ClinicQuotes

Former Clinic Worker Deborah Henry:

“Many women could not afford to have babies, so we would use examples- like the price of babies’ shoes, the price of clothing, how much it cost to raise a baby. If they weren’t finished with their education, the hindrance it would have on their education, how would they find a baby sitter, who was going to take care of that baby for them? We would find their weakness and work on them…All they were told about the procedure itself was that they would experience slight cramping similar to menstrual cramps, and that was it. They were not told about the development of the baby. They were not told about the pain the baby would be experiencing or the physical effects or the emotional effects it would have on them. They had no idea who was going to be there to help them when they fell apart afterward…Some of the women were a little apprehensive about it. We were told that in explaining to them we could never use the word “babies.” It was always tissues, tissues of cells, or clusters of cells or products of conception.”

“The women were never given any type of alternatives to the abortion. It was just automatically assumed that they knew what they wanted. They were never told about adoption agencies. They were never told about people out there who were willing to help them–to give them homes to live in, to provide them with care and even financial support. The euphemisms that are used — clusters of cells, products of conception, or just plain tissue — are all lies.”

Personal Testimony “Meet the Abortion Providers” Convention

in 2005, in Georgia, a law was proposed that would’ve allowed women coming in for abortions to see information about their unborn babies. The woman would not be forced to look at this information, but she would have the option to if she chose to. Planned Parenthood vehemently oppose the law. According to Kay Scott, who is executive director of Planned Parenthood :

“Supporters of the Woman’s Right to Know bill say it would allow time for reflection, but this bill is really about deception. …women already receive full informed consent before having an abortion…..”

Kay Scott “ABORTION: 24-HOUR-WAIT SUPPORTERS TRY TO DECEIVE” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, GA), Jan 21, 2005 pA15

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“The information provided [by abortion providers] is often unreliable or exaggerated. Consider this text from a “frequently asked questions” Web site – “Making Your Decision” – published by Early Options, a Brooklyn physician’s office:

“It might help you to know that if you are in the early stages of pregnancy, you are not yet carrying a fetus or baby. In fact, if it has been less than 7 weeks since your last period, your pregnancy consists of nothing visible to the eye except a tiny, empty sac in your uterus. By 8 to 9 weeks, your pregnancy is the size of a pea.”

In the article that cited the above, abortionist William Harrison comments

“there is actually a very visible embryo in that sac as early as four weeks.”

Holly Auer “Rhetoric from Both Sides Muddles Decision Process” Buffalo News November 24, 2002

A law in Georgia was approved that said abortion clinics must provide materials on abortion risks, the development of the baby, and alternatives to abortion to women and allow them to view them if they chose. Then there was a waiting period is women were allowed to consider this information. NARAL Pro-Choice America, pro-abortion group, opposed this law:

“It’s a ruse to say that clinics do not already have informed consent,” said Becky Rafter, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Georgia. During public hearings on the bill, some abortion clinics provided documentation to legislators showing they already inform women of the medical risks of abortion.”

Carlos Campos “Abortion waiting period approved; Aim to let women change their minds, advocates ” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, GA), March 5, 2005 pA1

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In the article “Abortion Providers Share Inner Conflicts” in American Medical News, a Toronto physician said she didn’t know “how and whether we [should] protect the patient from the reality of the procedure.”

She said she regularly hid the ultrasound screen.

Diane M. Gianelli, “Abortion Providers Share Inner Conflicts,” American Medical News, July 12, 1993. Quoted by Rachel MacNair “Achieving Peace in the Abortion War

 

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Former clinic worker Luhra Tivis discusses her role as an abortion counselor. Tivis was pro-choice when she started working at the clinic, but became uneasy with abortion based on the experiences she had working there.

“They decided they would train me to answer the phone. So I thought they were going to tell me how they wanted the information sheet filled out, and how to keep the phone record, and this and that. But what I was handed instead was a packet of information, materials to study, on how to be a high-pressure salesperson over the phone — you know, like telemarketing. How to convince somebody to buy your product. There was nothing in the material that had anything to do with the medical profession or helping women. I was very puzzled as to why they would be doing this. I hadn’t found out how lucrative it was yet. So I studied, and I tried to answer the phone the way they wanted me to, even up to the very end.”

Quoted by Rachel MacNair in Achieving Peace in the Abortion War” by Rachel M MacNair, Ph.D., published by the Feminism & Nonviolence Studies Association January 2009. http://www.fnsa.org/apaw/

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One ultrasound technician discussed her experience working in abortion clinics. After mentioning how abortion workers told her to turn the ultrasound screen away from the patient considering abortion, she states:

“The guiding principle for the abortion industry is [that] it will decide what information is best for women to learn.”

Shari Richard, letter in Martinsburg Morning Journal. Quoted in “Celebrate Life” Newsletter of American Life League Oct 1991

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Former clinic worker Luhra Tivis, who worked for Dr. George Tiller, stated:

“We were told specifically to coax [pregnant women to have an abortion] by any verbal means available.”

Quoted by Cal Thomas, “Celebrate Life” Oct 1991

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Pro-choice author Jennifer Baumgardner, who started the t-shirt campaign “I Had An Abortion” told the story of an abortion patient in her book “Abortion & Life” (New York, NY: Akashic Books, 2008):

“I went with my boyfriend and friend to Planned Parenthood. I think I was headed into my eighth week at that point. I went into a room for pre-abortion counseling- five quick, terse questions. I had assumed that I was going to get a half-hour and I would finally be able to tell someone or talk to someone about how freaked out I was, but I didn’t get to.”

This appears on page 127

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From one author who observed the daily operation of an abortion clinic:

“Center staff members commonly said “the pregnancy,” “the tissue,” “the products of conception.” “Fetal tissue” was the most explicit term I heard health workers use with clients.”

Wendy Simonds. Abortion at Work: Ideology and Practice in a Feminist Clinic Rutgers University Press: New Brunswick, NJ) 1996. p 80

 

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Illustrating the fact that women are often ambivalent about getting an abortion, and that counseling is needed, a reporter who observed in an abortion clinic says:

“On this day at the surgical unit of Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania, in central Philadelphia, 21 people will have abortions. Another two dozen pregnant women will come in to view a video and to “start the clock” on their state-mandated 24-hour waiting period. Most will come back for abortions. Some will never be heard from again…Sometimes, says clinic manager Paula Monastersky, a woman will just get up and leave. Occasionally, a woman will even be undressed and on the table, moments away from the doctor’s instruments, and she’ll change her mind.”

. Linda Feldmann “Abortion: Uneasy Day at the Clinic” Christian Science Monitor, Jan 22 1998, Vol. 90, Issue 39

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“Since Planned Parenthood is the foremost abortion provider in the US, they have a responsibility to tell women the truth about fetal development and subsequent risks involved in pursuing abortion as an option. I know for a fact they do not.”

Former Planned Parenthood counselor

“Federal Register” Vol 53, no. 21. Feb 2 at 397

However:

An article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution discusses a proposed law that would require abortion clinics to offer information about abortion’s risks and fetal development to women. Executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Georgia Becky Rafter explained why NARAL opposed the law:

“It’s a ruse to say that clinics do not already have informed consent.”

Carlos Campos “Abortion waiting period approved; Aim to let women change their minds, advocates say” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, GA), March 5, 2005 pA1

She stressed that the law was not needed

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