Almost seven years ago, Barack Obama rode to victory on a campaign of “change.” Then-senator Obama explained in the run-up to election day that his goal involved “fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”
Apparently former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton believes we need more of that. While addressing last month’s Women in the World summit, Clinton lamented that “far too many women are denied access to reproductive health care and safe childbirth.” To correct this, Clinton insisted that “deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed,” both overseas, as well as “right here in the United States.”
I haven’t commissioned a survey, but I’m pretty sure America’s faithful don’t have a problem with “safe childbirth.” I also doubt most mainstream religious groups take issue with pap smears or HIV tests, either.
A lot of them do object to abortion, however, which is what “reproductive health care” is often a euphemism for. That choice of words is a little puzzling when you think about it; after all, health care usually involves trying to save lives, not end them.
But what’s not puzzling is why abortion advocates need to employ euphemisms. Because regardless of their religious beliefs, most people don’t get pleasant feelings when they hear about abortion. And the more they hear, the less pleasant those feelings get.
It starts with the practicalities. According to the Mayo Clinic, a preborn child already has developed eyes, legs, and toes by the ninth week of a pregnancy. Unfortunately, many children don’t get to use those features: The Guttmacher Institute reports that over one-third of abortions are done after this point. More than 10,000 are performed every year past week 21, which is especially disturbing for two reasons. First, the process used towards the end of the second trimester is known as Dilation and Evacuation, and it consists of dismembering the child with forceps. Second, there’s evidence to suggest that she or he can feel it happening.
Dr. Kawaljeet Anand’s research at the University of Tennessee indicates that preborn children experience pain by 20 weeks. In fact, Dr. Anand believes there’s an even greater potential for suffering at this juncture because “a fetus at 20 to 32 weeks of gestation would experience a much more intense pain than older infants or children or adults.” He attributes this to underdevelopment of “fibers which dampen and modulate the experience of pain.”
But the abortion industry’s PR problems don’t stop there, as its habit of helping pimps and child rapists is also kind of a turnoff for a lot of people. The group Life Dynamics has compiled a list of more than 50 sexual predators who have used abortion to cover up their crimes and keep abusing their victims. As Live Action has demonstrated, some of the staff at America’s largest abortion provider are willing to lend them a hand.
When Live Action investigators visited Planned Parenthood facilities posing as minors who had been impregnated by adult men, they encountered staffers who were ready to help perpetuate the abuse. Hidden cameras documented how employees in multiple states failed to report evidence of sexual abuse, with one Planned Parenthood staffer even telling a 14-year-old to lie about her boyfriend’s age in order to obtain a secret abortion.
Other lowlights include catching a Planned Parenthood clinic manager who was fine with scheduling abortions on underage prostitutes who couldn’t speak English.
Then there’s the problem of choice, specifically how the abortion industry denies it to women. According to some some studies, more than half of abortions are agreed to under pressure, and that can include threats of violence. Unfortunately, those threats aren’t always idle: women have been subject to bullets, blades, bombs, gasoline and fatal beatings for refusing to abort.
You might think an industry of “choice providers” would work to ensure decisions are made voluntarily. If that’s what you think, you’re wrong.
Earlier this year, Texas state Representative Molly White sponsored a bill requiring that abortion clinics set up a private room containing information about support programs, as well as a telephone to contact law enforcement. Instead of getting behind the measure, NARAL Texas denounced it as “yet more abortion legislation in Texas that is not needed.”
Obviously, religious believers aren’t the only ones bothered by dismemberment, sexual abuse, and criminal violence, which is why the abortion industry has opponents across the spiritual spectrum.
If you’re one of them, then feel free to sign Live Action’s petition asking Congress to shut down Planned Parenthood’s annual half billion dollar subsidy. You can also contact your elected officials and demand laws to protect women from coercion and abuse. Those are both great ways to address “deep-seated” problems in need of some serious change.
Photo credit: Lisa Kuyruk, Shutterstock
