Mother of two children with down syndrome speaks

Ashley Engele is a mom of two whose oldest child has Down syndrome, found out she was pregnant with her third baby, who also had downs. She never considered abortion. Her first child,  Rilynn, is now 4 1/2 years old. She writes:

“Rilynn is just like any other precocious 4-year-old girl. She goes to preschool, loves Trolls, Barbie dolls and her “typical” younger sister. They are best friends, they love each other fiercely, and also have the classic sibling rivalry. We fight over what outfit she’s going to wear, or how she’s going to wear her hair for the day. Most of all, she loves other kids and babies. ….

We know how when we’re having a bad day, one smile from Rilynn can completely turn it around.

We know the extra-squishy hugs that turn our hearts into mush.

We know that when her cute little hands reach out and touch your cheek, you instantly feel better.

We know how she is changing the perception of those with Down syndrome, one person at a time.

If you’ve ever met our daughter, you know she doesn’t lack personality. She can make even the grumpiest or angriest people smile and win their hearts over in an instant.

You see, Down syndrome has shown us a whole new world, a whole new deeper level of love, compassion, and patience.”

After her third child was diagnosed in utero:

“Down syndrome is a beautiful journey we had never planned on, but would never dream of leaving because we know what it’s like. We treasure our experiences at face value, we slow down and enjoy the little moments in life, we celebrate every single milestone (big or small), and most of all, we celebrate life, because our lives are better with Down syndrome in it.”

ASHLEY ENGELE “Woman expecting 2nd baby with Down syndrome opens up about her experience” ABC News Oct 30, 2017

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Adolescents feel “guilt, shame, and fear of disapproval” after abortion

From a 2004 study that did a group interview with post-abortive adolescents:

“The loss of a potential child by abortion gives rise to the universal experience of mourning, in which adolescents are developmentally more vulnerable…. Because strong cultural and religious taboos exist, aspects of traumatic grief are sometimes ignored….

The adolescents described feelings of guilt, shame, secrecy, or confusion that clarified how the social stigma of abortion was reinforced in the high school setting. American adolescents are more likely to disapprove of abortion because they tend to respond in absolute terms to moral issues. Stone and Waszak’s study (Stone, R., & Waszak, C. (1992). Adolescent knowledge and attitudes about abortion. Family Planning Perspectives, 24, 52-57) demonstrated that adolescents’ first association to abortion was “killing the baby” ….

The group members in our study indicated they felt guilty when they were seen entering the abortion clinic, a feeling exacerbated by protesters who were sometimes encountered outside the clinic. Classroom discussions that condemned abortion also made the adolescents feel uncomfortable and guilty….

The socially based negative emotions of guilt, shame, and fear of disapproval were still noted in these group participants, even 40 years after the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed women’s right to choose, offering some societal acceptance of this choice. These feelings of guilt and shame, along with the shock and trauma of the pregnancy, can prevent adolescents from incorporating the experience of abortion into a learning experience because the defense of denial is used. This denial may cause a repetition of the shameful experience….

Some group members shared that they talked to the fetus and said, “I’m sorry,” to the fetus.”

Daly, Joan Ziegler, ACSW; Ziegler, Robert, MD; Goldstein, Donna J, RN, CPNP “Adolescent Postabortion Groups” Journal of Psychosocial Nursing & Mental Health Services; Thorofare Vol. 42, Iss. 10, (Oct 2004): 48-54.

Read more studies about the emotional impact of abortion

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Christian woman regrets aborting twins

A Christian woman who aborted a twin pregnancy describes how she felt before and after the abortion:

“The nurse told me that I was having twins and it scared me to death. How could I raise three when I could barely raise one on my own? I based my decision purely on being able to take care of them financially. I was also ashamed of myself and thought how others would react to see the daughter of a minister pregnant again one year after having her first child [unmarried].…

The church played a huge part in my life. My parents are both ministers, so I was not a stranger to God’s word… Even though I knew God then, I did not have the faith back then that I have now to step out on.…

For years, I suppressed the guilt of turning away from a gift from God. I thought about how old they would’ve been and wondered how they would’ve looked. These thoughts would bring instant shame and guilt upon me. I struggled mostly with my faith in God. How could I speak to others about what God wants if I was unable to do it?”

LaDina Anderson Killing Grace: A Rise To Restoration (2016) Kindle edition

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Abortionist says telling women about fetal pain is “torment” to them

Abortionist Dave Turok, of Salt Lake City, talking about a bill that would require abortionists to tell their late-term abortion patients that their babies can feel pain:

“Turok said telling those women their fetuses feel pain is heaping torment upon torment. “These women have real pain,” he said. “They did not come to this decision easily. Creating another barrier for them to get the medical care they need is really unfair.”

According to The Salt Lake Tribune :

“The draft law allows doctors to remain silent in emergencies, cases of rape or incest or if the abortion is meant to prevent the birth of a child with “grave defects.”

Rebecca Walsh “Fetal pain advice bill sent back for rewrite” The Salt Lake Tribune February 4, 2006

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Doctors tell woman to abort, but her baby is born healthy

Linda Serrano, of Bakersfield, CA tells her story:

“I received a German measles shot two weeks before I got pregnant with my first child. I called three doctors, and none of them would accept me as a patient. They all wanted me to get an abortion. I went to a fourth doctor, and she also advised me to have an abortion, that my chance of having a healthy baby was 0%. When I told her no, she said, ‘Well then you will have a deformed baby, and you’d better tell your husband.’ I was in tears by this time. My husband said, ‘God loves all people the same. Then I asked God to have mercy on us, and heal my child. I told Jesus that if He didn’t, that would be okay, because I knew He would be in control. I would love my baby no matter what. “I’m very happy to say that my baby girl, Angela, is perfectly healthy! While the doctor was stitching me up, she said I still should have had an abortion!”

Melody Green “The Questions Most People Ask About Abortion” Last Days Ministries

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Reverend prays for abortion

In an article, Rev. Debra Haffner describes how she will pray for abortion:

“We will end our prayers with these words: “Bless us as we seek to create a more just world where all people have the right to make their own private reproductive decisions and obtain safe, legal, and accessible abortion services. Amen.”

Rev. Debra Haffner “Faithfully Supporting Access to Abortion Services” Huffington Post 02/24/2016

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Abortion worker tells how they broke waiting period laws

One former abortion worker said in a webcast:

“Often times what would happen was patients would come in and say, “Oh, yeah, I did speak with someone. I don’t have my paperwork and we wouldn’t have their paperwork, but my regional director would say something to the effect of, “Well, can you show me in your cell phone where you had a phone call from a private number? Or show me in your cell phone where you have a phone call from an unlisted number or a 1-800 number, and we’ll just say that that was the phone call, and we just forgot to put it in the system.

So often times, we really didn’t have 72-hour informed consent, but we would still go ahead and see the patient.

There were even other times where the patient was truly adamant that she really wanted to have her abortion, if she came from far away, traveled a far distance and had a hotel room, there were many instances where we knew – we were not directly told to do this, but what we were told was, the number of abortion patients that we say that day is the number of 72 hour consents you should have at the end of the business day.

So basically, without saying it we were being told to forge, that we saw 35 patients, but we only had 30 consents, you need to make up those other five so you would have the correct number at the end of the day.”

Sarah Terzo “Former abortion worker: We ‘often’ skirted the law on waiting periods” Live Action News November 27, 2018

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Memory of abortion is “too painful to bear”

Michelle Borquez wrote a book about grief after abortion. She says of her own abortion:

“There has been nothing in my life quite as painful as the memory of my own abortion. It was too painful to bear. I couldn’t even imagine myself having done such a thing. I had buried the memory of it.”

Michelle Borquez Abortion to Mercy, (2013) Kindle edition

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Abortion workers sometimes use the term “baby”

In an article about abortionists and clinic workers:

“Providers also reflected on differences between language used inside the clinic and accepted pro-choice rhetoric. Some noted that during clinical encounters, they attempt to “meet their patients where they are” by using the words the patients use, such as baby instead of the more clinical term fetus.”

Lisa A. Martin, PhD, Jane A. Hassinger, MSW, Michelle Debbink, MD, PhD, Lisa H. Harris, MD, PhD “Dangertalk: Voices of abortion providers” Social Science & Medicine 184 (2017) 75e83

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Pro-Abortion reverend “put women at ease” about their abortions

Rev. Jesse Lyons of Riverside Church was part of the Clergy Consultation Service, which referred women to illegal abortions before Roe v. Wade. All of those in the service were pastors or rabbis who were pro-abortion.

He describes the “counseling” he gave abortion minded women:

“I tried to put a woman at ease, to make her recognize abortion was not a matter of eternal damnation,” Lyons explained.”

Lawrence Lader Abortion II: Making the Revolution (Beacon Press, 1974) 46

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