The women’s magazine SELF recently ran a checklist for women seeking elective abortion. The article, entitled “15 Ways to Mentally and Physically Prepare for Your Abortion Procedure” reveals an anti-Life bias that misleads women about the reality of the “procedure” they are seeking, the risks abortion entails, and the alternatives available to them.
Here’s what women actually need to know:
1) Abortion ends the life of a unique, developing human being. SELF starts the list by encouraging women to “educate” themselves on the different abortion methods. The paragraphs of medical jargon and factoids omit some significant details. Namely, what happens in the abortion to the developing baby with a beating heart In any abortion, there are at least two people undergoing the procedure: the mother and the child. When women understand what happens in an abortion, many choose Life for their children.
2) Abortion is not without risks. SELF assures women that “abortions are safe medical procedures,” ignoring the many risks, physical and psychological, that abortion entails.
3) Pro-Life laws protect your right to choose. SELF presents Pro-Life laws as a nuisance, but informed consent requires that women understand the development of their child at the time of the abortion and the risks of the abortion procedure. Therefore, Texas law requires women to receive the Woman’s Right to Know Booklet and receive a sonogram and counseling before an abortion decision.
4) Women who have undergone abortion are at risk for mental health issues. There are resources available if you are struggling. You are not alone.
5) No one has the right to pressure you into an abortion decision. Studies show that the majority of post-abortive women “felt pressured by others” to undergo an abortion.
6) Pro-Life sidewalk counselors can offer alternatives to abortion. SELF warns readers about the “unfortunate reality” of encountering Pro-Life sidewalk counselors when entering an abortion facility. Pro-Life sidewalk counselors are not an obstacle but a lifeline, literally. For the vast majority of women, the pregnancy is not the crisis. Their situation is. Pro-Life sidewalk counselors are prepared to connect women to pregnancy resource centers that can support women.
7) Abortion entails lifelong risks including increased risk of miscarriage and infertility.
8) Post-abortive women are also at an increased risk for breast cancer.
9) Before birth, your baby is already learning. Your baby can hear your voice and heartbeat, and these form an integral part of their unique development in the womb.
10) If you are facing a crisis pregnancy, there is hope and there is help.
Although the anti-Life media push abortion as a logical solution to complex issues, the reality is that no matter a woman’s circumstance we can love both the mother and the child. Share this list.
How can you help women in crisis pregnancies in your community?
