Abortion is a lie

Melissa: "I did ask the family planning counselor about the possibility of emotional or physical risks and was told that women feel relieved after abortion and that it was much safer than childbirth. And that's all I was told, even though, at the time, I told the doctor I really wasn't sure I wanted the abortion. I know now that if I had basic information about abortion, I probably would have resisted the pressure to abort and would have carried my baby to term. Then my baby would not have lost his or her life and I would have been spared this endless anguish."

TeenBreaks.com

Lisa: " If I had known that there was an existing living human being whose life would be terminated, I would have factored that into my considerations, and I surely would not have submitted to the procedure, and I would not have consented to it."

Testimony from
The Report of the South Dakota task force to study abortion
December 2005

There was no "counseling"

Atlanta, Ga.(Caller) : "I am a woman that believed the lies that I was told by an abortion facility in Atlanta in 1978 and had an abortion as I was led to believe this was my only choice. There was no "counseling", just sign your name here, give us your money and we will take care of "your problem" in just a matter of minutes. I was never told that the problem was "my baby". I almost died by bleeding to death weeks after and was never helped by that clinic, only told NOT to call my doctor. What makes pro-choice people afraid of showing the client an "ultrasound"?. Believing the lies that I was told "it is just a clump of tissue and cells", I went through with the abortion and have regretted it every day of my life. For 25 years I lived in a pit of hell, not being able to forgive myself. It is about time that woman know the truth, that woman obtain "rights" and women are protected! Abortion is not the best we can do for women."

Washington Post.com 11 -9-2005
PBS Frontline: "The Last Abortion Clinic"

Told I would not regret my decision, they lied

Kendall: " I'm from Colorado. I was 20, I was pregnant, I was scared, and I was looking for answers. And at first, I did not regret the day that I made that fateful decision to walk through the abortionist's doorway. But I was a vulnerable victim to whom they professionally targeted and marketed their ghastly, deadly procedure. I felt helpless as I was subjected to their heavy-handed, high-pressured sales pitch. No matter what soul-searching question I asked, terminating my pregnancy was always their consistent answer. I was given a package deal, and they convinced me that the abortion deal for the low, low cost of $300 cash was the answer to all my problems. I soon realized that they sold it as a package that was prettily wrapped with a great big bow on top, but it was a package that was full to the brim of lies, exploitation, and death.

They told me it was a blob of tissue. They lied. I grieved the baby I lost. They told me that this was the best thing for me. They lied. My abortion devastated me emotionally, physically and psychologically. They told me I would not regret my decision. They lied. I regret the loss of my baby every day of my life. I was never told I would suffer subsequent miscarriages. I had five. I was never told that an abortion might result in a subsequent unhealthy baby. I had a special needs son who died at the age of 7. I was never told that the trauma of my experience would live with me over and over and over and over, and that the regrets and the guilt would drain me day and night.

And I sought solace in denial. And my denial brought about rage. And my rage brought about severe relationship issues with my husband, with my children, with my family. Having an abortion ended the life of my unborn baby, and it ended the normal semblance of a life that I had previously known. Having an abortion didn't end my problems like they said it would. They lied. It was just the beginning of my problems. And I want America to know this. That many women like me take years to understand and acknowledge their grief after an abortion. Like me, they go into denial, and different events can trigger the acknowledgment. The death of my 7-year-old son triggered mine. And living through that grieving experience made me realize that I had actually been grieving the loss of my baby 13 years prior. For 13 years I thought that emotional consequences were only for weak women, not for strong women like me.

For 13 years I thought that I had escaped the brutal ravages of abortion. For 13 years I remained silent in my shame. But I will remain silent no more. There are hurting women like I was who are walking wounded, and they are wounded from their guilt, they are wounded from their shame, they are wounded with despondency, and we need to realize that America gave us this fatal choice, and now she needs to hear our voice. And the abortion industry will continue to lie, with the blood on their hands and the cash in their pockets, that terminating a pregnancy doesn't have severe, life-long consequences. But, I will scream the truth from the rooftops if I have to, that abortion hurts women. Abortion brings torment. Abortion exploits women, and abortion victimizes women. Abortion stopped the beating heart of my baby, and it broke the heart of this mother. And I will boldly state the truth and be silent no more."

Federal News Service Inc.
Justice Foundation Press Conference: 1-18-2005

Justine:  "I'm from Lincoln, Nebraska. At the age of 19, I had an abortion. When I found out I was pregnant, my first plan was adoption. My family doctor showed me pictures of couples wanting to adopt a newborn baby, and I decided that's what I wanted to do. And I told my family and friends of my decision.

I was under pressure to abort from the father of the baby and my friend, who gave me the number to Planned Parenthood. I called them for information on abortion. The woman asked how far along I was. When I told her I was over three months, she said I needed to get in right away. She told me to bring $200 cash the next morning. When I got to the abortion facility, there was a woman who was counseling me. She said, you seem sad, and I started to cry. She gave me a white pill, which I now know is a tranquilizer, and said, take this, it will make you feel better.

After that, I was pretty much out of it. I don't know how I got on the abortionist’s table, but all I remember is the pain, the most excruciating pain I've ever felt when the abortion started. After the abortion, everyone, the whole faculty just fled, and I was left in a pool of blood. I was in the recovery room. I was vomiting. The three or four women sitting next to me, who just aborted their babies, were comforting me, while the staff was just sitting at the table. Since the abortion, I've experienced abruption of the placenta in future pregnancies. I've had an ectopic pregnancy, and I've had to have two C-sections because of a damaged cervix. I had depression every fall for several years because of the anniversary dates around the abortion was in the fall. I've had anger and rage, which my husband has had to deal with, along with sexual dysfunction. I would have never sought an abortion if it were illegal. Abortion hurt me. We need to keep women safe from abortionists, and Roe v. Wade must be overturned."

Federal News Service Inc.
Justice Foundation Press Conference 1-18-2005

I am a woman and my abortion hurt me!

Shirley: "Since women are ashamed to speak out, the pro-choice movement can get away with saying that abortion is good for women, but abortion is not good for women. Women still suffer infections and even death in "botched" abortions. Abortion hurts women (and men), I know because I am a woman and my abortion hurt me!"

Rocky Mountain News, Letters 1-11-2003

I had used my choices up

Suzy: " My first abortion my mother (God rest her soul) believed was the only solution to the dilemma of a daughter that had stepped out of line. I refused to marry the man that 'may' have been the father. You see I wasn't sure who the father was, I had been dating and sleeping with two different men. One man was honorable and the other was not. The honorable one wanted to marry me and give his child life. The other refused to acknowledge that he could be the father. I decided to have this baby on my own and when I told my mother that...she exploded. How could I do that to the family? What would their church think of us? My dad was trying to become a 'deacon' in their church and that would not happen if his children where not upstanding citizens in the church. What about the effect of this on my brothers? I was selfish and spoiled to even think of having this baby, much less keeping 'it'. I began to feel the pressure and I also became very afraid when I realized that my own mother was not willing to help me through this. She made the appointment for the abortion. She made the decision for the abortion and because I was uncertain, afraid and most of all a coward, I allowed her to maneuver me into that abortion.

My abortion was a 2 day process as well and yes the money had to be paid up front. The first day my mother drove me to the clinic (in Eugene Oregon) that was February 24, 1974 (1 year 1 month & 2 days after Roe v Wade). They inserted the laminar and told me to go home, they gave me 2 valium to take, 1 for that night and 1 for in the morning I was to take the 2nd pill. My mother picked me up and drove me there. I don't remember too much more other than I was scared, I asked if I could change my mind and the doctor said that since the laminaria had already been inserted that the fetus was already dead. They where just going to do something similar to a D&C...no problem, not to worry, the fetus was dead wouldn't feel a thing. They covered the two bell jars with a small cloth and began the suctioning...the cover slipped off the jar and I saw the color red...that's all I remember. I remember walking out and being told to go out this other door; I didn't get to go out the same door I came in.

I remember being numb...totally numb and my mom taking me to some restaurant to feed me. Funny, I wasn't hungry, I wasn't angry, I didn't cry.... I just sat there and my mom said...’it’s for the best, honey, now you can get on with your life.' Right...I could go on living, so over the next 3 years I did what most of us do after something like that. Deny it! Forget it...try to get up every morning like it matters. What ever you do.... NEVER talk about it...if I tried my mother would say "Honey, you just have to forget about 'IT'. Don't be so melodramatic...grow up, life goes on." Melodramatic, a word I heard often over the next few years. I hate that word, it is used so poorly.

In March 1993 I was awakened in the night by a 'funny' feeling...I threw back the covers stood up and realized that there was blood all over me and the bedding and some of it was on Bruce, (my husband) . I was hemorrhaging. My immediate thought was to clean everything up, before Bruce woke up and was shocked. (My husband is a decorated Vietnam combat veteran with a severe case of PTSD) While I was in the bathroom cleaning myself up Bruce stumbled in and asked what was wrong. I told him that I was okay but I was bleeding a little more than normal (still trying to make everything okay...that's me the fixer), he soon discovered that everything was not just a 'little' more than normal and he demanded that we contact the doctor. We went in to see the doctor and after an exam and a long discussion (where I finally told someone other than Bruce about the 2 abortions), that is when my doctor told me that he would have to perform a hysterectomy. My uterus, ovaries and bladder where all involved...one big black blob was all I could see on the screen. It was the end of my dreams of motherhood. I didn't have any choice in this matter at all, I had used my choices up."

Silent no More Awareness Campaign, Testimonies

I may never have children

Former Abortion Patient: Sally Burgess, director of the Hope Clinic, was a guest on a local radio broadcast. Burgess claimed that the clinic did not perform abortions past 24 weeks of pregnancy, following that claim the phone lit up. The caller (a previous patient of the clinic) said that she was over 24 weeks pregnant when Hope Clinic performed her abortion.

The Caller asked,

"Where was the compassion? I felt everything. I bled all over the car all the way home and my parents rushed me to DePaul Hospital in St. Louis. I was 17 years old and had a punctured uterus. My parents were told I may never have children."

Illinois Leader
St Louis radio station draws attention to Hope Clinic, 5-7-2003