Abortion Clinic Workers and “Tainted Language”

The same author goes on to state:

“I sensed that no matter how straightforward Center women were with me or with each other about resisting the language barriers erected by antis, they seemed uneasy when clients used tainted words. I found this uneasiness to be contagious; for instance, Hallie and I were silent when the client asked us whether digoxin [a chemical used in second and third trimester abortions] was what “killed the baby.” Center workers found themselves in an awkward position….how might feminists reappropriate tainted language?”

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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Abortion Clinic Counselors Didn’t Have Much Training

An abortion clinic receptionist (Concord Medical Center) was asked if the counselors at the clinic where she worked had formal training:

Her answer:

“No, most people that counsel there did not have much training, before they started working there, that’s the way it worked.”

The Board of Review of the Illinois Department of Employment Security Case # 92-L50928

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The Department of Health and Human Services On Abortion Counseling

The Department of Health and Human Services, in its “Counseling Adolescents in Reproductive Health Care Settings” notes that when a client experiences anxiety and guilt over her decision to abort, “the counselor may be able to reduce the intensity of the feelings or the possibility of their interfering with commitment to the plans.”

The Department of Health and Human Services, in its Counseling Adolescents in Reproductive Health Care Settings, 1980. Rachel M. MacNair, PhD, Finding Peace in the Abortion War: Predictions on Possible Social Impacts of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Cognitive Dissonance as Structural Stressors

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Germaine Greer On Abortion

Feminist Germaine Greer says the following about abortion:

“A ten-week foetus is not pink jelly, but only the woman who loses her baby spontaneously is likely to know how human the tiny creature was and to grieve for it for the rest of her life. Women presenting for abortion…are shielded from grief…and from guilt.”

Germaine Greer “Sex and Destiny: The Politics of Human Fertility ” Olympic Marketing Corp; Reprint edition (April 1985)

It is often only later, when a woman learns the facts about fetal development, that she begins to feel intense grief and guilt. The abortion clinic may hide the facts about the unborn baby, but they cannot censor everything the woman sees for the rest of her life. Eventually, she will be exposed to the truth – and in the emotional fallout can be agonizing.

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Jewels Green on Abortion Clinic Counseling

Jewels Green, who worked in an abortion clinic for five years, stated that most of the women who came to her clinic had made up their minds that they wanted an abortion. However, she emphasized that some were ambivalent, and that the clinic was not equipped to deal with them. She said clinic counselors had little information to offer on abortion alternatives and that they did not do a through job of counseling. In her own words:

“This is where the pro-choice movement and clinics fail. Sure, we had a little notebook with the names and numbers of two local adoption agencies, but we were never trained or taught how the adoption process works so we could explain it to women. We had the phone number of the local WIC office, public assistance, etc., but again, knew nothing about the process should anyone ever ask for details. If a pregnant woman wanted to learn more about these other choices, the best the “options counselor” could offer was a post-it note with a phone number hastily scribbled on it.”

Kristen Walker “Former abortion clinic worker breaks silence, speaks out for life” LifeSiteNews.com, Thu Jul 21, 2011. Found here Kristen Walker “Former abortion clinic worker breaks silence, speaks out for life” LifeSiteNews.com, Thu Jul 21, 2011.

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Planned Parenthood Instructs How to Counsel Ambivalent Women into Abortion

In Planned Parenthood’s “The Complete Guide to Pregnancy Testing and Counseling” a hypothetical case is presented where a married woman has agreed to have an abortion, but is having ambivalent feelings. The guide suggests that the counselor:

“Tell her that no one makes the decision to have an abortion easily or ever feels really “good” about it. Acknowledge that feelings of discomfort and sadness are normal. Ask about the reasons for which she and her husband decided on an abortion. Help her to reaffirm that this is the best decision for them right now. Remind her that feelings of guilt, sadness or loss do not mean that a wrong decision was made.”

“The Complete Guide to Pregnancy Testing and Counseling” Planned Parenthood 1985 (p 24-25) quoted in “Achieving Peace in the Abortion War” by Rachel M MacNair, Ph.D., published by the Feminism & Nonviolence Studies Association January 2009.

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Planned Parenthood on Adoption

In one survey of Planned Parenthood affiliates, clinic workers were asked about whether they could address the adoption issue.  Only 20% felt that adoption should be included as part of Planned Parenthood’s mission statement.

In reply to the question “Should adoption be part of Planned Parenthood’s mission?” some typical responses included:

“No. It would present an apparent and possibly actual conflict of interest. Difficult to finance. Very draining on staff time and overall effort.”

“Only as a referral. It might be very confusing to maintain a pro-choice stance when an agency also is invested in finding an infant to place.”

“I think we have to look very carefully at the issues involved. For our clients, we need to be sure that the information and services we provide are really in their best interest. A pregnant fifteen-year-old should not be seen as the ‘solution’ to an infertile couple’s problems. We need to be very careful not to cast women in the role of ‘baby producers’…”

“We have historically presented adoption as an option in a most matter of fact way without presenting the whole picture. Of those patients who choose adoption, it only makes sense for us to be their means to an end.”

Robert H. Ruff “Aborting Planned Parenthood: Documented Proof of Planned Parenthood’s Systematic Exploitation of Teenagers and Taxpayers” (New York: Life Cycle Books 1988 p 30

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Abortion Malpractice Case Report Discusses Deficiencies in Abortion Counseling

From a report on abortion malpractice cases:

“All too often the abortion counselor has only a high school diploma, has herself had one or two abortions and feels compelled to assist others by affirming the abortion decision. She thereby affirms her own decision, unknown to her and her client. Because she may be in denial about the emotional aftereffects of her own abortion, she is either unaware of post-abortion emotional trauma, or is simply uninformed.”

It also cites the following statistic:

“In the U.S., abortion counselors as a “profession” are unlicensed, and are unregulated in 95% of the States.”

Citing a number of studies, the article goes on to state:

“Several empirical studies in the U.S. have indicated the deficiencies of current abortion counseling practices with the majority of respondents reporting insufficient information provided by the abortion counselor; insensitive, unhelpful abortion clinic personnel, with respect to providing assistance in decision-making, and the provision of misinformation, thereby contributing to increased anxiety, confusion and levels of post-abortion depression and hostility”

“Abortion Malpractice: When Patient Needs and Abortion Practice Collide” Association for Interdisciplinary Research in Values and Social Change. Research Bulletin Vol. 9 No.1 November/December 1995. http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/air/air_vol9no1_1995.html#a24 See Barnard, C. (1990), The Long Term Psychological Effects of Abortion, Portsmouth, NH: Institute for Pregnancy Loss; and Vaughan, H. (1990), Canonical Variates of Post-Abortion Syndrome, Portsmouth, NH: Institute for Pregnancy

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Abortionist on Abortion Clinic Counseling

Abortionist Dr. Don Sloan:

“So we have these centers where patients are counseled, but don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s a thorough job. The counseling is less than might be desirable at times…For someone performing abortions, the volume can be so great it’s overwhelming. I’ve sent out tens and tens of thousands of women, and I know so little about so many of them- most of them. How could I? In a sense, the doctor is only a tradesperson, a technician performing a task, like any other…There are many times- frequently, in fact, and I do to this very day- when I will get a referral to do an abortion on a woman I’ve never seen, will see only for those fleeting minutes of the termination, and then never seen again. That scenario isn’t peculiar to me- it goes with the territory.”

Don Sloan, M.D. and Paula Hartz. Choice: A Doctor’s Experience with the Abortion Dilemma. New York: International Publishers 2002 p 103

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Former Owner of two Abortion Clinics: Abortion Clinics Sell Abortions

“How many of you have seen a number, unsolicited, that you think you could call that said, “Problem Pregnancy,” “Abortion Information” or “Pregnant?” in your area where you think you could call for abortion information?

Let’s talk about those kids when they find out that they are pregnant. They may not want an abortion: they may want information. But when they call that number that’s paid for by abortion money, what kind of information do you think they’re going to get?

Let’s remember, they sell abortions. They don’t sell keeping the baby. They don’t sell giving the baby up for adoption. They don’t sell delivering up the baby in any form. They only sell abortions…

This counselor is paid to be this girl’s friend. She is paid to be the authority for the girl. She is supposed to seduce her into a friendship of sorts to sell her the abortion. Every problem this girl has: I don’t want to tell my parents. You don’t have to tell your parents. They don’t have to know. You’re old enough to come in and have it without them knowing. And then the money, and they ask them to go get their money and pay the people back in a year….

They tell the counselors, and I told the counselors, not to rock the boat; not to answer any questions that they didn’t ask.”

Carol Everett, former owner of 2 abortion clinics and director of 4

Personal Testimony “Meet the Abortion Providers” Convention

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