Live Action News recently published a piece by Susan Michelle Tyrell, detailing research which shows that the abortion rate in Texas has decreased by 13 percent, as a result of the pro-life omnibus legislation, HB2.
Tyrelll makes the point about the reactions of abortion proponents versus opponents in her piece:
Abortion supporters say that women are simply leaving the state for abortions and argue that the laws do not improve patient safety; however, abortion opponents argue that the baby’s safety is certainly increased, and that’s what matters most.
Naturally, pro-lifers do care about the safety of unborn children. And while we arguably may not be at the stage where we can save every unborn child from abortion, legislation like HB2 is at least a step in the right direction. But, we must also show that we care about the safety of their mothers.
The pro-abortion stance is well captured in pieces like the one by Jill Filipovic for Cosmopolitan.
While Filipovic’s piece is rather drawn out, there are essential points made about the methods women turn to, such as when they cannot get past a checkpoint to reach an abortion facility:
When the checkpoint means they can’t drive to San Antonio, some women go through with pregnancies they don’t want. Others turn to Cytotec. Still others find out about unlicensed providers who perform cheap abortions out of their homes.
Few pro-abortion pieces reference the children who will get a chance at life when their mothers are one of the “…women [who] go through with pregnancies they don’t want.” Such is Filipovic’s sole reference.
While Filipovic gives little regard to the unborn children who are very much a part of this abortion, in that they are either the victims of or saved from it, we must still have regard for the women and the dangerous alternatives they may turn to.
This does not mean that HB2 was a bad idea. I refuse to stand by the argument that since women will seek abortions, we may as well make it legal, accessible and safe. Until we can make the situation safe for both the mother and her child, which means we do away with abortion, we at least make abortion as safe as possible for the mother by regulating it. If so many abortion facilities cannot stay open because they fail to meet the regulations, that says a lot more about the abortion industry than it does about the law.
Cosmopolitan as well as other outlets report deeply an emotionally on women who have had to travel at great length and expense to abort their unborn children. The pro-life movement should reach out to those women in particular.
The state of Texas has numerous pregnancy centers willing to help women. With so many, women are surely more likely able to find real care from a center close to them.
Where the abortion movement sees cause for lamentation, we should see cause for opportunity. Pregnancy centers hardly receive the recognition they deserve, and are actually facing legal trouble. Just over a month ago, the court ruled in favor of pregnancy centers in Austin, Texas. This battle had been going on for years, as highlighted by Alliance Defending Freedom.
Part of the burden is on those who attack pregnancy centers to stop doing so if they believe women deserve choices when it comes to the services and information they receive. But pro-lifers must always be willing to step up to the plate to continue to help women. We must let the results of HB2 not just be victory then, but the chance to constantly be doing better for unborn children and their mothers.
