The Abortion Scam: Why Pro-Choice is Really Anti-Woman- The Physical Assault on Women

Almost daily we are bombarded with the Pro-Life vs Pro-Abortion debate and are unequivocally told that it is a matter of women's rights and that anyone who opposes abortion is trying to oppress women, but is that actually the case, or is it a smoke screen to cover up the real sexist agenda? That is the question I am going to tackle in this look at how abortion really effects women, and what the femnist arguments are. Are women really being informed, or sold a bag of goods?

The traditional arguments in support abortion have generally focused on two claims, one that legal abortions are safe and that they are necessary to protect women focusing on claims that women would die from illegal abortion, therefore making them legal saved these women and that, forbading abortions is oppressing women because abortion is needed to protect rape victims. Other than the fact that this first argument makes no sense at all (it would kind of be like saying prisoners could be killed while trying to escape from prison so we should just set them free), this assertion is simply not true. Women die from abortion, legal or otherwise, it is the abortion that kills them, not the legality of it.

When we consider some of the facts about abortion and its toll on women, we start to see a pattern that looks more like an all out assault on women instead of something that is suppose to protect them. Consider just a small handful of these facts:

Women who have abortions are nearly 4 times more likely to die within a year than women who carry to full term.
The rise in your chance of having breast cancer nearly doubles after an abortion (and the odds are even higher after a second abortion).
Women who have abortions are also more likely to get cervical and ovarian cancer as well as cancer of the liver.
Other risks of abortion include PID (Pelvic Inflammationn Disease), Endometritis, severe infections, excessive bleeding, Uterine ripping or perforation, embolism, hemorrhaging, endotoxic shock, and other problems all of which can be life threatening or lead to future infertility.
The safety of future pregnancies are threatened by an abortion including higher chances of ectopic pregnancy, pre-term deliveries, or other harms to the child.
The psychological effects of having an abortion are also a factor with a majority of women experiencing negative psychological reactions, a period called “emotional paralysis” which as been compared to shell shock, sleep interruption, nervous disorders, and other emotional trauma that leaves a number of women requiring some sort of psychiatric medication (even among those who initially had no reservations before going into it).
Sexual dysfunctions due to both physical and emotional damage after an abortion have also been reported by anywhere from 1/3 to half of all women who have abortions.
To spite the rally cry to protect rape victims, in reality, only 1%-2% of abortions are related to cases of rape or incest and evidence suggests that the woman suffers from greater emotional trama from the abortion than from carrying the child to term in such cases.
Claims that the life of the mother is at risk to support late term or partial birth abortions are false, as stated by Physicians for Life “Partial-birth Infanticides are always elective” and provide no medical benefit to the woman whatsoever, but does in fact, endanger the woman's health, safety, and well being.

These are but a few of the dangers associated with abortion. So why then are we made to believe that this is safe? Another point to consider, is what about the issue of informed consent? Women are rarely (if ever) told the truth about the harms of abortion or the truth about their baby. For example, women are often told that “it's just a lump of formless cells” when in fact, after just 4 weeks of fertilization (about the time women are just learning that they are pregnant) the baby already has a heart beat, the eyes and spinal chord are visible,internal organs such as the lungs can be identified, and the brain is already developing including the presence of the portion of the brain responsible for consciousness. That does not really sound like “just a lump of formless cells” does it?

So why the lie? Why are abortionists and pro-abortion supporters lying to women and hiding the dangers in order to essentially trick them into having the abortion? If there was a doctor lying to women about having breast cancer in order to force mastectomies on tricking men into being castrated, the nation would be in an uproar and we would prosecute this monster, yet, women are being lied to and tricked every single day to kill their unborn children and put their own lives and risks at health and then made to believe that it is for the cause of women's rights just to silence our voices.

So, what about that argument. Is this really a rally point for women's rights? Let us take a look at the political arguments in part two of our look at the abortion scam and see if there really is a feminist case to be made.

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I'm not sure if you

I'm not sure if you understand what "illegal abortions" used to entail before abortion was made legal; your analogy about prisoners just doesn't make sense. These secret abortions included women using unsterilized hangers, glass, straw, drugs, the aid of others to beat them, hurling themselves down flights of stairs, etc. I'm not sure why you'd want to advocate for that.

The research cited in this article is overwhelmingly biased as well. Most of it comes from anti-abortion websites, so it's no surprise that at least some of it is completely false. (*Note: I just looked up the Elliot Institute; all of these sources, are in fact, from anti-abortion groups.) For example, the breast cancer link has not been proven; no link has been found. However, a link between breast cancer following a full term pregnancy, has been found. This statistic, however, is often used by so-called "crisis pregnancy centers," which are usually a disguised attempt at making women carry their pregnancies to full term, as a scare tactic--along with many other false claims.

I also tend to trust doctors much more than I do politicians and religious leaders; as bright as President Obama is, I would never ask him to perform an appendectomy if my appendix were about to explode. Nor would I ask any church leader without medical background. Doctors saved my life when I was pregnant; I was fortunate enough that they were able to save my daughter's too. Had we arrived at the hospital--only two trimesters into my pregnancy, with a severe illness--even a day later, either or both of us could have easily died.

I actually do know dozens of women who can die if they get pregnant, myself included. Even though, after I gave birth to my awesome daughter, I was told that if I got pregnant again it would all happen again, though earlier in the pregnancy and much worse--now not only putting my own life at risk but the life of my newborn--my own OB refused to help me get sterilized? She says I'm still young to make that decision--even though the risk of having another life-threatening pregnancy is in the high 90's percentile. A "Doctor for Life," she would gladly keep my life in jeopardy if it means more babies in the world.

At the NICU, I meant lots of other devastated mothers--in one single hospital--with the same condition. Since my religious OB will not help me, while I'm on the Pill we are trying to raise enough money for my husband's vasectomy--as our insurance, of course, does not cover such a thing and could care less if I die in childbirth (or other pregnancy complications).

I'm sure you know that, as risky as abortion can be (it is a medical procedure; all medical procedures carry risks), pregnancy is much riskier; it is one of the leading causes of death for women worldwide. A woman dies in childbirth every minute; that's in addition to the 10 million women who suffer injuries, infections, and diseases because of their pregnancies. It's not a third world issue, either; the numbers are climbing in the United States. Two to three women die each day from pregnancy in America.

While it's true that rape victims should have complete access to abortions, many other women are in need of the procedure as well. I don't know if you've ever been to a clinic, either, but women are not "lied" to. Most are required to go through some educational materials, and they are provided with information about potential risks involved (like I said, with any medical operation). I know this because I've volunteered with such a place and have seen plenty of women choose whether or not to have an abortion. That's essentially the bottom line, isn't it? That women have the right to choose what to do with their bodies--particularly when their own lives are on the line--with the information given. No church and no government official should decide whether a woman lives or dies.

All Completely Irrelevant

Nothing that you said is even relevant whatsoever to the article or the argument. Crazy women getting beat up or throwing themselves down stairs to murder the child?? Do you even watch the news, that is happening NOW where abortion is completely legal, and there are still crazy people doing crazy things like that so the legality of it has nothing to do with it.

Secondly, the few "facts" that you mentioned are completely wrong, in fact, women who give birth are protecting themselves against breast cancer, and further, breast feeding dramatically REDUCE their chances of breast cancer, what you said is completely false. (One such study from the American Cancer Society (not a church or political group). If you had bothered to research all of the facts, you would see that they come from doctors, not politicians as you try to assert.

Lastly, women do NOT have the right to make this "choice" and can never make such a "choice" when they are lied to or the truth is withheld from them, that is what informed consent is all about. By distorting the facts as you have done you are essentially the one's taking away that choice while claiming that others are doing so. You claim that is not your experience but there have been far too many accounts from women post abortion who have said they were never informed about the risks, the “procedure” or their child and those women should not be ignored.

I would also add that the medical need, life and death situations that you referred to was not an issue in this article as I am referring to abortion on demand, and even such cases are extremely rare in the modern age to spite what abortion propaganda says about it.

The study I cited (the same

The study I cited (the same source you are now using, actually, ACS), refutes your claim, and maintains that not only does having an abortion not increase your risk of breast cancer, but that:
"Breast cancer risk is increased for a short time after a full-term pregnancy (that is, a pregnancy that results in the birth of a living child)."

I would argue that you did not research your own facts, since they all come from Anti-Abortion groups and "Doctors for Life." Have you never been to a family planning clinic before? The facts are laid bare for women to make informed choices. It is the anti-choice side, unfortunately, which tends to distort the facts, inciting fear and lies into women who are simply trying to make a private medical decision. No one would do such a thing, say, if the decision were about a gallbladder surgery. The fact that it's even a political issue when it's clearly a medical issue raises plenty of red flags--and it is, unfortunately, largely religious communities and the politicians who rely on them as their bases who make it so.

My other facts, by the way, come from the World Health Organization, a source I trust much more than I would ever trust your "The Unchoice" or "Physicians for Life."

And therein lies the problem with your article as well--you deem yourself the person to judge whether or not an abortion is warranted between "medical need, life and death" or "abortion on demand." I would argue that life and death can be quite relative, especially when it is your life in question. You have no right to peer into each individual's life, judge it, and determine whether or not she can make such a decision.

You also use the phrase "murder a child," which takes this argument out of the scientific realm (though it was barely there to begin with) and launches it much closer to the religious one. A child is defined as a human between the ages of birth and adolescence; an egg, a sperm, a zygote, an embryo, even a fetus--none of these are children.

And furthermore, such "Crazy women getting beat up or throwing themselves down stairs to murder the child?" that you cited happens because of anti-abortion laws put in place that limit access and penalize women for seeking aid. The more restrictions in place, the more occurrences we can see as such.

I must ask, though I dread the answer--who, in fact, do you believe is lying to these women, and what purpose do you believe they have for doing it? Do you honestly think there is a conspiracy to get women to have abortions? Aren't you really supposing this to simply further your own anti-choice agenda? Because frankly, the evidence supports quite the opposite. Honestly, how many billboards do you see that proclaim, "Ladies, go have an abortion today!" I have yet to see one, though where I live I see plenty of the opposite.

You Prove My Point For Me

If you want to spout your own political agenda in your own post fine, but you should at least take the time to read the other half of the article before assuming anything. I am not going to waste the time responding to the ways that you contradicted yourself in your comments, I'm sure the readers can see that just fine for themselves. I will only point out that, again, you need to know your facts. There are no penalties against women for seeking an abortion, and cases of self inflicted abortions have been reported even in places where abortion was legal and perfectly available. You also ignore the fact that abortions can kill women and many women have died because of it (and yes I mean the legal ones).

You're too closed minded to even consider the arguments, which just proves my point that women have been brainwashed to believe that abortion is FOR women, when it is actually the opposite.

Ramble on if you wish, I shall not bother responding to any further comments as I am not here for a flame war.

Before you ignore everything

Before you ignore everything from here on out as promised, I would like to hear your reply to Sarajean's last question.

I've read your article (as

I've read your article (as well as the other half, which is far scarier and far more ridiculous) and maintain that you should seek other research. The breast cancer fact has been refuted over and over again; this is like parents who say that vaccinations cause autism.

I'm not flaming you; I'm merely defending women and their right to choose. Again, you offer no instances of where women were misinformed; were you ever in an office, ready to have an abortion, and misinformed of what could happen? I only ask because that's really the only way you will know, right? You see, I myself have not, but I have been privy to plenty of people who were forewarned about death and other possible results (and, like I said before, more people die from pregnancy than from abortions, which you seem to think is OK). In fact, just as with any other surgery, you do have to sign consent forms acknowledging that you've been made aware of the risks involved--or do you have a conspiracy theory that women are drugged while signing these waivers, or maybe they are forged?

I'm definitely not brainwashed; on the contrary, I would definitely urge every woman to carefully consider her options before having an abortion. I myself became pregnant while in college and know how hard it can be, and I would tell any woman that you are strong and powerful, and you CAN do this if you want to.

By claiming that supporting a woman is anti-feminist, you are being anti-feminist yourself. You claim, in your other article, that abortion takes the men out of the picture for responsibility; the fact is that MEN take themselves out of responsibility! Making abortion legal or not will not change that; making stronger laws for men to have to support their own offspring will. One has nothing to do with the other--and making abortion illegal will not keep women from being sex objects, either; I have no idea how you came to that conclusion.

And furthermore, you are not being a friend to the feminist community by suggestion that women are stupid. You say they are strong, capable, etc. but apparently they are not smart enough to decide what to do with their own bodies. Do you think every woman who has cancer gets chemo? Nope. I know plenty who were recommended the treatment and did not take the course, surviving in other ways. Likewise, women who get pregnant will weight out their own options and information before getting an abortion; they will not blindly make a decision like a sheep as you suggest. Through your own inferences, you have called women too stupid to make decisions for themselves.

Regarding the instances of women who harm themselves while abortion is legal, you completely ignored the part that it is continually restricted. Many areas require parental consent and other restrictions that prohibit women from getting an abortion due to legislation put in place.

Again, I don't know who you believe is "brainwashing" the masses--or what their possible cause could be. Abortion doctors certainly aren't in the business for the recognition. They could much more easily get a job in plastic surgery or another field than be threatened with death every day of their lives. Likewise, they could also feel free to talk about their work, like a neurosurgeon might, instead of being close-mouthed about the lives they've saved.

I don't expect you to respond, as you haven't responded to any of the other facts that I've posted. However, I cannot simply stand by while you spread around anti-choice propaganda and spin it to reflect science and fact.

I would urge any women out there faced with unplanned pregnancies to consult with their doctors, their partners, and especially themselves while deciding what to do. There are a multitude of options available, all with their own unique risk factors; no health decision, after all, is without them.

"I would urge any women out

"I would urge any women out there faced with unplanned pregnancies to consult with their doctors, their partners, and especially themselves while deciding what to do. There are a multitude of options available, all with their own unique risk factors; no health decision, after all, is without them." Easily the most sane thing said here. Thank you.

It is the truth, Uj21. Every

It is the truth, Uj21. Every woman's situation is unique and we should trust them to make their own decisions.

There doesn't have to be any

There doesn't have to be any billboards at all- the culture sends the message far more clearly via the emphasis on the individual than any billboard ever could.

It may be that you have not experienced lying to women about what abortion entails, but there is lots of evidence that such lying does indeed occur. And, in my mind, the argument that "it's not a child" does not stand based on the simple fact that similar distancing techniques to those that are used on the battlefield to distance soldiers from "the enemy" are used in the abortion debate- if there were nothing wrong with what was being done, why the cold, clinical terminology?

As for who is encoraging these abortions to occur, that should be relatively apparent; our culture has thoroughly devalued life in favor of caricatures and the like, and such behavior does not come without a price to pay.

In addition, Niki is not calling women too stupid to make decisions for themselves; she's saying that they lack all the information on the issue, which is not at all the same thing. If I withold information from you and give you an incomplete picture (whether out of an unconscious bias or intentionally), knowing that society is likely to skew your decision-making even further, that is going to distort the outcome of your thought process. There are certainly consequences and aftereffects of abortion (both physical and psychological), and these are not enumerated at all in your response, other than to make abortion sound like just another medical procedure.
Further, your issues with the presented data are a red herring- you state that much of the data is biased, however, the fact that the studies were carried out, supported by, or cited by pro-life groups does not inherently invalidate the studies; bad science is the only thing that can do that.
Lastly, you are just as biased as you "claim" Niki is, considering that your position is that there is no child until the moment of birth (or perhaps very late into the pregnancy), and that abortions are simply a medical procedure affecting a woman's own body- this totally ignoring the differences between the child and mother or the obvious fact that, even if the medical terminology is taken at face value, the fact that a child is the end result should color the decision-making process.

"As for who is encoraging

"As for who is encoraging these abortions to occur, that should be relatively apparent; our culture has thoroughly devalued life in favor of caricatures and the like, and such behavior does not come without a price to pay."

Still no specifics--what lies are being told to women? What information is being withheld and by whom? Tell me that you were told to get an abortion, or that you went to get one and life-threatening information was withheld from you, or another specific example, please. Where is this evidence of lying? The most lying that I can see is from these anti-choice groups and especially from so-called crisis centers. Before women have an abortion, they have to sign a waiver; they have to be made aware of the risks and are told they have a chance of death. I know this, you know this, and pretty much everyone should know this, since it's an operation. If you go to get an abortion, you will be told the risks, and you will be told that you can die. Period. Funnily enough, when you get pregnant, people are sort of mum about the dangers of pregnancy...

I agree that our culture devalues human life; look at the way they treat doctors who perform abortions and the women who have to make such a difficult decision. Look at the way they treat children who are actually born and living--as punching bags, as sex trade commodities, as homeless trash. I see plenty of Congressional people working to try to stop abortion from happening but not trying to help get these kids off the street, proper medical care, education, etc. It's a damn shame.

"if there were nothing wrong with what was being done, why the cold, clinical terminology?"--This doesn't really make sense; "cold, clinical terminology" is used for any medical procedure. Again, I'm sure you know this.

I've restated over and over that at least some of this research has been proven to be wrong on multiple accounts, even with the author's own source in mind; this research is not scientific. That said, abortions can be dangerous, like I stated before, but not as dangerous as pregnancy, from which (as I stated before), a woman dies every minute.

Studies conducted by special interest groups are, sadly, usually such "bad science," by the way. I wouldn't trust stats that you provided from anywhere other than a reputable medical source; anti-choice groups certainly do not fit the bill. You do realize that special interest groups often get by with either manipulated or outdated studies from decades past, right? It's scary but true. And like I said, that doesn't mean that there are no dangers; see my above comments.

Again, HOW do women lack all of the information available, when they go in for a consultation and are presented with vast amounts of research and statistics about what can happen to them? The answer is that they have the information they need to make their choice provided by their doctors, and it's not any of your or my or the author's business.

And you're saying that I'm biased makes sense, since I am a woman, I know women whose lives were saved by abortion, and that I know that if I were to get pregnant again I would die (which would also leave my breathing, living child motherless); but I am not in my definition of child. The scientific consensus, the actual definition of child, is stated above in my last comment--a human between the ages of birth and adolescence. This is not bias; this is common knowledge, basic facts you learn in a general biology course. But then again, that isn't the author's main issue, is it? It's women being misinformed--again, by whom and by which means still have yet to be unveiled.

Again, like I said in my last comment, it is a very personal decision which every woman has to consider on her own with her doctor and partner--not the US Congress, not religious groups, and not any other humans who only wish to judge her and have no idea of her own circumstances. Whatever option she chooses--to have a baby, to give a baby up for adoption, to have an abortion, whatever--is going to result in potential harm or death. That's why it's such a big decision. I wonder why you and the author are not given to crusading against pregnancy, which is far less safe than an abortion? Are you not upset with all of the women being misled by what a joyous, wonderful thing a pregnancy can be (indeed, it can be) without them being informed of all the extreme risks and potential death? My OB/GYN, after all, never told me about the life-threatening illness I would develop that almost killed me (an illness that is fairly common and growing, actually), or about several other physical side effects that made me ill (aside from the stereotypical sitcom morning sickness) and affected my body for years. Are these not things women should be made aware of?

Furthermore, if your goal is to reduce the number of abortions, I'm definitely with you there; I would love to have the number of abortions as well as the number of unplanned pregnancies diminish vastly, since both can endanger women's lives. I fully support comprehensive sex education, full access to contraceptives, and universal health care--all which would help with these goals. I hope that you do as well.

where to begin?

This article and the ensuing comments thread is essentially the cacophonous American abortion debate in microcosm. First of all, Niki, if you're not even willing to take five minutes to proofread your article, how are we supposed to accept that you've done your due diligence in verifying the quality of your sources? Our country has more than enough ineloquent and ill-informed individuals crowding the soapbox.

This debate has always boiled down to what is a perceived moral decision. Some people claim that it's more moral to see all pregnancies to term, others say that it's more moral to preserve a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy if she wishes. Regardless of which side you take, it's absurd to suggest that it's the government's place to legislate such a personal decision for an individual. Pro-Choice creates an environment that allows individuals to make that moral decision for themselves, whereas Pro-Life creates only one legal option. Prohibiting the option for a clinical abortion is tantamount to mandating church attendance or fining people for eating pork. It's the legislation of a moral position that has no real bearing on the functionality of society. The Pro-Life position is one that is primarily interested in imposing a moral stance on all citizens; in other words, a step toward theocracy. So, you and all other anti-abortion activists are welcome to your own value systems. I hope one day you'll allow the same courtesy to others.

A very neat and eloquent

A very neat and eloquent response, msarko; much better job than I've been able to do!

Reply to sarajean

I live in Ireland ,a country where there is no access to abortion and Ireland has been named repeatedly by the World Health Organisation as the safest country in the world to have a baby. This is because the doctors here consider that once a woman is pregnant the doctor has 2 patients to treat. Because abortion is not regarded as an life option it means that the doctors here have more experience in dealing with difficult pregnancies as they don't advise the woman to have an abortion.The pregnancy can be terminated early but in a live birth and not an abortion. One of the leading obstetricians here has said that there is never a case where direct abortion is the answer. There are a few rare conditions where a baby is unavoidably lost as a result of a life saving operation but these are not abortion and are legal. So the doctors here gain invaluable experience in treating women in difficult situations. Yet the maternal mortality rate is also lower than other countries, simply because the doctors have the experience here and know how to save both mother and baby.

It's not surprising that

It's not surprising that abortion is outlawed in Ireland, where nearly 90% of the population is Roman Catholic. However, public opinion polls have indicated that up to 77% of the population does support the procedure, and even higher numbers support it when the life of a woman is in danger.

There are also amendments about the right to travel regarding the abortion law; I understand that many women, with most estimates around 50,000 annually, do travel to the UK for abortions. I have no information on how that fares with the country's overall mortality rate.

Also, medical care that results in "indirect abortion" is not illegal in Ireland, either. Many women feel that the country's law is against the European Convention on Human Rights; I hear that a decision for their case is still in debate, though it went to court last year.

Ireland is a terrible model

Ireland is the land of the Magdalene laundries, where unwed mothers, often victims of rape, incest or abuse, were shipped off to work and be tormented and exploited, their children taken away from them against their will. The last of the Magdalene "asylums" only closed in 1996, but as Ireland's 2009 Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse reports, thousand and thousands of women and children are still being abused.

I would rather no unwanted children were conceived, ever, but we must have safe, legal abortions. Otherwise, back alley abortions will increase, often resulting in hideous botched abortions and maimed women and children. Legal abortion offers a chance for the women to be offered counseling, and alternatives, and access to conceptio control.

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