Elliot Institute News

The Elliot Institute News
From the Leader in Post-Abortion Research
Vol.4, No. 13 -- Sept. 27, 2005
Visit us online: http://www.AfterAbortion.Info

IN THIS ISSUE:

The Risks of Choice
Studies Document the Physical and Emotional Dangers of Abortion

Population controllers have long insisted that abortion is healthier for women than childbirth. A host of studies examining the effects of abortion, however, have proved otherwise. Women who have abortions often face increased physical and emotional problems, including substance abuse, mental disorders, impaired fertility, pregnancy loss, and breast cancer. This article will examine the various studies and what they say about the risks of abortion.

Fatal Complications

Even though most abortion-related deaths are not officially reported as such, legal abortion is reported to be the fifth leading cause of maternal death in the U.S. A 1997 government-funded study from Finland showed that women who abort are four times more likely to die within a year than women who give birth.* By extending their scope beyond the very narrow time frame that is examined by most post-abortion studies, the researchers were able to get a better look at how abortion truly affects women's lives. The results clearly showed that compared to women who carry to term, women who aborted in the year prior to their deaths were:

Short-Term Complications

Abortion has also been linked to a number of short and long-term physical problems. Immediate complications can include uterine perforation, infection, excessive bleeding, embolism, anesthesia complications, convulsions, hemorrhage, cervical injury, endotoxic shock, fever, vomiting, and Rh sensitization. Long-term problem include infertility, problems with future pregnancies, certain types of cancer, and lower overall general health.

To read the complete article, go to www.afterabortion.info/PAR/V8/n3/abortionrisks.html.

*Editor's note: see below for more information on this and other more recent studies.

 

More Information on Women's Deaths From Abortion
 

Last week the Elliot Institute published a news release on a new study by Finnish researchers showing that 94 percent of women's deaths from abortion are not verifiable by looking at death certificates alone. This means that many maternal deaths from abortion go unnoticed and uncounted in statistics reports, and allow abortion advocates to continue claiming that abortion is safer for women than childbirth -- one of the key arguments for abortion that was laid out in Roe v. Wade.

For more information on death rates after abortion and the scope of the abortion death cover-up, readers can link to the following articles posted on the Elliot Institute's web site:

 

The Cover Up: Why U.S. Abortion Mortality Statistics Are Meaningless: www.afterabortion.info/PAR/V8/n2/abortiondeaths.html

Abortion Four Times Deadlier Than Childbirth: New Studies Unmask High Maternal Death Rates from Abortion: www.afterabortion.info/PAR/V8/n2/finland.html

Abortion May Increase Women's Mortality Rate: New Study Shows Women's Death Rate from Abortion Much Higher Than Previously Known: www.afterabortion.info/news/deathssmj.html

 

The Two Doors
Julie Woodley as told to Matt Woodley

In July 1985, my husband and I paraded through the front doors of Methodist Hospital of St. Louis Park. We came to give birth to a beautiful baby girl, Bonnie Joy.

Six years prior to that, I had quietly slipped into Methodist Hospital through the back door, which is also known as Meadowbrook Women's Clinic. I was single, lonely, and frightened at that time in 1979 when I went to the clinic.

The Story of Two Doors

When I entered through the front door of Methodist Hospital, they insisted that I ride in a wheelchair. The nurse called me "Mrs. Woodley," and wheeled me past a nursery brimming with living, breathing, crying babies. Babies carefully tended and wrapped in pink and blue blankets.

In stark contrast, I entered by the back door at Meadowbrook Women's Clinic. There was no wheelchair. I was given a number for identification and directed to a waiting room after I paid the bill. Anything baby-like was strictly forbidden.

Shortly after I entered by the front door my nurse strapped a monitor on my belly. Her relaxed eyes and gentle touch were her offerings as she assured me, "Don't worry, we don't take any chances with babies." For 20 hours three nurses took turns recording and analyzing a rapid little heartbeat. During prenatal classes I had learned that three weeks after conception, my baby's heart began to pump blood. Brain waves were present at eight weeks and at ten weeks. Bonnie Joy was closing her delicate eyelids, puckering her lips and responding to touch.

In 1979, behind the back door, the baby was treated as an intruder -- a formless, featureless blob -- and a dangerous one. The attitude was simple and single-minded: let's remove it.

Behind the front door, Jody, my nurse, summoned the doctor to my room to review my charts, papers, and printouts. His eyes didn't quite meet mine when he said that things weren't going according to plan. After 20 hours of labor, the baby was in distress and in a difficult position for delivery. "We need your permission to do an immediate C-section." The doctor sensed our fear and quickly added, "We have the resources to keep both of them safe." The entire staff worked with one thing on their minds: "A mother and baby are in distress; we need to save them."

Behind that back door, a mother and baby were also in distress, but no one came to save us. After the procedure was over I rested in bed at the clinic. A poster taped to the ceiling read in bold, stark letters, "If it weren't for Planned Parenthood where would you be today?" That poster nauseated me more than the abortion. Filled with anger and frustration, I began to weep. "You didn't help me," I thought. "You had the resources but you didn't protect me or my baby."

Today Bonnie Joy is 15 years old. Despite complications in delivery, my family, society, and Methodist Hospital found resources to save our baby. They spared no expense and employed cutting-edge technology to preserve the tiny life. That's what they do behind the front door.

Less than a thousand feet away, a few doors down and one wing over, tiny lives are quietly and matter-of-factly destroyed. That's what they do behind the back door.

The Third Door

It took a third door to heal my back door wounds. Jesus said, "I am the Door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture."

Now I spend my life pointing confused young women to the true door of life and freedom -- Jesus Christ. By entering through this third door, we join a radically different community -- a fellowship committed to protecting the lives of both mother and baby.

~~~

Julie Woodley has an MA in counseling and is the founder of Restoring the Heart Ministries, which ministers to those struggling with the pain of abortion, sexual abuse, and other forms of damaging or self-destructive behavior. Find out more about Restoring the Heart Ministries by visiting their web site at www.rthm.cc. Article reprinted with permission.

News Briefs
 

Spanish Abortionist Says Women Seeking Late-Term Abortions Have Mental Problems

An abortionist at a Spanish abortion clinic that performs late-term abortions has said that "probably all women" seeking such abortions have mental problems.

The London Telegraph quoted Leonardo Llorente as saying that "always it can be proved that the patient at this moment had serious mental problems even though later on the patients can be completely normal." The clinic where Llroente works has come under fire for offering kickbacks to British pregnancy hotlines to refer clients to them, since abortions are not allowed in Britain after 24 weeks except in cases of fetal deformity or to save the mother's life. Spanish law, however, allows abortions after 22 weeks if there is danger to the mother's mental or physical health.

Llorente did not explain, however, how women with "serious mental problems" are capable of giving valid, informed consent. In truth, either they are not mentally ill or he is guilty of construing the desperate wishes of mentally unstable persons as the equivalent of an informed consent.

The British government has also been investigating a report by the Telegraph that the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, the nation's largest abortion business, falsified paperwork in order to send women to Spain for late-term abortions.
 

Medics Coerced Into Abortion Win Pregnancy Discrimination Settlement in D.C.

The District of Columbia's Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department has settled a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit filed by three female medics who were pressured into abortions in order to keep their jobs.

According to the lawsuit, the women were told by a supervisor that they would be fired if they became pregnant their first year on the job, and all three ended up aborting when they became pregnant. The Bush administration intervened in the lawsuit to help arrange the settlement, which offers $101,000 in compensation to each of the women and requires the District of Columbia to follow non-discriminatory policies set by the Justice Department.

Commenting on the case, Bradley Schlozman, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. government's Civil Rights Division, said that "using pregnancy as a barrier to a woman's entry into the workplace and continued job security is illegal and inexcusable ... forcing women to choose between their baby and their job clearly contravenes federal law and will not be tolerated by this administration."
 

Minnesota Planned Parenthood Sued for Violating Parental Notification Law

The parents of a teenage Minnesota girl who underwent an abortion without their knowledge in violation of Minnesota law are suing the Planned Parenthood abortion business that performed the procedure.

The teen, known in court records as Anne Doe, underwent an abortion at Planned Parenthood of St. Paul in 2002, shortly before her eighteenth birthday. Although state law requires abortion businesses to notify parents if their teenage daughters are seeking an abortion, Planned Parenthood claims they did not violate the law because the teen was almost 18 and had previously given birth to a child. The parents are seeking $50,000 in damages.

Studies have shown that teens are more likely to report feeling pressured into abortion, to feel they were not properly informed during clinic counseling, and to feel less satisfied with abortion services. They are also more likely to experience problems coping after abortion than are older women.

 

Reach Students With Hope and Healing
 

It's fall and students throughout the country are once again returning to college or high school. In the midst of classes, social activities, sports, and all the other activities that occupy a student's life, many may be struggling with the pain of a past abortion. Others may currently be facing an unexpected pregnancy and wondering desperately how to handle it.

How can you reach out to these hurting and confused young people? Our full-color, 12-page publication, Hope and Healing, addresses their unspoken fear and grief in a gentle, non-judgmental, yet honest way. The risks of abortion are exposed and young people who have experienced this tragic "choice" -- often in the face of enormous pressure from parents, partners, or others -- are invited to seek healing. Many who have only been exposed to lies of "choice" will hear a message of truth and compassion for the first time.

We strive to make Hope and Healing available at the lowest cost possible so that more people can access this wonderful resource. We have not raised our prices since Hope and Healing was first published, but rising paper and printing costs may eventually force us to do so. However, right now you can still take advantage of our low prices! Visit www.afterabortion.info/hope/arti22.htm for a price list or call 1-888-412-2676 to place an order or for information on pricing for more than 1,000 copies.