel K Jones, Jacqueline E Darroch, and Stanley K Henshaw “Patterns in the Socioeconomic Characteristics of Women Obtaining Abortions in 2000 – 2001” Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 34 no. 5 (September/October 2002)
Share on FacebookA man named Zach wrote:
“When my girlfriend told me she was pregnant, I knew the baby was mine. I knew I’d take care of it. I loved her. I wanted to marry her. I would have raised the child alone, if that’s what she wanted.
But it was her choice. I told her I’d help her with whatever she decided. She said she was having an abortion and that was it.
I didn’t feel good about it, but I was determined to support her decision… I wanted our relationship to last. I thought having the abortion like she wanted would help.
But we were both changed afterward. I tried to keep us together. I tried so hard. But things kept getting worse until we finally broke it off after two years.
My girlfriend and I were occasional users before the abortion but afterward things got so out of control. My ex-girlfriend is still messed up. She’s usually wasted. I’ve tried to help her and talk to her about how the abortion is affecting her, but it only makes things worse…
I carry tremendous guilt about this. I don’t know if I can forgive myself.”
After Abortion Stories: How Abortion Changes You (no author listed, no date)
Share on FacebookDr. Mildred Jefferson, the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School and a three-term president of the National Right to Life Committee:
“Abortionists argue, ‘Let the poor have abortions like the rich can.’ Then abortionists should make a list of the other things rich women have that they’re going to give to poor women.”
Deborah Deasy, “MD Says Abortion Hurts Blacks Most.” The Pittsburgh Press, October 24, 1977
Abortionists aren’t really concerned about helping the poor. If they were, they would also help them have and provide for their children.
Share on FacebookThe late Christopher Hitchens said the following in Nation magazine, in April 1989:
“[A]nyone who has ever seen a sonogram or has spent even an hour with a textbook on embryology knows that emotions are not the deciding factor [in abortions]…In order to terminate a pregnancy, you have to still a heartbeat, switch off a developing brain…break some bones, and rupture some organs.”
Quoted in:
Mehdi Hasan “Being Pro-Life Doesn’t Make Me Any Less of a Lefty” Huffington Post December 14, 2012
Pro-abortion authors Harold J Morowitz and James S Trefil wrote about an embryo’s brain:
“… All three regions of the brain develop together, and the cells that will give rise to all of them are clearly visible in the four-week embryo…
The development of the brain is a smooth continuum, with no place where sharp distinctions can be drawn.”
Harold J Morowitz and James S Trefil The Facts of Life: Science in the Abortion Controversy (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992) 100, 101
Nevertheless, these authors support abortion.
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