article by site founder, Connie Rice
I am pro-life because I am a surviving victim of a culture that lies about abortion – what should have been my first-born child was a victim who did not survive. Abortion is not pro-woman – we were created to be nurturing and protective of our offspring (as is also evident even in the animal kingdom). Abortion is a violent, unnatural intrusion into what was once referred to as the “safety of the womb”, as was plainly portrayed in the movie “Unplanned”. For me, the actual surgical abortion procedure was painful and gut-wrenching – I felt as if life had been sucked out of me (it literally was). Now they send women home with chemical abortions to suffer alone with the resulting intense cramping and bleeding that accompany expelling the tiny dead fetus, as also seen in the film, “Unplanned”. How is this pro-woman? We are told the lie that casual sex brings freedom and empowerment and the increase in sexual activity in our culture set the stage for more crisis pregnancies and has caused women untold emotional pain.
Abortion is not always the woman’s choice – in my case, my husband of 7 years gave me the ultimatum of choosing between him or the baby. I went with him to the clinic, but still asked the clinic worker before having the abortion if it was a baby because I didn’t want to go through with it if it was – I was told that it was only tissue and blood – not a baby yet. He left the following year anyway, soon after our baby would have been born. It is time for the truth to be told. My story is only one of many – some are revealed at “Silent No More” and at “SaveOne”. I am not sure if accurate documentation exists, but have observed personally that many people strongly committed to the pro-life position are women who have had one or more prior abortions (three of whom I have met personally) who were unable to have another child. “Feminists for Life” says it well: “Women deserve better than abortion – abortion is a reflection that we have not met the needs of women”. The idea that to be pro-woman is to be pro-abortion is just not true.
The clarion call that the developing embryo or fetus is part of a woman’s body is debunked by biological science:
“To begin with, scientifically something very radical occurs between the processes of gametogenesis and fertilization the change from a simple part of one human being (i.e., a sperm) and a simple part of another human being (i.e., an oocyte usually referred to as an “ovum” or “egg”), which simply possess “human life”, to a new, genetically unique, newly existing, individual, whole living human being (a single-cell embryonic human zygote). That is, upon fertilization, parts of human beings have actually been transformed into something very different from what they were before; they have been changed into a single, whole human being. During the process of fertilization, the sperm and the oocyte cease to exist as such, and a new human being is produced.”
“Basic human embryological facts“ from article, “When do Human beings Begin?: Scientific Myths and Scientific Facts” – by Dianne N. Irving, M.A., Ph.D., (copyright Feb 1999) in journal, “International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy” 1999, 19:3/4:22-36 for “Princeton”.
Human development in the womb in the first ten weeks after fertilization:
- “The cardiovascular system is the first major system to function. At about 22 days after conception the child’s heart begins to circulate his own blood, unique to that of his mother’s, and his heartbeat can be detected on ultrasound.
- At just six weeks, the child’s eyes and eye lids, nose, mouth, and tongue have formed.
- Electrical brain activity can be detected at six or seven weeks, and by the end of the eighth week, the child, now known scientifically as a “fetus,” has developed all of his organs and bodily structures.
- By ten weeks after conception the child can make bodily movements.”
Points above are from article, “The Best Pro-Life Arguments for Secular Audiences” By Rob Schwarzwalder for “Family Research Council” (FRC); references are given there.
Abortion is a money-making business as revealed in Carol Everett‘s books, “Blood Money: Getting Rich Off a Woman’s Right to Choose”, and “The Scarlet Lady: Confessions of a Successful Abortionist”, as well as the film, “Unplanned”. Many of today’s feminists and media outlets have been convinced that abortion is somehow a Constitutional “right“, but the same FRC article referenced above “cites a long and growing list of prominent “pro-choice” legal commentators who call Roe v. Wade indefensible”; references for the quotes below are in the article below:
“The late John Hart Ely of Yale, for instance, argued that Roe was wrong ‘because it is not constitutional law and gives almost no sense of an obligation to try to be.’; The law clerk of Justice Blackmun, the Justice who authored the Roe v. Wade opinion, calls it ‘one of the most intellectually suspect constitutional decisions of the modern era.’; The Washington Post’s legal editor says it has ‘a deep legitimacy problem.’; Even Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been critical of Roe, saying that it ‘ventured too far in the change it ordered and presented an incomplete justification for its action’ and that the Roe decision was ‘not the way courts generally work’.”.
from article, “The Best Pro-Life Arguments for Secular Audiences” – by Rob Schwarzwalder of “Family Research Council” (FRC); quote references are in article.
The public was misled in the arguments for legalizing abortion.This is clear from the articles, “Jane Roe Tells True Story Behind Roe v Wade” – by Dave Andrusko for “National Right to Life News” and “The Pro-Life Legacy of Norma McCorvey, the ‘Roe’ of Roe v. Wade” – by Katrina Trinko for the “Daily Signal”.
I remember when abortion supporters told the public that abortion should be “safe, legal, & rare” and they have regularly used terms that devalue the humanity of the child – “clump of tissue”, “not a baby yet”, “product of conception”, “terminate a pregnancy”, “residue of rape”, etc. Many of the talking points leading up to legalized abortion were exaggerated or untrue as discussed in article, “Does Legalizing Abortion Stop Filthy, Back-Alley Abortions?” – by Brian Clowes, Ph.D. for “Human Life International”; Since abortion was legalized in 1973, Jason Noble confirmed in his article for the “Des Moines Register” that 50 million babies have been aborted in the U.S. – is that rare?
“92% of abortions in America are purely elective — done on healthy women to end the lives of healthy children.”
from same FRC article above; breakdown listed there: Lawrence B. Finer et al., 113-14.
Radical feminists today equate women’s rights with unfettered access to abortion until (and now even after) birth. Imagine how shocked America’s first feminists would be with that based on their own views about abortion:
“It [abortion] is also at odds with the views of America’s first feminists, all of whom opposed abortion. Chief among them were ‘Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who not only led the fight for the right of women to own property, to vote, and obtain equal education, but also spoke out against abortion. Susan B. Anthony’s newspaper, ‘The Revolution’, called abortion ‘child murder’ and ‘infanticide’.”; quotes given in FRC article references d below, but sources are “The Revolution”, April 9, 1868, “The Revolution“, July 8, 1869, & Susan B. Anthony, “The Revolution”, July 8, 1869.
from article, “The Best Pro-Life Arguments for Secular Audiences” – by Rob Schwarzwalder of “Family Research Council” (FRC); quote references are in article.
An unintended reality of the legality and promotion of abortion is that it has encouraged numerous men and family members to avoid responsibility and embarrassment by pressuring women to have abortions. Another side of this is the very real issue of dads, grandparents, & other family members who have had no voice when a woman chooses to abort. There has been no cultural support for those dealing with that kind of grief (or for the women who experience grief from a prior abortion) outside of pregnancy care centers and now from “SaveOne” an international ministry committed to helping men and women heal from a prior abortion. Sharon Osborne’s quote from “Focus on the Family” site:
“I had an abortion at 17 and it was the worst thing I ever did. … I was two months gone when I realized. I went to my mum and she said, without pausing for breath: ‘You have to get rid of it.’ She told me where the clinic was and then virtually pushed me off. She was so angry. She said I’d gotten myself in this mess, now she had to get me out. But she didn’t come. I went alone. I was terrified. It was full of other young girls, and we were all terrified and looking at each other and nobody was saying a bloody word. I howled my way through it, and it was horrible. I would never recommend it to anyone because it comes back to haunt you. When I tried to have children, I lost three — I think it was because something happened to my cervix during the abortion. After three miscarriages, they had to put a stitch in it.”
Sharon Osborne (TV personality and wife of Ozzy Osborne) in Sharon Unxpurgated, (Dec 18, 2004, Associated Newspapers, Ltd)
Some women share they have not been negatively affected by their abortion(s). The after-effects of my first-trimester abortion were not realized for years, but there were definitely negative consequences – I just did not know they were related. My sub-conscious awareness kicked in when I was pregnant with my second child and read about child development in the womb. I had already experienced unexplained and deep-seated guilt and feelings of unworthiness that presented itself in relationships, but those became more intense and I developed a deep sadness that I could not explain.
With the birth of that child, I suffered a 6-month period of depression with overwhelming feelings of unworthiness and inadequacy in being a mom, which prevented me from bonding with my baby. When she was 5 and my younger child was 2, God answered me as I cried out to Him because of the problems in my 2nd marriage. As a result, I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and began reading the Bible. I realized that He considered every life precious and considered the taking of an innocent life an abomination. My intent had been to be a good mom to my kids, so facing the fact that I had taken the life of one of them and deprived my children of their older sibling caused me to be overcome with grief and regret. I asked for and received God’s amazing mercy and forgiveness. That was a huge turning point in my life. It wasn’t until a few more years that I discovered the emotional harm my firstborn had suffered from the lack of bonding.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here.”
2 Corinthians 5:17
“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
Romans 8:1
To truly help women and to offer them a choice other than abortion as a viable option, our culture should support pregnancy care centers across the nation. They offer the truth about abortion methods and fetal development as well as emotional and practical support before and after the baby’s birth. All of their services are free made possible by donations – emotional support, parenting classes, maternity clothes, baby clothes & supplies, healing post-abortion studies. referrals for adoption,& more. Allowing a loving adoptive family to parent the child provides the birth mother with the peace of knowing she gave life to her child. I know numerous people who have been unable to bear children and have adopted or hope to adopt.
I am overwhelmed by God’s mercy and grace that He has forgiven me even though His Word says that the taking of an innocent life is an abomination to Him. I found complete freedom through taking a post-abortion study and am now prepared to lead one so other post-abortive women can also find freedom. If you have an abortion in your past, please consider taking a study in your area. It is emotionally challenging, but God’s supernatural healing and peace are so worth it, as Jesus tells us:
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:32
© Constance Rice 2019
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