Pro-lifers sometimes wonder if those who work in the abortion industry know that abortion ends lives. The experiences of two former abortion workers seem to indicate that they do. Both workers had doubts and went to their supervisors for advice.
While working at Planned Parenthood, Linda Couri was asked to counsel a pregnant 16-year-old who was unsure what to do. Couri outlined the girl’s options: abortion, adoption, or keeping the baby. Although she gave lip service to the idea of choice, Couri was certain what the best option was for the girl:
[I]n my mind, at the time, I really, truly, from the bottom of my heart, believed that abortion was the best option for her. I saw her carrying the baby and keeping the baby as really ruining her life, making her life way too difficult. And I saw her, quote, ‘giving the baby up’ for adoption… But I also saw that option as being very difficult. So, in my mind, abortion really was the best option.
Then the girl asked Couri a troubling question: “After I had mentioned the abortion, she said, ‘Please tell me one thing. If I have an abortion, am I killing my baby?'”
Couri struggled with her answer:
It was hard, because I knew that she was. But I decided to answer by saying, ‘Well, you will be terminating the product of your conception.’ Which was meant to deflect the question. And I knew it. And she looked at me kind of confused, and she scheduled an abortion. Which I really thought was the best option for her, but I was really stressed out, because I didn’t answer her question. [I] rhetorically tricked her. And I didn’t like that – didn’t like that I did that.
Uneasiness and guilt troubled Couri. She went to her supervisor to discuss her feelings:
I said, ‘I just lied to her.’ And she and I – we didn’t play the semantics game, like, oh, it’s not a life, it’s not life – we both kind of just went straight to the issue, which was like, this is the best option for her. Abortion’s the best option. This is a hard job that we have, and it’s a hard choice, but [it’s] the best choice for her and for her life.
The supervisor did not try to deny that abortion was killing. Both women knew it was. Instead, she told Couri that since they thought it was best for the girl, Couri’s twisting of the truth was acceptable. Despite setting themselves up as champions of choice it was acceptable to them to lie to women in order to manipulate them into making the choice they thought was best.
READ: Don’t use my ‘hard case’ pregnancies to justify abortion
Although Couri accepted her supervisor’s advice at the time, the incident continues to nag her conscience and was one of the things that led to her eventually leaving the industry.
Jewels Green was an abortion worker who began having nightmares after seeing the bodies of aborted babies. Troubled by the pieces of children she was forced to see daily, she went to her boss and asked her if other staff members had nightmares.
According to Green, her boss replied, “What we do here is end a life. And if you’re not okay with that, you can’t work here.”
Green’s boss then gave her a different job at the facility, relieving her, for a while, of the stress of handling body parts. Green remained in her job because she believed she was helping women. Later, she too would leave and become pro-life.
Each of these abortion workers was aware that abortion was killing. Still, for a time, they didn’t allow this knowledge to shake their support for abortion.
“Like” Live Action News on Facebook for more pro-life news and commentary!
