Abortion:
Is it
murder, and is it safe?
By Cheri Jackson
Featured
Rightgrrl February 1999
cheri_jackson@yahoo.com
August 1, 1999
First degree murder occurs when one human being
takes the life of another human being, deliberately and with
planning. The "pro-choice" movement says that abortion
is not murder because the 'fetus' is not a human being. Is an
unborn child a human being, or is it a "lump of cells"?
What is a human being? Is a fetus a human
being? A human being is a unique individual, with 46 chromosomes,
and it's own individual DNA pattern. The human egg and sperm each
have 23 chromosomes. When the sperm fertilizes the egg, these
chromosomes join and create a unique individual. At this point
all characteristics (sex, hair color, eye color, etc.) of this
human being have been determined. The outward form of a human
being may not be recognizable by the naked eye, but, if someone
were to map the DNA at this point, they would find a unique human
DNA pattern. Does this not fit the definition of human life? Even
doctors agree that human life exists at this stage.
"The changes occurring
between implantation, a six-weeks embryo, a six-months fetus, a
one-week- old child, or a mature adult are merely stages of
development and maturation. "The majority of our group could
find no point in time between the union of sperm and egg, or at
least the blastocyst stage, and the birth of the infant at which
point we could say that this was not a human life." Willke
& Willke, Handbook on Abortion, (1971, 1975, 1979 Editions),
Ch. 3, Cincinnati: Hayes Publishing Co.
If that isn't convincing enough
for the average person, lets look at some of the stages of
development. The heart beats at 18 days, and is pumping blood by
21 days. The eyes, ears, and respiratory system all start to
develop at 4 weeks. At 6 to 8 weeks the baby starts to move
inside the womb. Brainwaves can be measured at about 5 weeks. At
8 weeks all body systems are present, you can hear a heartbeat,
and the baby is recognizable as a human being to the naked eye.
"Eleven years ago,
while giving an anesthetic for a ruptured tubal pregnancy (at two
months), I was handed what I believed to be the smallest human
being ever seen. The embryo sac was intact and transparent.
Within the sac was a tiny (one-third inch) human male swimming
extremely vigorously in the amniotic fluid, while attached to the
wall by the umbilical cord. This tiny human was perfectly
developed with long, tapering fingers, feet and toes. It was
almost transparent as regards the skin, and the delicate arteries
and veins were prominent to the ends of the fingers.
"The baby was extremely
alive and swam about the sac approximately one time per second
with a natural swimmers stroke. This tiny human did not look at
all like the photos and drawings of ‘embryos’ which I
have seen, nor did it look like the few embryos I have been able
to observe since then, obviously because this one was alive.
"When the sac was opened, the tiny human immediately lost
its life and took on the appearance of what is accepted as the
appearance of an embryo at this stage (blunt extremities,
etc.)." P.E. Rockwell, M.D., Director of Anesthesiology,
Leonard Hospital, Troy, New York, U.S. Supreme Court., Markle vs.
Abele, 72-56, 72-730, p. 11, 1972
Even Planned Parenthood officials
will admit, when pushed, that the unborn child is a baby.
"It's not a frog or a
ferret that's being killed. It's a baby," with "I am
fully aware of that. I am fully aware of that." (Donahue
Transcript # 3288, 1991)former director of planned
parenthood-Faye Wattleton
And abortion doctors.
"I want the general
public to know what the doctors know- that this is a person, this
is a baby. That this is not some kind of blob of tissue."
--Dr. Anthony Levantino (from the film, "Meet the Abortion
Providers" )
If all of this still isn’t
convincing enough, consider this; surgery performed on unborn
babies is being done more and more all of the time, and people
have been prosecuted for killing unborn children by harming the
pregnant woman. Why is killing an unborn child murder or
manslaughter when the woman wants the child, but ‘interrupting
the pregnancy’ when she doesn’t?
What about another aspect? Is
abortion really safe now that it is legal? There are many dangers
inherent to the abortion procedures. Sterility is one danger. It
can be caused by infection, a real risk in any surgical
procedure, but even more so with many abortion procedures. If the
tiniest piece of fetal tissue or placenta are left in the uterus
a serious infection can result, many times leading to a complete
hysterectomy, and sometimes even death. Hemorrhage is also a very
real danger. If the abortion provider is not careful, he or she
can cause damage that can result in the need for a blood
transfusion, if not the death of the woman from blood loss. There
is also the threat of future miscarriage. Most abortion
procedures require the forceful dilation of the cervix. This can
damage the cervix, making it unable to do it’s job in
holding the uterus closed, keeping infection out and the baby in.
I mentioned “if the abortion provider is not careful”
earlier. I know that there are abortion providers who truly do
care about the women, and who are careful to do the abortion
properly and safely, however, there are those who do not.
"Remember, there is a
human being at the other end of the table taking that kid apart.
We've had a couple of guys drinking too much, taking drugs, even
a suicide or two." --Dr. Julius Butler, a professor of
obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Minnesota Medical
School
Drinking and taking drugs; after a
certain point these are not activities that people can control.
Does that mean that some abortion providers are drunk or high
while they are performing abortions? That in itself is a danger
to the women undergoing abortions.
There are also emotional and
mental complications. Post Abortion Syndrome is a very real
condition. Women feel guilt, low self esteem, and depression
after abortions. This is often a delayed reaction, brought on by
events like subsequent pregnancies, the anniversary of the
abortion, or the due date of the child that was aborted. Suicide,
brought on by guilt and depression, is also a very real risk:
"The suicide rate after
an abortion was three times the general suicide rate and six
times that associated with birth.... the rate for women following
a live birth was 5.9 per 100,000; following miscarriage 18.1;
following abortion 34.7....." M. Gissler, Abortion/Suicide
Link,Br. Med. J., Dec. 6, 1996
Another possible emotional
complication is sexual dysfunction.
“Thirty to fifty
percent of aborted women report experiencing sexual dysfunction,
of both short and long duration, beginning immediately after
their abortions.These problems may include one or more of the
following: loss of pleasure from intercourse, increased pain, an
aversion to sex and/or males in general, or the development of a
promiscuous life-style.” THE AFTEREFFECTS OF ABORTION -
Elliot Institute, David C. Reardon , text from a brochure
The emotional effects of abortion
can also lead to child abuse.
“Experts agree that
during the past 25 years the rate of child abuse has increased
dramatically. Between 1976 and 1987 alone, there was a 330%
increase in reported cases of child abuse. While a portion of
this increase is due to better reporting, experts agree that
these figures reflect a real trend toward ever higher rates of
abuse. "
"These figures clearly
contradict the pro-abortionists' claim that abortion of
"unwanted children" prevents child abuse. Ignoring the
obvious illogic of this argument--which suggests that killing
children is better than beating them--there is not a single
scientific study that supports this theory. Instead, there is a
clear statistical association between increased rates of abortion
and increased rates of child abuse. Indeed, statistical and
clinical research support not only an association, but a causal
connection between abortion and subsequent child abuse.”Abortion
Trauma and Child Abuse Theresa Karminski Burke and David C.
Reardon
"The reasons for child
abuse are complex, and can't be fully dealt with here. But
clearly, if abortion contributes to feelings of depression,
self-hatred, anxiety and anger among mothers and fathers, not to
mention patterns of substance abuse, their children will pay a
price." Abortion Trauma and Child Abuse Theresa Karminski
Burke and David C. Reardon
There are so many risks involved
with abortion, and so many infertile couples who would love to
adopt a child, why is abortion so prevalent in our society? I
fully believe that if everyone was fully aware of all of the
facts and risks, abortion would be a lot less prevalent, and
probable illegal.
This article copyright
© 1999 by Cheri Jackson and may
not be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of its
author. All rights reserved.
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