"Women's Health after Abortion: The Medical and Psychological Evidence"

Catholic Insight ^ | December 2002 | John Shea, M.D.

[John Lenin]

Flame away ladies and gents.

[hocndoc]

Abortion kills human beings.
As Senator Santorum has stated over and over today, all rights are dependent on being alive.

One person's liberty does not trump the life of another human being.

[Ladysmith]

What's to flame? It's true.

[apackof2]

Bump for the truth

[Humidston]

Flame heck... I'd call this an informative bump!

[RJCogburn]

No flame. It is worth noting though, that when there is an agenda by an author, facts are somehow often stretched. In this case

The scientifically proven after-effects of abortion described in this book include:

1. An increase in the over-all risk of breast cancer by 30%.

The fact is there are competing data on both sides and both sides have played games with the data so that the actual truth is uncertain...at least to me.

[abigail2]

You won't get flamed by me. I had four abortions and can testify that everything in this article is true, even more so. I've been trying to get up the courage to tell my story on FR, because I believe there are millions of American women, like myself, who have carried the guilt of abortion, knowingly or unknowingly (unconscious of where the self hate, self destruction come from).

Our family and friends don't know what happened to us. We were once relatively normal women or girls and became suicidal, drug addicts, alcoholics,crazy, self-destructive,and really poor parents.

I went into denial. I went crazy and did crazy things, drank, took drugs, had thought of killing myself every day for years and years and didn't know why. I didn't realize until recently that my inability to parent my children, to hold a job, to let someone love me was a result of the guilt I never faced for my abortions. I felt I had to punish myself. But this was all unconscious. So powerful is the act of abortion, that it destroys a womans natural maternal instincts. We are either overprotective because we feel our born kids will be punished for our sins or leave them to others to raise because we don't feel capable or worthy.

I believe that til we confront this issue, and allow women and men to discuss their abortions and repent of them, we will not have the moral climate necessary to come through this coming period of tribulation.

I have learned that Lorena Bobbitt, and Susan Smith both were forced to have abortions by their husbands. I have to wonder about the other women who act crazy, kill their kids, shoplift when they have lots of money...we won't know until this issue is brought out into the open and dealt with. But I believe it will explain alot of strange behavior by women.

Anyone who would like to know where to get help with after abortion counseling can FRemail me and I can direct them to some sources.

[John Lenin]

I would say that there are grounds for lawsuits against abortion providers as great as what happened to the tobacco industry. Informed consent is the topic and the fact that abortion providers have been holding back the negative information about the ill effects of providing abortions.

[Desdemona]

ping

[pray4liberty]

And the pro-choicers told us in our younger years that childbirth was far riskier than abortion. Yeah, right. Yet another lie added to the pile.

[abigail2]

I just want everyone to know that no one 'gets away' with abortion. This article is right as far as I know (although I don't know the cancer part but I can imagine it.)

[John Lenin]

A few lawsuits will wake them up. The coverup at Planned Parenthood is probably bigger than what big tobacco pulled off .

[EternalHope]

If FreeRepublic had an award for courage, you would have just earned it.

God has forgiven you. My prayers are that you will be able to accept that forgiveness in your heart, and let Him heal you. You have clearly made a wonderful start.

[Salvation]

Abigail,
Thanks for sharing your story. That took a lot of courage. Here are a couple of sites where people (including you, if you want it) can get additional help.

Priests for Life

Roe No More Norma McCorvey is now a Catholic.

Feminists for Life

Beginning Experience They offer a weekend for dealing with the grief and guilt in your life.

I will be glad to talk with you further. (Freepmail) It sounds, however, like you have your feet on the ground and are steadily moving forward. Know that Jesus is walking right along beside you.

Coleus, Do you have any additional resources, referrals, etc.?

[Salvation]

You are also in my prayers.

[Question_Assumptions]

I think that IVF can be ethical if the doctors and patients follow an "if you make it, you implant it, and if it takes, you keep it" policy instead of selecting embryos and discarding the rest (and if they don't force sperm into the egg which just seems like a really bad idea). It simply moves the location of the fertilization and there is no guarantee that an embryo created in the womb will come to term, either. Cheapens marriage? Given what people need to go through before IVF, I don't think so.

[Question_Assumptions]

What I'm really waiting for is a lawsuit brought by a woman who was a minor when she had the abortion. Who was legally responsible for her actions if she was a minor and no parental consent was given?

[Question_Assumptions]

One of the saddest things I ever saw at an abortion protest was when I attended a pro-choice march in DC as a counter-protester in the late 1980s. The pro-life side managed to get a permit to set up a small plot below the Capitol building where they placed 4,400 crosses (and Stars of David, as in Arlington) within a snowdrift fence. The pro-choice crowd stood outside the fence, not daring to enter, yelling in insults. As I stood inside with the people I went with from my college, I looked over and saw a single woman, kneeling in front of one of the crosses, crying.

Oh, yes, abortion hurts women. Unfortunately you are not alone in learning that too late.

When people ask me if I'd imprison women who have had abortions, if abortion were to become illegal, I think of that woman. No, I'm not out to punish women who are scared, desperate, and especially not those who were sold a false bill of goods ("It's safe", "It's legal", "It will make your problem go away") or who were emotionally cornered or pressured into it ("Here's $300, honey. Go take care of it."). All I really want is for women to realize what they've done, as you have, and never do it again.

[John Lenin]

Cheapens marriage?

It may not cheapen marriage but it cheapens the child on fathers day.

[Question_Assumptions]

OK. Let me clarify. I was talking about IVF within marriage where the father and mother are both married to each other. Couples do resort to IVF who have problems having children naturally. Most of the cases of IVF I've heard of were within this context. I was not talking about anonymous sperm doners. That's a whole other issue.