The pro-abortion Left pushes a narrative that abortion is pro-woman, and Pro-Lifers are anti-woman. They say that abortion is a right, that it is empowering, and that without access to abortion, women will die. What a far cry from the truth!
Abortion not only kills preborn children but also greatly harms mothers. It leaves mothers with mental and spiritual suffering and carries numerous health risks that are downplayed by the Left and the abortion industry.
Although abortion may be seen as a temporary relief, she could likely suffer long-term side effects that far outweigh that short-term fix. A 2018 article published by Cambridge University compiled results from 22 studies of 877,181 participants, finding an alarming rate of mental health risks women face after an abortion. According to the study, women face an overall 81% higher risk of mental health problems after having an abortion compared to those who have not had one.
The article went on to reveal:
Abortion was further linked with a 61% increased risk of social phobia and increased the risk of suicide ideation by 59%. In the realm of substance misuse, the abortion-related increased risks for alcohol misuse, alcohol dependence, drug misuse, drug dependence, and any substance use disorder were 261%, 142%, 313%, 287%, and 280% respectively.
Beyond mental health-related suffering, women are more likely to experience future miscarriages or preterm deliveries after having an abortion. This does not account for the immediate health risks associated with the abortion procedure itself, which include:
- Hemorrhage
- Infection
- Retained pregnancy tissue
- Cervical damage, possible cervical incompetence leading to future premature delivery
- Damage to the lining of the uterus, possible abnormal placental attachment in future pregnancies
- Uterine perforation or rupture
- Injuries to surrounding organs
- Anesthetic reactions or complications
- Death
Even if none of this were true, every successful abortion ends a unique human life that possesses inherent value and dignity merely by virtue of their humanity. As our founders stated so eloquently in the United States Declaration of Independence, “… all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
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This crucial founding principle is violated by abortion. Abortion cannot be a “woman’s right,” since abortion deprives a preborn child of his or her Right to Life. Nobody has the “right” to deprive anyone of this foundational right, born or preborn.
Even in horrific cases of sexual assault, women need compassion, resources to heal from the abuse, and justice for the violence they suffered. However, offering a survivor an abortion is only offering her a second traumatic event. It also invites her to participate in another act of cruel violence against another innocent victim—her own child. Abortion benefits human traffickers by allowing the perpetrator to cover up his crimes and continuously exploit women.
In a perfect world, only people prepared to be parents would conceive and have children. But Life is far from perfect. We have to make the best of the opportunities we are given. This is Life. It is beautiful, wonderful, painful, messy, and worthy of our best efforts.
Children are a blessing from the Lord. They cannot be perfectly timed, even in our hyper-individualistic America. But they are precious, human, and in need of our protection and their parents’ love.
When parents cannot provide for their children, there is thankfully the option of adoption. In the United States alone at least one million couples are waiting to adopt infants into their families. The mother in these cases may choose to be a part of her child’s life through an open adoption, or allow the adoptive family to raise the child without her interaction in a closed adoption.
We must, as a nation, choose Life rather than death. We have much work to do to embrace the vulnerable, but we must start by ending the practice of killing the smallest and weakest among us and promoting options that are helpful and healing for their mothers.
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