In the pro-life documentary “Pro-Life without Exception!” Nona Ellington of Texas challenges the idea claim that abortion helps rape victims. Ellington had an abortion after rape and now deeply regrets it.
At 15, Ellington became a victim of date rape. She went to Planned Parenthood, where she says she was “coerced” into having an abortion. “After they gave me a pregnancy test and confirmed it, they said that since I was only 15 years old, I really need to have an abortion because I was too young, and I was still in high school,” she says.
The abortion was very traumatic for her:
So, I did have the abortion, which was a very traumatizing experience.… One specific thing I remember was when they were starting the anesthesia, I heard my mother’s voice at the door. And she was saying, “Is my daughter in there?” And they said, “Ma’am, you can’t come in here, you have to go back to the waiting room.” So, I know that she was trying to stop what was happening.
Nona’s mother tried to save her grandchild from death and her daughter from exploitation, but was turned away by the abortion workers. Although Nona was a minor, her mother had no say in her decision to abort. Planned Parenthood prevented Nona’s mother from intervening in the abortion or even speaking to her daughter.
Ellington suffered emotionally, saying, “I spiraled into a horrible lifestyle after the abortion, with drinking and drugs [and] promiscuous sex.… I had a lot of anger issues, a lot of blaming, a lot of self-hatred.”
Tragically, Ellington’s abortion also had consequences for her future fertility:
As a result of having that abortion, I had five miscarriages during the 18 years I was married. And three of those miscarriages were tubal pregnancies that required emergency surgery, and the last one I almost died; they had to give me a blood transfusion, just in 2004. And so, I’m completely unable to have children as a result of the abortion that I had.
READ: Research shows post-abortion trauma is very real, and women aren’t alone
Abortion can increase the risk of ectopic pregnancy because of scarring in the uterus which can be caused by the abortion itself or a subsequent infection. Despite what many abortion supporters claim, a number of studies have shown a higher risk of ectopic pregnancy after abortion. Here are some of them:
- “Risk of Ectopic Pregnancy and Previous Induced Abortion” C Tharaux—Deneux et al., American Journal of Public Health 88 (3): 401, 1998
- “Risk Factors for Ectopic Pregnancy: A Population-based Study” PA Marchbanks et al., Journal of the American Medical Association 259 (12): 1823, March 25, 1988
- “An Updated Protocol for Abortion Surveillance with Ultrasound and Immediate Pathology” SR Goldstein, et al., Obstetrics and Gynecology 83:55 – 58, 1994
- “Induced Abortions and Risk of Ectopic Pregnancy” F Parazzini, et al., Human Reproduction 10 (7): 1841, 1995
- “Ectopic Pregnancy Surveillance United States, 1970 – 1987” K Nederof, et al., Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 39 (SS – 4) December 1990
- “Ectopic Pregnancy in Relation to Previous Induced Abortion” TR Daling, et al., Journal of the American Medical Association, 253 (7): 1005 – 1008, February 15, 1985
- “Risk Factors for Ectopic Pregnancy: A Case-Control Study in France, with Special Focus on Infectious Factors” J Conste, et al., American Journal of Epidemiology 133 (9): 839, May 1991
- “Ectopic Pregnancy Case Study” Clinton A Turner Perspectives and Problems in OB/GYN, January 1985
- “Ectopic Pregnancy in the United States: 1970 – 1983” H Astrash Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 35 (22S) August 1986
- “Adverse Obstetrics History and Ectopic Pregnancy” C Smith et al., Journal of Reproductive Medicine, 52 (9): 801 – 804, 2007
- “Risk Factors for Ectopic Pregnancy: a Comprehensive Analysis Based on a Large Case-Control, Population-based Study in France” J Bouyer, et al., American Journal of Epidemiology, 157 (3): 185 – 194, 2003
- “Ectopic Pregnancies after Infertility Treatment: Modern Diagnosis and Therapeutic Strategy” H Fernandez, et al., Human Reproduction 10 (6): 503 – 513, 2004
- “Induced Abortion and Subsequent Pregnancy Outcome” LK Dhaliwal, et al., Journal of Family Welfare, 49 (1): 50 – 55, 2003
- “Severe Complication after Termination of a 2nd Trimester Cervical Pregnancy” MF Hanstede, et al., Fertility and Sterility, 90 (5): E5 – E7, 2008
Ellington wants to give the following message to women:
To any woman out there who thinks that it might be okay in cases of rape to have an abortion, I’m a prime example of that not being true. I was a victim of date rape. And as a result of the abortion, I’m no longer able to have children. I was never able to have my own kids. So, it not only affected me emotionally and spiritually, but physically as well. And affected the rest of my family, as well.
In Ellington’s case, abortion only compounded the tragedy of rape. It traumatized her and robbed her of the chance to be the mother of a living child.
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