Is Abortion Better for Teens Than Unplanned Pregnancy?
A Generation at Risk: How Teens Are Manipulated and Coerced Into Abortion
Helping Predators, Harming Teens: Abortion Businesses and the Cover Up of Sex Crimes
No One Told Me I Could Cry
What Happened to 'Next Thursday'?
Two Competing Views on Maternal Mortality Reduction are Clashing at Beijing + 15
VA Delegate Attempts to Publicize the Increased Rate of Disabilities in Children Born to Mothers Who Have Had Previous Abortions
Frozen Fetuses Found During Doctor's Office Raid Following Woman's Death After Abortion
New York Abortionist Under Investigation for Abortion Death
YET AGAIN! Undercover Tape at WI Planned Parenthood Shows 10th Case of Child Sex Abuse Cover Up
Resources / Links
How Men are Harmed by Abortion
Practitioner Denies He Botched Legal Abortion That Killed Hispanic Woman
Survey Shows Men More Happy Than Women by News of Unplanned Pregnancy
New Report Shows Female-based Abortion Infanticide Hurting China Gender Ratio
Women Conceived in Rape Take Pro-Life Message to United Nations
Black Pro-Life Leader Defends Congressman Trent Franks on Abortion-Slavery
Delaware Suspends Abortionist's License for Appalling Conditions Inside the Business Site
Closure of Pennsylvania Abortion Business Dramatically Underscores Need for Medically-Appropriate Regulation
"Abortion Changes You" Post-Abortion Ads Reappear in New York City Subways…
Teens and Abortion
Recent news reports have put teens and abortion in the news, with the release of undercover videos allegedly showing abortion businesses covering up cases of sexual abuse involving teenage girls.
And the pro-abortion Alan Guttmacher Institute has released a report saying that teen pregnancies rose 3 percent in 2006. While critics are questioning the statistics in the study, it seems everyone otherwise agrees that teen pregnancy represents a crisis.
Abortion advocates would solve this "problem" with abortion.
But is abortion best for teens? How does it affect them? What about teens who've been there? This special edition of the Elliot Institute News examines some of these questions…
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Is Abortion Better for Teens Than Unplanned Pregnancy?
Research Says Teens Face More Mental Health Risks, Even When Pregnancy is Unplanned
Are teens who abort better off than teens who carry an unplanned pregnancy to term?
Not according to a study published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence. The study found that adolescent girls who abort unintended pregnancies are five times more likely to seek subsequent help for psychological and emotional problems compared to their peers who carry "unwanted" pregnancies to term.1
Dr. Priscilla Coleman, a research psychologist at Bowling Green State University, also found that adolescents who had abortions were over three times more likely to report subsequent trouble sleeping and nine times more likely to report subsequent marijuana use.
The results were compiled after examining 17 other control variables, like prior mental health history and family factors, that might also influence subsequent mental health.
The data was drawn from a federally funded longitudinal study of adolescents from throughout the U.S. who participated in two series of interviews in 1995 and 1996. About 76 percent of girls who had abortions and 80 percent of girls who gave birth were between the ages of 15 and 19 during the survey, with the remainder being younger.
This study is particularly important because it examines pregnancy "wantedness," in addition to a large number of other control variables.
Over the last several years, numerous studies have conclusively linked higher rates of mental illness and behavioral problems associated with abortion compared to childbirth. But abortion advocates have generally dismissed these findings, insisting that while women who abort may fare worse than women who give birth to planned children, they may fare better than the important subgroup of women who carry unintended pregnancies to term. Coleman's study addresses this argument and shows that the facts don’t support abortion advocates’ speculations.
Continue reading … http://www.afterabortion.org/articles/teenunplannedpregnancyresearch.html
Learn More: Download and share our free Teen Abortion Risks Fact Sheet. http://www.theunchoice.com/pdf/FactSheets/TeenFactSheet.pdf
[11March2010, Special Edition: Teens and Abortion (EIliiot Institute News, Vol. 9, No. 3); www.afterabortion.org]
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A Generation at Risk: How Teens Are Manipulated and Coerced Into Abortion
Gaylene was 14 when she became pregnant. She turned to her high school guidance counselor for advice. She writes:
[The school counselor] was sympathetic and understanding. He felt there was no need to worry my family. He also explained about having a child, how tough it would be on me and that I wouldn’t be able to do what I wanted to do. He said that the child would suffer because I was much too young to be a parent. He pointed out that the best thing for me to do was to abort the fetus at this stage so no one would be hurt. No mention was made of talking to my parents about this or carrying the baby to term. He indicated that adoption would be difficult and not an option f
or me.
. . . I felt as though I had no control over what was happening to me. I started to question what I was doing, but in my logic I’d refer back to what the counselor had told me, and then I would think he was right. But still today, I feel like I did not decide to have the abortion.1
Gaylene's traumatic reaction to her abortion experience included suicide attempts, alcoholism, drugs, crime, involvement in a cult and a major break with her family.
Sadly, Gaylene's story is not unique. For teens, the possibility of developing psychological and emotional problems after abortion is substantially higher than for more mature women.2 One reason that teenagers are more vulnerable is because their psychological defense mechanisms are not fully developed. Their emotional immaturity leaves them more susceptible to events and circumstances that can profoundly damage their view of the world, other people, and themselves. Consequently, abortion can be especially harmful for teens because this major, traumatic experience occurs at a critical time in the development of their self-identity.3
Researchers have found that teenagers who have abortions face a number of higher risks. For example, teens are more likely to feel pressured into abortion, to report being misinformed in pre-abortion counseling and to experience more severe psychological stress after abortion.4 They are also more likely to experience more intense feelings of guilt, depression and isolation after an abortion.5 Teens who have an abortion are 6 times more likely than their peers to commit suicide.6
Further, a study of teens with "unwanted" pregnancies found that teens who aborted were more likely to have subsequent trouble sleeping, to report using marijuana after abortion and to undergo treatment for psychological and emotional problems compared to those who carried to term.7
Manipulation and Coercion
Many teens are simply not mature enough to understand the information they need to make such a life-impacting choice. As a result, they are extremely vulnerable to manipulation and coercion by counselors, medical personnel, and other adults in positions of authority.
Even some pro-abortion groups have acknowledged that teenagers need extra guidance when it comes to abortion. For example, a Planned Parenthood counseling guide stated that teenagers have few or limited problem solving skills; are more likely than adults to lack responsibility; are more vulnerable; are more anxious and distrustful; are lacking in knowledge; and have difficulty in communicating. As a result, "counselors need to be aware of and appreciate the fact that pregnancy counseling with teenagers can be very different from counseling adults . . . pregnancy counseling with teens is often a crisis situation."8
Unfortunately, while Planned Parenthood counselors recognize the vulnerability of teens, they oppose laws that would require parents to be informed before their minor daughter undergoes an abortion. For counselors who seek to promote abortion as the best or even only solution, keeping teens away from loved ones who might support continuing the pregnancy is an important part of maximizing their own influence.
This situation leaves teens vulnerable to pressure, abuse, manipulation and coercion to abort. Over and over, women who had abortion as teenagers use phrases like the following to explain how they ended up having an unwanted abortion.
My school counselor (abortion clinic counselor, teacher, pastor, boyfriend's mom, etc.) told me that if I didn't want my parents to find out, I would have to have an abortion . . .
My boyfriend threatened me if I didn’t abort.
Everyone told me I was too young to have a baby and that my only alternative was abortion.
My parents locked me in the house and made the appointment.
I wasn't given any information about fetal development or alternatives to abortion.
The situation is further exacerbated when a teen is involved in a sexually abusive relationship. The "don't ask, don't tell" policy of many abortion businesses and the documented failure of clinic staff to report cases of suspected abuse means that sexual predators can use abortion to hide the abuse and, in many cases, continue preying on their victims.
Continue reading … http://www.afterabortion.org/PAR/V8/n1/teensabortion.html
Learn More: Download and share our free Teen Abortion Risks Fact Sheet.
http://www.theunchoice.com/pdf/FactSheets/TeenFactSheet.pdf
[11March2010, Special Edition: Teens and Abortion (EIliiot Institute News, Vol. 9, No. 3), www.afterabortion.org]
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Helping Predators, Harming Teens: Abortion Businesses and the Cover Up of Sex Crimes
Recently, a Planned Parenthood clinic in Alabama was placed on probation for performing abortions on underage girls without parental consent, and failing to report suspected cases of statutory rape to authorities.
The violations were brought to the attention of authorities through the work of Live Action, a pro-life group that has released, at last count, 10 videos showing staff at abortion businesses counseling undercover operatives posing as minors on how to get abortions without parental consent.
In the Alabama video, a clinic staffer allegedly told undercover operative Lila Rose (posing as a pregnant 14-year-old with a 31-year-old "boyfriend") that she could get an abortion if she found someone with the same last name as her own and that the clinic director "does sometimes bend the rules a little bit" in cases like hers.
In a transcript of the Alabama video released by the state Health Department, the staffer is quoted as saying "it's a state law" that she can't have an abortion without her parents' consent, then continues, "[S]o you have to have some type of parent's consent. Do you have an older sister that's over the age of 18?" When Rose admits her "boyfriend" is 31, the staffer responds, "As long as you consented to having sex with him there's nothing we can truly do about it."
However, under Alabama law requires professionals and medical personnel to report cases of known or suspected sexual abuse or exploitation. The law also defines cases in which a child under 16 has sex with someone more than 2 years older as second-degree rape.
A report from the Health Department also found nine other cases in which the clinic failed to gain proper consent from a parent or legal guardian before performing abortion on a minor girl and made no effort to verify the identity of the person signing the consent forms. In one case, the consent forms were signed by a woman apparently unrelated to the girl, and in another, a 14-year-old underwent two abortions several months apart without parental consent. There is no evidence these cases were reported to authorities.
Most recently, Live Action released a released a video filmed at an abortion business in Milwaukee, WI in which Rose told a Planned Parenthood counselor that she was 14 and had a 31-year-old boyfriend who told her to "take care of it," saying he would be really upset if she didn't.
On the tape, the counselor responds, "Okay, but there's steps involved in taking care of it because you are underage." She goes on to suggest that a judicial bypass will help Rose get an abortion, saying that, "you have the right to an abortion, you just need the proper documentation." She also says that it is up to individuals to report the statutory rape to authorities. However, state law i
n Wisconsin says that sex between an adult and a child under 16 is a felony, and health professionals must report such cases to authorities.
Continue reading … http://www.theunchoice.com/articles/coverup.htm
~~~
Learn More: Download and share the Hard Cases: New Facts, New Answers.
http://www.theunchoice.com/pdf/OnePageFactSheets/HardCasesSheet1.pdf
http://www.theunchoice.com/pdf/FactSheets/TeenFactSheet.pdf
[11March2010, Special Edition: Teens and Abortion (EIliiot Institute News, Vol. 9, No. 3), www.afterabortion.org]
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No One Told Me I Could Cry
"Sorrow makes us all children again." —Ralph Waldo Emerson
I teach childbirth education to pregnant teenagers. My job is to prepare young parents for parenthood. This includes the possibility of parenting a baby with a birth defect or being the parent of a baby that is miscarried, stillborn, or dies soon after birth.
This is the hardest class for me to teach. Young mothers don't want to talk or think about it. It is their worst fear. I usually end up telling them that if it is too painful to think about their own babies dying, then listen and learn how to help others who have lost a baby.
We talk about the stages of grief, the feelings of those who are mourning, what to say and what not to say. We read poems and letters that mothers have written to their babies.
When I held this class during the fall of 1993, the girls, like all the girls in the classes before them, put their hands over their ears and said they didn’t want to hear about it.
Despite their protests I taught the class and before I knew it, the girls were talking about an aunt, cousin or friend who had lost a baby. They said they wished they would have known what to do and say before. They realized that they had said and done some of the things that hurt these parents.
One of the young mothers-to-be, Maria, bravely told us how her little boy died only a few hours after birth. I do not know how or why her little boy died because it seems no one ever told Maria. She didn’t get much sympathy and the only way she new how to cope was by becoming pregnant again. She thought that would make the pain go away, but it didn't.
The girls in the class hugged her, comforted her and said all the right things. They had listened well and I was proud of what they did for Maria. They decided to have a memorial service for Maria’s baby.
There were four girls in the class who had miscarriages. They were slow to mention their miscarriages at first. It seemed they weren’t even sure that it was normal for them to mourn for their babies. We listened with horror as they told about some of the cruel things that were said to them.
They received little comfort. They were told to get on with their lives. They were told that their baby’s death was for the best, that they shouldn’t have been pregnant anyway, and that their baby’s death was a punishment from God. Few felt comfortable crying in front of family and friends. They had learned to hide their feelings and hold back their tears.
By the end of the class we all had stuffy red noses from crying. We were tired. We had shared and grown closer. At the end of class I casually mentioned that girls who have abortions or make adoption plans for their babies can also grieve deeply. Little did I know what that one statement would do.
Three girls came to my office that afternoon. Every one of them had had an abortion. Each one had a story that tore at my heart. They were all mourning for their babies and didn’t know it. Their trust in me led me to love them even more than I already did.
Continue reading… http://www.theunchoice.com/UnChoiceStories/noonetoldme.htm
Excerpted from the book No One Told Me I Could Cry: A Teen's Guide to Hope and Healing After Abortion by Connie Nykiel. "No One Told Me I Could Cry" is © Life Cycle Books Ltd. Reprinted with permission. Available in paperback through www.lifecyclebooks.com (Item #2209P).
[11March2010, Special Edition: Teens and Abortion (EIliiot Institute News, Vol. 9, No. 3), www.afterabortion.org]
What Happened to 'Next Thursday'?
Pro-life blogger concerned after RU-486 abortion Tweeter goes silent
“What happened to Next Thursday?” That’s the question that pro-life blogger Jill Stanek is asking after a woman, who started live-tweeting the process of her RU-486 abortion under the alias of “Next Thursday,” suddenly went silent after complaining of severe bleeding.
The abrupt cessation of Next Thursday’s Twitter and blog posts has Stanek concerned. She recently revealed in a column for World Net Daily that she has tried to reach out to Next Thursday to find out if she is all right.
The woman known as Next Thursday said she felt inspired by Angie Jackson, who made headlines recently by announcing that she was going to “de-mystify” abortion by posting live-updates of her RU-486 abortion on Twitter. Next Thursday said she already had three young children and was breastfeeding a nine-month old baby and did not want to give birth again.
So de-mystify abortion they did – but not in the way either woman expected. Jackson originally predicted on Feb. 18 that the chemical abortion would be a “four-hour bleed-out.” Instead it dragged into an excruciatingly painful, two-week ordeal. At one point she said she consumed an entire bottle of 20 Tylenol with codeine over the space of six days in order to deal with painful cramping, along with pelvic pain, backaches, nausea, vomiting, and headaches.
Stanek says that Jackson stopped tweeting her graphic symptoms once she got wind that the pro-life leader was blogging about her experience. The complaints after that became much more veiled. Jackson’s abortion lasted until March 2, when a Planned Parenthood employee gave her the all-clear. However the backaches, nausea, and vomiting persisted over the next four days.
But for Next Thursday, the tweets only lasted three days – from Feb. 25 through Feb. 28 – and then ended on a rather ominous note. In the intervening days, Next Thursday described intermittent bleeding from “overflowing to practically nothing” and then bleeding “back on high.”
The woman’s second to last tweet reads: "I've been bleeding like a stuffed pig all day." Later in the evening, Next Thursday posted her last tweet at 9:57 p.m. saying, "Just still bleeding."
“Since that last tweet 10 days ago no one has heard from Next Thursday. Jackson wrote she has reached out to her with no response,” wrote Stanek.
Stanak has pointed out that Next Thursday dropped some information that indicated Planned Parenthood employees may have given her “off-label” instructions for taking RU-486, putting her at heightened risk of complications.
RU-486 is a combination of two drugs: the first, Mifepristone, is a pill that kills the unborn baby, while the second drug, Misoprostol, expels the dead baby from the mother's body through contractions. FDA protocols require that women take both steps of RU-486 in a medical office in order to monitor for complications. Next Thursday, however, was sent home by Planned Parenthood to take step two on her own.
The FDA also stipulates that women ingest RU-486 orally, but Next Thursday tweeted that she “inserted 4 pills for step 2” – indicating that Planned Parenthood employees rec
ommended vaginal insertion for Misoprostol in the face of FDA guidelines.
A study conducted at the University of Michigan reported in 2008 that the researchers found a correlation between using RU-486 vaginally and the deaths of eight American women. They found that Misoprostol pills can allow Clostridium sordellii, normally non-threatening bacteria, to cause a deadly infection when taken vaginally. This confirmed the findings of other researchers.
The risks of taking RU-486, however, extend beyond only those who take the drugs vaginally. Concerned Women for America, a pro-life women’s organization, has obtained public documents from the FDA under the Freedom of Information Act, listing over 600 adverse effects recorded from women taking RU-486, including 220 cases of hemorrhage that were either life threatening or extremely serious, 71 of which required blood transfusions. In addition, 392 reports indicated women requiring surgery to repair damage resulting from the abortion, including many under emergency conditions.
Jackson, for her part, surmised that Next Thursday's abortion “may very well be done,” and despite her own experience and its parallel to Next Thursday’s ordeal, she insisted that RU-486 “is most frequently effective within 24 hours" and "often works in a single evening, not a whole week like it did for me."
Stanek’s repeated asking on Twitter and elsewhere if anyone had knowledge of Next Thursday and how she was doing, was harshly rejected by some, with one pro-abortion Twitterer telling Stanek she should worry about other things, but instead, “You Fixate on Nextthurs.”
“Yes, guilty. Pro-lifers indeed ‘fixate’ not only on the babies but their moms,” stated Stanek. “I really do care about the whereabouts of Next Thursday. Is she alive? Is she dead? Is she in the hospital? Is she maimed? Is she so traumatized she can't talk about it? Did she stop breast-feeding? Is her 9-month-old OK?”
“While pro-aborts don't want to hear about it when a ‘safe and legal’ abortion goes bad, or about the multitude of after-affects, pro-lifers stay to help pick up the pieces. We're here for you, Next Thursday. Please let us know how we can help.”
See related coverage:
Twitter RU-486 Abortion Chronicles to 'Demystify' Procedure Go Sour
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10030513.html
Planned Parenthood Implicated in RU-486 Deaths of Four Women
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jun/08061907.html
Two More Women Die After Medical Abortion with Abortion Pill RU-486, FDA Warns
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/mar/06031702.html
Leading Researcher Proves RU-486 Causes Septic Shock Deaths
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/jul/05072802.html
[12March2010, LifeSiteNews.com, Peter J. Smith, www.LifeSiteNews.com]
Two Competing Views on Maternal Mortality Reduction Clash at Beijing + 15
Almost more than any topic, maternal morality has been the focus of this year’s meeting of the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which commemorates the fifteenth anniversary of the Beijing women's conference. While all agree on the need to improve maternal health and reduce maternal mortality, two main competing views on how best to do so have emerged – with one camp emphasizing abortion.
Stressing the importance for governments to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, government delegations and UN officials have lamented the lack of progress on MDG 5, to improve maternal health. At the opening of the conference, Deputy Secretary-General Rachel Mayanja stated that there has been “limited progress on reproductive health” and that “maternal mortality remains unacceptably high.” Mayanja emphasized that “almost all these deaths could be prevented.”
In the soon-to-finish two week meeting, member states are battling over a resolution on maternal mortality introduced by the United States. Since its introduction last week, the European Union has been trying to amend the resolution to include “sexual and reproductive health and rights.” Negotiations are expected to last to the end of the conference on Friday afternoon.
Seeking to influence negotiations, dueling brochures on maternal mortality have been circulated in the UN halls during CSW, which highlight the different approaches to reducing maternal mortality. The US-based National Right to Life Committee brochure focuses on skilled birth attendants and access to good basic health care as the most effective means of reducing maternal deaths. National Right to Life asserts that the “maternal mortality argument for allowing abortion fails entirely—legal abortion only leads to more abortions and, as a result, more abortion-related complications for women.” In sum, “better medical care, not abortion, is the solution to the problem of maternal deaths in the developing world.”
Conversely, an almost identical-looking brochure produced by abortion advocate Ipas claims that “safe, legal and voluntary” abortion will eliminate “unsafe abortion" and "ensure fewer maternal deaths and better reproductive health, especially for women in developing countries.”
According to Ipas, “Legally permitting safe abortion and making abortion services widely accessible, in accordance with guidance from the World Health Organization, has a significant positive impact on women’s health and rights in countries with high rates of unsafe abortion and restrictive laws.”
The World Health Organization’s statistics reveal that the countries with the most restrictions on abortion also have the lowest maternal mortality figures.
The issue of maternal mortality is expected to remain at the top of the development agenda this year with three upcoming international conferences – NGO-organized Women Deliver 2 in June, the UN Annual Ministerial Meeting scheduled in July and a High Level Review of the MDGs scheduled for next fall after the opening of the General Assembly.
This article reprinted with permission from www.c-fam.org
[12March2010, Samantha Singson, New York, NY, C-FAM; LifeSiteNews.com]
VIRGINIA DELEGATE BOB MARSHALL AND THE INCREASED RATE OF DISABILITIES AFTER ABORTION
The following is a statement from American Life League president Judie Brown regarding Delegate Bob Marshall’s recent comments on the increased rate of disabilities in children born to mothers who have had previous abortions.
"American Life League salutes Virginia Delegate Robert Marshall. He is a tireless human rights advocate who has dedicated his entire life to recognizing the personhood of all human beings – including preborn babies and those with disabilities – two groups whose lives are constantly threatened by the abortion lobby.
"Bob may have used a poor choice of words at an event to defund Planned Parenthood – the nation’s largest purveyor of abortions – but his remarks have been twisted out of context, a tactic which takes focus off the truth in an effort to brand Marshall as the enemy of the disabled.
And the truth is clear: there is an undeniable link between abortion and increased risk of disabilities in the children of women who have had abortions.
"The link between abortion and preterm birth for future pregnancies has been documented countless times yet seldom reported on.
In September 2009, Dr. Prakesh Shah released a meta-analysis in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology using data from 37 published studies.
"The Shah meta-analysis found that one induced abortion increases the risk for preterm birth in a subsequent pregnancy by 36 percent. Two or more induced abortions increases that risk by 93 percent. One induced abortion increases the risk of low birth weight by 35 percent, and more than one induced abortion increases that risk to 72 percent.
"The Mayo Clinic reports that complications of preterm birth may include:
Difficulty breathing
Episodes of stopped breathing (apnea)
Bleeding in the brain (intracranial hemorrhage)
Fluid accumulation in the brain (hydrocephalus)
Cerebral palsy and other neurological problems
Vision problems
Intestinal problems
Developmental delays
Learning disabilities
Hearing problems
We hope that those decrying Delegate Marshall’s statement are as horrified by the effects of abortion as they are by their perception of the words Delegate Marshall used to describe them: abortion has major, undeniable consequences – one of which is the danger it poses to the future brothers and sisters of children killed by abortion.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Delegate Bob Marshall: Statement on Recent News story by Capital News Service (22 February 2010)
http://delegatebob.com/news/statement-on-recent-news-story-by-capital-news-service
BJOG: Induced termination of pregnancy and low birthweight and preterm birth: a systematic review and meta-analyses (16 September 2009)
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122591273/abstract
Mayo Clinic: Premature Birth Complications
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/premature-birth/DS00137/DSECTION=complications
[23Feb10, Washington, DC; PharmFacts E-News Update, 23Feb10]
Frozen Fetuses Found During Doctor's Office Raid Following Woman's Death After Abortion
Philadelphia and federal authorities who raided a doctor's office after allegations a woman died following an abortion made a shocking discovery: more than two dozen frozen fetuses.
For the second time in four days, Philadelphia Police, along with State Licensing officials and DEA agents, searched the West Philadelphia office of Dr. Kermit Gosnell on Monday.
Sources tell Eyewitness News that the search came after a patient reportedly died following an abortion on November 20.
According to the State Board of Medicine, Dr. Gosnell had an unlicensed staff member conduct vaginal exams and administer medication.
In the November 20 case, the state claims the staff member administered Demerol, Promethazine and Diazepam to the female patient.
After the doctor arrived at the clinic, the patient was given more medication. After the doctor performed an abortion, the patient started to have an arrhythmia and later died, state officials said. Autopsy results are pending.
Sources also told Eyewitness News that during the search, investigators recovered more than two dozen fetuses stored in a freezer, some dating back 30 years.
The fetuses are now being analyzed to reveal if illegal late-term abortions may have been performed.
Records indicate that back in 1995, Gosnell was publicly reprimanded by the State Licensing Board which found he ''employed a physician's assistant that was not certified … saw at least one patient and treated him."
Gosnell's patients, many treated at the office for years, were surprised to learn about the investigation.
"Very good doctor. Very good doctor. I've known him for years from my family," one patient told Eyewitness News.
Attempts to contact Dr. Gosnell at his home, office, by phone, and through an attorney were unsuccessful.
Dr. Gosnell's license has been temporarily suspended. So far, he has not been charged with any criminal wrongdoing.
The investigation is ongoing.
[ Feb 23, 2010, CBS 3, Philadelphia, http://cbs3.com/local/West.Philadelphia.Dr.2.1512077.html ; PharmFacts E-News Update, 23Feb10]
New York Abortionist Under Investigation for Abortion Death
Operation Rescue has been notified by the State of New York Department of Health that abortionist Salomon Epstein is now under investigation for his part in the abortion death of Alexandra Nunez at a New York City abortion clinic owned by him.
The investigation, which is being conducted by the Office of Professional Medical Conduct, is the result of a complaint filed by Operation Rescue staff person Tara Shaver. The case is OPMC #10-02-0688.
Nunez died on January 25, 2010, after an abortionist severed an artery during her abortion. The injury led to massive bleeding and eventually cardiac arrest. Nunez was rushed to a nearby hospital where she died. The abortion clinic, A-1 Women's Center, is located in a predominately Hispanic neighborhood in a run-down building that doubles as a plastic surgery center.
After Nunez's death, an unidentified clinic worker told reporters that everything had "gone well" at the abortion clinic. "Nothing happened here," she said.
"Just one look at the A-1 Women's Center and it is easy to guess why this happened. I wouldn't take my dog there," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "Nasty little abortion clinics like this spring up in Hispanic and Black neighborhoods in order to prey on vulnerable women instead of offering them real solutions and hope. We are glad to do our part to protect women from dangerous and predatory abortion mills like this one. May the investigation result in its permanent closure." [23Feb10, New York, Christian Newswire; PharmFacts E-News Update, 23Feb10]
YET AGAIN! Undercover Tape at WI Planned Parenthood Shows 10th Case of Child Sex Abuse Cover Up
New undercover footage shows staff at a Milwaukee, WI Planned Parenthood abortion clinic counseling a purportedly 14-year-old statutory rape victim not to tell anyone about her 31- year-old boyfriend and coaching her how to obtain an abortion without her parents' consent. The new video, ninth in a series from Live Action documenting similar behavior in 5 other states, comes amid recent controversy about Planned Parenthood's compliance with state laws regarding minors and abortion.
In the video, after hearing the girl is 14 and her boyfriend is "much older," the counselor says whether or not the situation will be reported by clinic workers "depends on the person you're disclosing that information to." When the girl says that her boyfriend is 31, the counselor tells her, "You don't have to say anything" about the statutory rape and instructs her, "Just give them the information that's needed." The counselor also confirms that the 31- year-old "boyfriend" will be paying for the abortion.
In Wisconsin, sex between an adult and a minor under age 16 is a felony, and health care professionals are required to report such cases to law enforcement immediately. The law specifically includes abortion providers in this requirement.
Live Action, the youth-led pro-life nonprofit that produced the video, has previously released undercover footage in its "Mona Lisa Project" showing sexual abuse cover-up at Planned Parenthood clinics in California, Indiana, Arizona, Tenne
ssee, and Alabama. The Alabama Department of Health put a Birmingham Planned Parenthood on probation two weeks ago after finding 9 legal violations during an investigation prompted by a Live Action video.
Twenty-one-year-old UCLA student Lila Rose, Live Action's president, says her organization's videos reveal a common trend of unethical counseling practices and disregard for the law at Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the U.S.: "In case after case, Planned Parenthood acts in contempt of its legal and professional obligations to report child rape. At a time when the Obama administration, through its new health care plan, is offering potentially billions of dollars to the abortion industry, state and federal lawmakers need to take notice of Planned Parenthood's lawlessness and make certain they receive no more taxpayer subsidies."
Live Action is also responsible for a recent video expose of biased counseling and medical misinformation at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. Wisconsin law requires that women be provided accurate medical information before undergoing an abortion.
"The evidence is now available for all to see that Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin ignores state laws that have been in place for years," Rose says. "Wisconsin law enforcement needs to follow the lead of other jurisdictions, investigate this corrupt organization, and enforce the laws that protect vulnerable women and their pre-born children."
[23Feb10, Milwaukee, Christian Newswire; PharmFacts E-News Update, 23Feb10]
Watch the new video here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3besWlxHhc
Live Action, visit: http://liveaction.org
RESOURCES / LINKS
Abortion is UNsafe
http://www.theunchoice.com/unsafe.htm
Abortion's Harm to Women
http://www.theunchoice.com/pdf/FactSheets/RecentResearch.pdf
Life-Threatening Risks of Abortion
http://www.theunchoice.com/pdf/OnePageFactSheets/PhysicalRisksSheet1.pdf
After-effects of Abortion
http://www.theunchoice.com/pdf/OnePageFactSheets/PsychologicalRisksSheet1.pdf
Abortion Coercion
http://www.theunchoice.com/pdf/FactSheets/PortraitsOfCoercion.pdf
Abortion — The UNchoice
How Men are Harmed by Abortion
An important but often unacknowledged angle of the abortion debate involves the serious effects that legalized abortion has on men.
A recent scandal surrounding John Edwards, former North Carolina Senator and U.S. presidential candidate, brought this issue into plain view. Mr. Edwards publicly acknowledged an extramarital affair with Rielle Hunter in the summer of 2008, a few months after pulling out of the presidential race. Even after admitting to the affair, however, he continued to deny having fathered Ms. Hunter’s daughter, Quinn, until January of 2010 when he finally admitted that he was, in fact, her father.
A former aide to Mr. Edwards has just published a tell-all book describing how Mr. Edwards tried to coerce Ms. Hunter to get an abortion. Commentator Jill Stanek analyzed the situation this way: “Fortunately, Hunter resisted this all too typical coercive attempt by a sexually exploitative and irresponsible man to abort his own baby. Of course Edwards is a pro-abort, which as we see is incredibly self-serving for men. Edwards was ready to sacrifice his own baby for political and personal expediency.”
Mr. Edward’s extramarital activities remind us how legalized abortion has the clear and pronounced effect of supporting sexual infidelity, providing “cover” and encouraging men to become less responsible and accountable for their personal choices. It enables men to justify and get away with sexual license.
Abortion hurts men in other, more direct ways as well. The fact that upwards of 3000 abortions occur each day in the U.S. implies the obvious corollary that about 3000 men lose a son or daughter each day to abortion. Some of these men may have encouraged or pressured their partners to abort; others may have strongly resisted; still others may not have known they were fathers until afterwards.
What is not widely acknowledged is that men can and do suffer emotionally and spiritually from their loss. It seems fair to say that men are not often encouraged to acknowledge their emotions around this issue — whether relief, grief, anger, or resentment.
As post-abortion healing ministries like Rachel’s Vineyard have expanded in recent years, many women along with their husbands or male partners have come to seek help in dealing with the negative effects of their abortion. A growing number of men have found themselves regretting their involvement in an abortion, and various websites now include testimonies from men who have lost a child this way (cf. rachelsvineyard.org or priestsforlife.org).
Many of the testimonies are poignant, raw and searingly honest. Phil McCombs, a Washington Post Staff writer shared his own post-abortive struggles in a 1995 article in the Post:
‘‘I feel like a murderer, which isn’t to say that I blame anyone else, or think anyone else is a murderer. It’s just the way I feel and all the rationalizations in the world haven’t changed this. I still grieve for little Thomas. It is an ocean of grief. From somewhere in the distant past I remember the phrase from Shakespeare, the multitudinous seas, “incarnadine.” When I go up to the river on vacation this summer, he won’t be going boating with me on the lovely old wooden runabout that I can’t really afford to put in the water but can’t bring myself to discard, either. He won’t be lying on the grass by the tent at night looking at the starry sky and saying, “What’s that one called, Dad?” Because there was no room on the Earth for Thomas.’’
Another anonymous father wrote a letter, excerpted here, to his deceased son as part of his own journey towards healing and peace:
‘‘My Dear John Peter — This past weekend I did something I should have done a very long time ago. I confessed to your death by abortion. John, you would today be a young man of twenty, vibrant and alive… Tears come again John, as they did Saturday night… In the fall, John, when the leaves fall from the trees I shall think of you, for you too fell from life. In the cold of winter, John, the snow shall remind me of you: for like the snow you were and are white and pure. In the spring, John, I shall think of you: for the birth of spring shall remind me that you, too should have been born into this world. John, I shall think of you in the summer: I shall imagine your laughter. I shall see you as you might have been, a little boy running and playing, scraping your knees from a fall. I shall miss, John, all that I might have gained from your life. My Little One, John Peter, I can only now ask you to forgive me as Jesus and God have done. May you rest in the arms of God — Dad’’
The deep emotional scarring of both men and women that follows in the wake of legalized abortion should be a growing concern for all of us, and should challenge us to craft a more just society where every man, woman and child is unconditionally protected, respected, welcomed and loved.
This article is reprinted with permission of the author, Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. Father Pacholczyk writes a monthly column, Making Sense out of Bioethics, which appears in newspapers in the US, Canada and Australia. See: http://www.ncbcenter.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=249
Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did post-doctoral work at Harvard. H
e is a priest of the diocese of Fall River, MA, and serves as the Director of Education at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. See www.ncbcenter.org
[Vine & Branches March 2010; Tadeusz Pacholczyk]
Practitioner Denies He Botched Legal Abortion That Killed Hispanic Woman
A New York City abortion practitioner is denying he did the botched abortion that killed a local Hispanic woman last month.
The abortion was done at the A-1 Women's Care abortion center located in Jackson Heights and, although abortion practitioner Salomon Epstein does abortions there he denies he did it.Last month, 37-year-old Alexandra N died after a botched abortion claimed her life.
The State of New York Department of Health has opened an investigation into Epstein and his abortion center.But, in an email received over the weekend, Epstein told LifeNews.com he did not do the failed abortion that claimed the woman's life.
"I did not treat this patient and I do not operate the A 1 clinic that is mentioned," he claims. "You may call that clinic directly … not one of my patients ever died." "You should share this with your friends at Operation Rescue," Epstein told LifeNews.com.
After passing along the email to the pro-life group, OR investigators contacted the A-1 Clinic and didn't get very far. [1March2010, #4838, Queens, NY www.LifeNews.com]
Survey Shows Men More Happy Than Women by News of Unplanned Pregnancy
A new survey that has an impact on the abortion debate shows men are more likely to be happy with an unexpected pregnancy than women. The survey gives further credence to the idea that women who have an abortion thinking their boyfriend or husband would not be supportive should think again. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy conducted the new survey, first reported in the Washington City Paper.
The campaign surveyed thousands of young men and women, ages 18-29, about their thoughts on pregnancy. Those who answered that it was “very important or somewhat important” to avoid pregnancy right now were then asked how they'd feel about an unplanned pregnancy. The question was worded: “If you found out today that (you were/your partner was) pregnant, how would you feel: Very upset, a little upset, a little pleased, very pleased, wouldn't care.”
While only 20 percent of women responded that they'd be “a little pleased” or “very pleased,” a larger 43 percent of young men answered the same. Among the 18-19 year old age range, 34 percent of men said they'd be pleased. That number jumps to 42 percent for 20-24-year olds, and more than 50 percent for guys aged 25-29. Only 16 percent of women ages 18-24 would be pleased by a surprise pregnancy. The percentage soars to 29 for 25-29 year-old women.
[8March10, Washington, DC, www.LifeNews.com, #4843]
New Report Shows Female-based Abortion Infanticide Hurting China Gender Ratio
A new report in the Economist is showing that the continued sex-selection abortion and female-based infanticide is harming China's gender ratio. New technology combined with ancient prejudices are producing communities in Asia with thousands more men than women, it has emerged.
Ultrasound scans which can detect the sex of babies have contributed to a massive rise in abortions of female unborn babies in cultures which value males much more highly. In China and Northern India, more than 120 boys are now being born for every 100 girls – up from an imbalance of 108 boys to every 100 girls in the 1980s, according to statistics published in The Economist. These rates are biologically impossible without human intervention. In rural areas, this ratio is even higher – in some Chinese provinces the ratio is an unprecedented 130 to 100.
According to The Economist, "It is no exaggeration to call this gendercide. Women are missing in their millions – aborted, killed, neglected to death." Statistics from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences estimate that by 2020, China will have 30-40 million more men aged 19 and below than women in the same age group. According to The Economist, the crime rate has almost doubled in China during the past 20 years of rising sex ratios, including bride abduction, the trafficking of women rape and prostitution. [8March10, London, England, www.LifeNews.com, #4843]
Women Conceived in Rape Take Pro-Life Message to United Nations
Several women who were conceived in rape are sharing their powerful stories at the United Nations Conference on the Status of Women. Juda Myers, conceived in an eight man rape, is among them. Speaking at Harvard University in October 2009 with Harvard's largest pro life attendance in years, Myers' witnessed brilliant minds turn from the acceptance of abortion in any case to the reality of the gift of life.
She speaks to all people from within the walls of prisons to the halls of the United Nations. "One can count the seeds in an apple but not the apples in a seed," Myers says referring to future generations that we may lose to abortions. Rebecca Kiessling from Michigan — an adoptee who was conceived in rape when her birth mother was abducted at knife-point by a serial rapist, and then nearly aborted at two-back alley abortion practitioners, was also present.
"This is totally historic — the most that have been convened to speak together before has been a small group of three. We'll be speaking out with one voice that every child conceived in rape is worthy of protection," she told LifeNews.com. [8March10, New York, NY, www.LifeNews.com, #4843]
Black Pro-Life Leader Defends Congressman Trent Franks on Abortion-Slavery
A prominent black pro-life leader is coming to the defense of Congressman Trent Franks of Arizona, who has been slammed over the last few days in the mainstream media and on Internet blogs for his comments saying that abortion has been worse for the African-American community than slavery.
As LifeNews.com reported, Franks released a new video in which he makes the remarks and points out how abortion disproportionately targets the black community.
"And yet today, half of all black children are aborted. Half of all black children are aborted," Franks says. "Far more of the African American community is being devastated by the policies of today than were being devastated by policies of slavery. And I think, What does it take to get us to wake up?"
Although abortion advocates and the media are calling Franks an extremist who should be ignored, Day Gardner, the president of the National Black Pro-Life Union, says he is right on track.
"Face it America, he's right. Abortion has exacted a greater toll on blacks than slavery," she told LifeNews.com.
"Our country brutally enslaved four million people, denying them their rights, their freedom and many times their lives. Rep. Franks is simply comparing that horrific truth to another horrific truth — which is that abortion has killed more than 17 million black people," Gardner said. [1Mar2010, 
; www.LifeNews.com, #4838]
Closure of Pennsylvania Abortion Business Dramatically Underscores Need for Medically-Appropriate Regulation
Combating the True “Back Alley”: Closure of Pennsylvania Abortion Clinic Dramatically Underscores Need for Medically-Appropriate Regulation
By Denise M. Burke
Since the 1960s, abortion proponents have argued that legalized abortion is beneficial to the health and well-being of American women. In support of this assertion, they have often put forth a litany of purported advantages. A primary advantage they often cite is increased medical safety for women undergoing abortions.
When their campaign to legalize abortion began, abortion proponents argued that if abortion was legal the procedure would be safer for women because it would become an accepted part of mainstream medical care, proper surgical procedures and standards for pre- and post- surgical care would be followed, and skilled and reputable gynecologists and surgeons would perform the procedure. Simply, unskilled and incompetent butchers would no longer perform abortions.
These were the promises. But has it proven to be the reality? Has 37 years of legalized abortion eliminated these problems from our national consciousness? No, it has not and a case out of Pennsylvania last week aptly demonstrates that abortion clinics across the nation have become the true “back-alleys” of abortion mythology.
On both February 18 and February 23, 2010, federal agents raided the Women’s Medical Society abortion clinic in Philadelphia and found “deplorable and unsanitary” conditions including blood on the floors, parts of aborted children stored in jars, and post-operative recovery areas that consisted solely of recliners. During the course of the investigation, it was discovered that the clinic’s director, Dr. Kermit Gosnell, typically did not arrive at the clinic until 6 pm each day and sanctioned the performance of gynecological exams and the administration of controlled substances and prescription medication by non-licensed staff at the clinic.
Gosnell’s license to practice medicine was immediately suspended and the clinic was closed down. In its order, the Pennsylvania Department of State’s Medical Board specifically cited to a November 20, 2009 case where a woman died after being given two rounds of painkillers and anesthesia prior to an abortion, but did not mention the dozens of medical malpractices suits filed against Gosnell.
Sadly, the Philadelphia clinic is not an aberration. Substandard and unsafe abortion clinics are currently operating across the nation.
Enacting comprehensive abortion clinic regulations is a critical and sensible solution to the problem of unsafe, “back-alley” abortions in America. These regulations are designed to safeguard against unsanitary conditions, inferior equipment, and the employment of unsuitable and untrained personnel. They are also intended to put an end to substandard medical practices that injure and kill untold numbers of women each year.
For the last 10 years, AUL has worked to remedy the epidemic of substandard conditions at the nation’s abortion clinics, advocating for medically-appropriate and comprehensive health and safety regulations at abortion clinics and defending such laws when they are challenged in court by abortion providers more concerned with plying their trade without legitimate oversight and protecting their “bottom-line” than with women’s health and safety.
Specifically, AUL has developed both “The Abortion Patients’ Enhanced Safety Act,” mandating that abortion clinics meet the same exacting standards as ambulatory surgical clinics, and “The Women’s Health Protection Act,” prescribing minimum health and safety regulations (based, in part, on internal – but not mandatory — treatment protocols from Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation).
AUL’s model legislation for regulating abortion clinics is available at http://www.aul.org/Legislative_Guides
And for more information on the need for abortion clinic regulations and more examples of substandard care at abortion clinics, please see http://dl.aul.org/abortion/abortion-clinic-regulations-combating-the-“true-back-alley”
[http://blog.aul.org/2010/03/01/closure-of-pennsylvania-abortion-clinic-dramatically-underscores-need-for-medically-appropriate-regulation/
by Denise Burke on March 1, 2010]
Delaware Suspends Abortionist's License for Appalling Conditions Inside the Business Site
The Delaware Board of Medical Practice suspended the medical license of Pennsylvania abortionist Kermit B. Gosnell on Tuesday during an emergency hearing. Gosnell's Pennsylvania license was suspended last week after authorities investigating an abortion death and drug violations discovered appalling conditions and a collection of frozen aborted baby remains dating back 30 years. [Pro-Life Today | 04 March 2010; Life Site News, http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10030302.html]
"Abortion Changes You" Post-Abortion Ads Reappear in New York City Subways
New York, NY (LifeNews.com) — Some 2,000 new ads stating ‘abortion changes you’ will reappear this month on New York City subways. Similar ads were seen by hundreds of thousands of New York subway riders in 2008. New Yorkers responded by visiting the Abortion Changes You web site (abortionchangesyou.com) and sharing their stories of reproductive grief after abortion.
One young woman writes, “I'm 24, confused and alone…I felt like I was the only one suffering until I found this web site on the train.” Another man shares that he was 18 when he and his girlfriend terminated a pregnancy. He didn't think about it until the birth of another child years later, “I couldn't help but think about my first son. He would be 20 years old now.” The new ads echo the experiences of men and women.
The image of a young woman shares: "I thought life would be the way it was before," while a male on another says: "I often wonder if there was something I could have done to help her." According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1 in 3 women will have an abortion by age 45.
“When I had my abortion I kept it a secret for a long time because I was afraid of how people would react. Few people know how to talk about abortion in a safe way,” says Michaelene Fredenburg, the creator of the ads and author of Changed: Making Sense of Your Own or a Loved One’s Abortion Experience, “Every person moves through reproductive loss and grief differently. An abortion experience can create a range of emotions, from feelings of relief, to confusion, to profound grief.” [8March10, New York, NY, www.LifeNews.com, #4843]