Silent No More is an organization that gathers the testimonies of women who had abortions and regret them. Their website has some testimonies from men as well as other people affected by abortion. In a recent document, Silent No More compiled the testimonies of women who had abortions or abortion referrals at Planned Parenthood and now regret ever going to one of their clinics. Here is one testimony, from Alfreda, of New Jersey:
I went to Planned Parenthood ‘just looking.’ I walked in, with a living human being in my womb, still unsure of what I wanted to do. I walked out without that human being in my womb. I was asked why I was there and told them that I was pregnant and not sure what I wanted to do. The woman brought me in an office and proceeded to push papers in front of me to start the abortion process. I asked if they had any information on options. She motioned to a rack with a few pamphlets in it and treated me like I was wasting her time.
Instead she started to ask, “Do you want your life to be ruined by a baby? Do you think the father is going to stick around?”
It didn’t take long for me to be in a room taking off my clothes and putting on a hospital gown. As I waited, I thought. It was my turn to go. They sedated me. I was cold, lonely, scared. I tried to hold the assistant’s hand as they wheeled me into the operating room. She pulled away. I said I did not want to do it. I said I wanted to leave. Last thing I remember she said, “It will be over before you know it.” It sure was. I will regret it till the day I die.
Planned Parenthood violated this young woman by pressuring her into an abortion and ignoring her when she changed her mind. This is not “choice.” This is not good for women. This is not the actions of an altruistic organization that puts women first and respects their rights and autonomy. Sadly, Alfreda’s story is not that uncommon. There are many more stories in just the one document that Silent No More released. And there are similar stories from other sources. For example, an even more blatant example of coercion, in this case not for an abortion but for a birth control shot, was covered in one of my previous articles.
