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OPTION HELP LINE
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http://www.pregnancycenters.org/
WARNING:
http://www.priestsforlife.org/images/index.htm
http://www.abort73.com/HTML/I-A-3-techniques.html
http://www.abortionfacts.com/partial_birth/partial_birth.asp
Abortion and Breast Cancer
http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/
What is Abortion?
Abortion is a surgical or medical procedure that puts an end to a pregnancy. It is performed by a licensed physician. In addition to the moral, ethical, religious, and personal debates about abortion, there are very definite legal and medical considerations:
- Elective abortion is not legal everywhere;
- Parental consent is required for minors in many jurisdictions;
- Abortion and the aftermath can result in a subsequent inability to carry a pregnancy to term;
- Abortion can result in secondary infertility;
- Abortion is generally undertaken during the very beginnings of a pregnancy, while many women are still unsure if they're pregnant, undecided about their directions, or in denial about the pregnancy
- Abortion can result in the woman's death.
The actual procedures used in early stage abortion is:
Suction - a device that operates like a vacuum is used to extract the fetus, placenta, and other tissue; dilation and curretage - the fetus, placenta, and other tissue are cut and scraped out; dilation and extraction - the fetus is pulled out (in pieces) with forceps and the placenta and other tissue are removed.
Shocking Youtube Video: Fr. Frank Pavone Demonstrates Dismemberment Abortion on Fetus Model
By Hilary White
NEW YORK, April 10, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Fr. Frank Pavone, the well-known head of the US organisation, Priests for Life, has recently posted two videos to the internet video website YouTube in which he demonstrates in graphic detail exactly what happens to a child in a surgical abortion. Using a plastic model of a child at 18 weeks gestation, a common age for surgical abortions, Fr. Pavone holds up a pair of forceps and demonstrates the procedure of dismemberment.
He says dispassionately, "The forceps are used to grab one of the extremities of the child...and to pull them off. Literally it is a dismemberment abortion. The legs are pulled off the child; the arms are pulled off; the rest of the body is taken out piece by piece and then the head is crushed and the contents of the head come out as well."
He quotes an abortionist describing the procedure, who says, "We know the foetus is still alive either because we can feel it move or we actually see a heart beat as we're starting the procedure."
Fr. Pavone says that this blunt clinical description of the standard surgical procedure is "not about religion" but about making explicitly clear exactly what happens in an abortion procedure.
"Some people think that because I'm a priest saying these things that this is all just religious belief....If I take off my collar and describe to you what abortion is, I will be saying exactly what I just said."
"If we're going to talk about abortion in this country, let's make sure we know what we're talking about and let's work to bring it to an end."
In a second video, Fr. Pavone describes a suction abortion, normally carried out on a slightly younger child. For this he uses a plastic model of a child at 12 weeks, and a plastic tube called a cannula. "The hollow tube is inserted into the uterus. It is connected to a vacuum pump the vacuum pump is turned on and the abortionist moves the cannula around the child and the force of the suction either breaks the baby's body apart and sucks it through the tube or if the baby is small enough, the baby goes through the tube intact."
He quotes an abortionist, Dr. Martin Haskell, who says that sometimes the child's heart is still beating as it goes down the tube into the collection jar.
A stream of thought in the pro-life movement holds that graphic descriptions of this kind, or graphic images of aborted children, serve only to put people off the pro-life message. But those advocating such forthright depictions of abortion argue that a 'softer,' more palatable approach fails to convey the urgency of the problem and serves only to justify complacency.
The two videos are part of a set that have been posted to YouTube. The video on the suction abortion has been viewed 9,308 times since being posted on March 29. The two videos are part of a set of 34 informational videos being posted by Fr. Pavone as part of Priests for Life internet education work.
Other videos posted to the page include advice on voting, the Catholic Church's position on abortion and related life issues and how to refute standard pro-abortion assertions. Some of them feature other speakers, including Dr. Alveda King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. who has dedicated herself to pro-life advocacy.
To visit Priests for Life YouTube page:
http://www.youtube.com/user/FrFrankPavone
Fr. Frank Pavone Creates Abortion Stir
Fr. Frank Pavone has posted two videos on You Tube in which he demonstrates the most common abortion procedures, using the actual abortion instruments and fetal models. We ask you to view and to spread far and wide these challenging videos. The links are as follows: www.youtube.com/watch?v=us_y9GP_-DA - Dismemberment D&E Procedure
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBOAPleF1t0- Suction Abortion Procedure
Life in the Womb
When the unborn child is only about 3 weeks old his heart begins to beat. By the 10th week of life the unborn is so developed that his tiny fingers even have fingerprints. By 12 weeks he is able to turn his head, kick his legs, curl his toes, and make a fist. In addition, the baby can open its mouth, swallow, suck its thumb, and make facial expressions. All body systems are present.
The baby can also feel pain!
Fetal Development
How Your Unborn Child Grows
Week 2:
At conception, the sperm joins with ovum (egg) to form one cell that contains the complex genetic blueprint for every detail of human development. At this point the child's sex, hair and eye color, height, and skin tone are already mapped out.
Week 4:
The embryo's heart has been beating for one week already. The beginning of the spinal cord, muscles, and nerves become apparent. Arms, legs, eyes and ears can now be seen. The amniotic sac and placenta are in place and providing nourishment to the embryo.
Week 6:
This is a critical period of growth for the embryo. The eyes begin to form and the extremities can be seen in much more detail, including all 10 fingers. The embryo is now moving and responds to touch.
Week 10: At the 9th week:
the embryo is now considered a fetus. The fetus is able to grasp and can suck his/her thumb. Fingerprints are already visible in the skin. In addition to being able to sense touch, the fetus can now feel pain. At week 12, the fetus sleeps and awakens.
Week 14:
The fetus is growing very rapidly at this point. The mother can now feel energetic movement, and hair is visible on the scalp. Sex differentiation becomes apparent by week 13.
Week 18:
The ears are now functioning and the baby can hear his mother's voice. By the end of the 4th month, the fetus weighs a half pound or more and is eight to ten inches in length.
Week 22:
The head of the fetus now accounts for 1/3 of his/her length. If this baby were to be born prematurely, he/she has a good chance of survival with sufficient medical care.
Week 26:
The tongue has formed taste buds and the eyes have fully developed. The baby's lungs are completely functioning and he can even cry.
Week 30:
Vision, hearing, taste, and touch are all being used now. The baby opens and closes her eyes and looks around. Research shows that the child can recognize her mother's voice.
Week 40:
The baby is now ready for life outside of his mother's womb. By this time, the infant usually weighs six to nine pounds and his heart is pumping 300 gallons of blood per day.
Sources
• A Child Is Born (also in paperback) (book), Lennart Nilsson, Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1990. Order from Amazon.com. • Nine Month Miracle (CD ROM software), A.D.A.M. Software, Inc., 1600 RiverEdge Parkway, Suite 800, Atlanta, GA, 30328. • The First Nine Months of Life, (brochure), Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, CO, 1995. • Introduction to Child Development , 6th ed., (text book) John Dworetzky, West Publishing Company, San Francisco, CA, 1996. • Psychology Today, (magazine) "Fetal Psychology," Janet L. Hopson, October 1998. • Epigee Women's Resource: Information about pregnancy, reproductive health, and fetal development. • When You were Formed in Secret, (handbook) Gary Bergel, Intercessors for America, 1988.
© Terwilliger Web Development Services, 2004
How are abortions done?
Abortion
If you are pregnant you currently have the legal option of abortion. You deserve to know how abortions are performed and the risks they pose to your health.
- Suction Aspiration: After dilating the cervix which is the donut shaped organ at the entrance of the uterus, a hollow plastic tube with a knife-like edge is inserted into the uterus. The abortionist then cuts and scrapes the uterus and the baby is removed by a suction machine attached to the plastic tube. Great care must be taken to prevent the uterus from being perforated or torn.
Dilation and curettage or D & C:
This is similar to the suction aspiration method except that a curette (loop-shaped steel knife) is used instead of a plastic tube. The baby is scraped out instead of sucked out.
Dilation and evacuation or D & E:
The same as a dilation and curettage but done after 12 weeks. Parts of the baby are dismembered and pulled out by a forceps. The baby's head must be crushed in order to pass through the cervix. The final step of the above methods just mentioned is for the nurse to reassemble the parts of the baby's body on a table to make sure that all of the "products of conception" have been removed. If any baby body parts or fragments of the placenta are left inside the woman, she is likely to develop a serious infection.
Prostaglandin:
These are drugs which produce labor and delivery at whatever stage of pregnancy they are administered. The mother gives birth to a baby who is so premature he or she cannot survive. Occasionally when this method is used a baby is aborted alive. And when an abortion produces a live baby, it is called a complication.
Mifepristone (formerly RU-486) sometimes called The Abortion Pill:
First a steroid drug is taken orally which either destroys the baby's placenta or prevents it from being formed. Then a prostaglandin drug is taken to induce the uterus to contract and vaginally deliver the baby, who is much too young to survive.
Salt Poisoning or Saline Abortion:
A concentrated salt solution is injected into the amniotic fluid through the mother's abdominal wall. It takes about an hour for the baby to die after his skin has been chemically burned and after swallowing and breathing the salt solution. The mother delivers a dead or dying baby about 24 hours later.
Partial Birth Abortion:
The mother is given drugs to induce labor. The abortionist turns the baby so that it comes down the birth canal feet first. When all but the head is delivered, the abortionist plunges a scissors or similar instrument into the back of the neck at the base of the skull, inserts a tube, then sucks out the baby's brains to collapse the skull, all with no anesthesia, then completes the delivery of a now dead baby.
Hysterotomy:
This is a late term procedure. The mother's abdomen is surgically opened as in a Caesarian section. The baby is lifted out, placed in a surgical bucket and allowed to die.
Abortion Methods Described (Plus, Misleading Claims about Abortion)
Suction Abortion:
Used during the first three months of pregnancy - A suction tube (27 times stronger than a home vacuum cleaner) is inserted into the womb. The powerful suction tears the baby apart limb from limb and sucks it from the womb along with the placenta. The baby's remains are deposited into an attached waste bottle.
Dilation and Curettage (D&C):
Used at the end of the third month of pregnancy (approximately 12 weeks) - The cervix is dialated, ring forceps are inserted into the womb and the baby is extracted piece by piece. Then a curette (a sharp knife in a loop shape) is inserted and used to scrape away any of the baby or the placenta that remains. Profuse bleeding follows.
Dilation and Extraction (D&E):
Used after 13 weeks - The cervix is dialated and the unborn child is dismembered with plier-like forceps. Force is needed to pull the baby apart. The instrument is used to seize a leg or other part of the body and then, with a twisting motion, tear it from the baby's body. The baby's spine is snapped and the skull crushed. After the baby parts are removed, they are reassembled outside the womb to be sure all are removed. Frequently baby parts are left inside the mother's womb. This can cause serious complications and sometimes death.
Help is available for women who have been injured by abortion or for the families of women who have died from abortion. You can read about tragic abortion injury cases and find out who to call for legal help by clicking: Abortion Injuries or Deaths? Call: 1-800-U-CAN-SUE.
Partial-Birth Abortion:
Partial-Birth Abortions are used from the 4th month through the end of the 9th month of pregnancy. These late-term abortions are regularly used to kill healthy babies that pose no danger or threat to their mother.
For this abortion, the abortionist uses ultrasound to locate the unborn baby's legs. Forceps are then used to pull the baby's legs through the birth canal, delivering the baby feet first, except for the head. Scissors are then used to puncture the base of the back of the head. A suction device is then inserted to suction out the baby's brain so the skull will easily collapse. The dead baby is then removed.
Congress and the Senate voted twice to outlaw these gruesome abortions. Unfortunately, President Clinton wants them to remain legal and he vetoed the bill both times the legislation was sent to him for his signature. Because of President Clinton's two vetoes, this horrifying method of child-killing remains legal today.
Why would Clinton veto a ban on Partial-Birth Abortion when so many doctors and medical professionals were recommending that they be outlawed? The American medical Association's Council on Legislation voted UNANIMOUSLY to recommend to the AMA Board of Trustees to endorse the Ban on Partial-Birth Abortions.
Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, along with hundreds of physicians and the Physicians' Ad Hoc Coalition for Truth (PHACT) said that this "procedure" is never necessary to save the life of the mother.
Dr. Nancy Romer, FACOG, Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Miami Valley Hospital in Ohio said, "People deserve to know that the partial-birth abortion is never medically indicated either to save the health of a woman or preserve her future fertility."
Dr. Martin Haskell, an abortionist who specializes in these late-term abortions, has admitted to performing over 1,000 of these abortions. He stated in a recorded interview with the American Medical News (the official newspaper of the AMA) that: "In my particular case, probably 20% (of these procedures) are for genetic reasons. And the other 80% are purely elective." That means in 80% (that's over 800 babies) there was no health risk for the mother and the baby had no handicaps.
It has been documented that thousands of these abortions are performed each year. A New Jersey newspaper reporter with the Bergen County Record discovered and reported that 1,500 babies are killed each year by partial-birth abortion at one New Jersey "Hospital" alone.
It's hard to know exactly how many of these abortions are performed each year, but we do know that the Centers for Disease Control reported there are over 17,000 abortions performed each year on babies older than 4 1/2 months gestation. Whether it's partial-birth abortion, or some other barbaric method, it's a tragic holocaust.
If you would like to voice your outrage over these late-term abortions, please call the abortion telephone poll at 1-900-PRO-LIFE. You can find information about the telephone poll on our website by clicking 1-900-PRO-LIFE telephone poll.
Saline amniocentesis:
Used after 16 weeks - A concentrated salt solution is injected with an amniocenteses needle into the amniotic fluid. The baby breathes and swallows it and dies over an hour later of acute salt poisoning. The mother then delivers a dead burned baby. Use has declined because of dangers for the mother and sometimes the baby survives.
Prostaglandin:
Used late-term - Prostaglandin is injected into the amniotic sac causing premature labor and delivery of a dead baby.
Inter-cardiac injections:
Poison is injected into the chest or heart of the fetus via a long needle inserted through the mother’s abdomen. The dead baby is absorbed. Sometimes this results in the loss of all the babies when using this method for "pregnancy reduction" with multi-fetal pregnancies.
Chemical Abortions: The Pill, RU486, methotrexate, Norplant, IUD’s, prostaglandin’s, and Depo Provera all cause early abortions. You may not be aware of the fact that the Pill has a "back up" abortifacient action that works to kill a baby very early in its development if ovulation occurs and conception takes place. With some of the new "mini-pills," scientific research shows that ovulation takes place in 67-81% of the women who use these "birth control pills."
Dr. Ronald Chez, a scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), publicly stated that the new Pills of today, with their lower estrogen dose, allow ovulation up to 50% of the time! It is estimated that Chemical "Contraceptives" cause between 7 to 12 million early abortions each year in America (Source: Study of Abortion Deaths Ad Hoc Commission 1995). Most women using the Pill (and other "birth control" methods listed above) do not know they can become pregnant and have early abortions.
What About A Safe Abortion?
Is there any such thing? Obviously it certainly isn't safe for the baby, and it invades the mother's body by forcing open the cervix long before it is ready. This can be very painful. Sometimes the cervix is permanently damaged, making it difficult or impossible for the woman to carry a future baby to term. The sharp instruments that are used can perforate the uterus resulting in hemorrhaging, infection, scarring, damage to surrounding organs and sterility. Some women have aborted the only baby they will ever be able to bear. Abortion increases the risk of breast cancer, especially when a first pregnancy is aborted. If an emergency occurs during an abortion, the woman is taken to the hospital in a private car without the first aid equipment of an ambulance because the clinic does not want the negative publicity of an ambulance at its back door. The hospital personnel are not required to list abortion as the cause of the woman's injuries, so there is a lot of cover up, denial and fear that goes on. Even in women who have no apparent physical damage from abortion there is a high incidence of depression, low self-worth, self doubt, guilt, nightmares, trouble in relationships and even suicidal thoughts.
If circumstances are making your pregnancy difficult let us relieve and support you. You are not alone. There are many people who care about you and your baby who are willing to stand with you and help you find the courage and resources to give your baby life. All our services are free.
•Adoption referrals and counseling
What is a laminaria?
This is a small bit of dehydrated material inserted into the cervix one day in advance. If you have had a laminaria inserted, please go immediatly to a hospital for removal by a physician.
How does the pill work?
There are two types of birth control pills on the market today. The type most commonly used are called combined pills because they contain a combination of two horomoes (a synthetic estrogen and progestin). The other type, which is much less commonly used, contains only progestion.
Combined pills work the following ways:
*They usually, but not always, prevent ovulation
*They cause changes in the cervical mucous making it difficult for sperm to reach an egg
*They change the lining of the uterus in such a way that if the conception occurs, implantation of the newly-conceived human being is hindered
*The primary purose of the combined pill is to prevent conception. However, if conception occurs, then an early abortion is very likely to take place.
*Most women who use the combined pill are probably not aware of its abortive potential. Surely some women would not want to use the Pill if they knew that it can at times, work by causing a very early abortion.
Does the progestin-only pill work the same way?
Pills that contain only progestin (often called "mini-pills") are nto very effective in preventing ovulation. Therefore, they hunder sperm from reaching an egg (contraceptive action), and hinder implantation of a newly conceived human being (abortive action).
What about IUD?
There is little doubt that intrauterine devices (IUD's) work most of the time by causing early abortions. The IUD's primary purpose is to prevent a newly-conceived human being from implanting or remaining implanted in the uterus.
What is Natural Family Planning?
"Natural Family Planning" (NFP) relies upon the wife's understanding of her body's natural functions to determine when during her monthly cycle, she is fertile. Abstinence would be required during this fertile perious to avoide pregnancy. NFP requires no drugs or devices and unlike the Pill and IUS, is 100% medically safe. It is morally acceptable to major religious faiths. Instruction in the use of NFP is available in the Rochester area.
Studies have shown the Sympto-Thermal Method (one form of NFP) to be 99% effective in avoiding pregnancy for those who are motivated and properly instructed. Since NFP involves knowing when the fertile period occurs, it has been used by married couples not only to space their children, but also to help in concieving a child.
What is Chastity?
Chastity is a beautiful virtue in which sexual intimacy is reserved for marriage. Yet it is more than that. it is an attitude and a way of living. Chastity influences the way you dress, look at, talk about, and treat members of the opposite sex.
There are many good and practical reasons for reserving sexual intercourse for marriage: e.g. avoiding the worry of pregnancy, feeling guilty, being used, and contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Most of all, God wants us to reserve sexual intimacy for marriage. We know from the Bible that chastity and modesty are value that God wants us to practice in our lives.
Surley, in our sexually permissive society, practicing chastity may be difficult, but absolutely safe and rewarding.
Pro-Life America Saving babies and families from abortion! Speakers · TV · Radio · Videos · Literature
Misleading Claims about Abortion . . .
Claim: "It's my body."
Answer: A woman's body does not have two beating hearts, two blood types, two heads, four eyes, four arms, and four legs. A pregnant woman and her baby have all this and more. And what about when she's pregnant with a male baby? That's not her body . . . it's a unique, baby boy growing in her womb.
Claim: "It's only a fetus."
Answer: FACT: A fetus is a human being..... Fetus -- literally meaning "little one" in Latin -- refers to the pre-born baby after eight week's gestation. Webster's Dictionary says a fetus has, "passed the early stages of development and attained the basic final form prior to parturition (birth)." Some people seem to have forgotten they once lived and grew in the womb as a "fetus." Would it have been okay if they had been aborted when they were "only a fetus?"
Claim: "Abortion is legal, therefore, it must be right."
Answer: The U.S. Supreme Court has been wrong on many major decisions and then overturned itself. Remember the Dred Scott case on slavery? If the Supreme Court suddenly declared child abuse or rape legal, would that make them right? Would we ignore such injustices and do nothing to protect the innocent?
Claim: "Freedom of Choice" - It's a woman's "right to choose!"
Answer: How can anyone claim they have the "freedom" or "right" to kill an innocent baby? The only "choice" in abortion is between a dead baby and a live baby. Furthermore, advocates who defend this "choice" are not consistent. Why is it only in the case of abortion they argue that "choice" should be absolute? Using the same rationale, wouldn't people have the right to "choose" to use drugs ("it's my body") or the right to "choose" to practice prostitution? Humane societies don't tell people they have a "Freedom of Choice" to kill their own children. There are right choices and wrong choices. In recent history, millions of innocent people died because of terribly wrong choices which slave owners and Nazis thought they had a "right" to make. Terrible choices have led to dead slaves, dead Jews, and dead babies.
Claim: "The government shouldn't interfere."
Answer: Our Declaration of Independence declares that each of us has an "inalienable right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." Thomas Jefferson defined government's role, "The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government." Government should protect all of us, especially before we are born, when we are most vulnerable.
Claim: "Poor women need public funds (your tax money) to pay for abortions so they're not be discriminated against."
Answer: The rich can readily afford cocaine and prostitutes. Should taxpayers also be forced to buy these for the poor? The bottom line is that abortion is the worst form of child abuse. It kills a baby and wounds the mother for life. If the poor cannot afford abortions, they and their children are blessed not to become victims of this bloody holocaust.
Claim: "I'm personally opposed to abortion, but I would not impose my morality on others."
Answer: What about other moral issues like rape, robbery, child abuse, arson and murder? What if politicians said, "I'm personally opposed, but . .. ." They'd be kicked out of office on the spot! What about slavery? If abolitionists had bought this "personally opposed, but" argument, some states could still be saddled with slavery today. Every law ever passed sets standards which reflect someone's (or a body of lawmakers') morality. A politician who won't vote against something he/she is morally opposed to doesn't have an ounce of honesty in his/her blood.
Claim: Privacy - "In 1973, The Supreme Court said women have a "constitutional right" to privacy on abortion."
Answer: The Court has been wrong before and it is wrong on this decision. Nobody has a right to injure or kill another person "privately." Does a "right to privacy" also protect parents who abuse, molest or kill their born children in the "privacy" of their home? Why not? What about their "privacy?" How is it that Roe v. Wade determined that unborn children are not "persons" even though they have the right to inherit property, the right to be protected from a drug-addicted mother, the right not to be killed by a drunk driver, and many other rights. Some states have entire sections of law outlining Crimes Against Unborn Children in which they are protected from negligent or willful harm or death from conception on.
Claim: "Dred Scott and Roe v. Wade aren't comparable."
Answer: Yes, they are comparable in that the Supreme Court was wrong to deny inalienable rights in both cases. The Dred Scott decision of 1857 upheld slavery as legal. That was wrong. It decreed that black people are the private property of the slave owners. This was a grave error made by the Supreme Court, denying African-Americans one of their most fundamental human rights -- the right to Liberty. In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court erred again by denying a whole class of human beings (pre-born babies) the most fundamental right -- the right to Life.
Claim: "If legal abortions are banned, women will resort to dangerous back alley abortions."
Answer: In 1972, the year before the Supreme Court legalized abortion, a total of 39 women died from illegal abortions, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Dr. Bernard Nathanson, co-founder of NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League), admits his group lied and inflated the number of women who died from illegal abortion when testifying before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972: "We spoke of 5,000 - 10,000 deaths a year. I confess that I knew the figures were totally false . . . it was a useful figure, widely accepted, so why go out of our way to correct it with honest statistics?" Claims that abortion became safer for women after it was legalized fail to acknowledge that large numbers of women are physically injured or killed by so-called "safe and legal" abortions every year. The book "Lime 5" documents 230 cases of women injured or killed by abortion or sexually assaulted by their abortionists (see page 18 and www.prolife.com for details). Former abortion provider Carol Everett states, "In the last 18 months I was in business (Everett ran four abortion centers in Texas in 1982), we were completing 500 abortions monthly and killing or maiming one woman out of 500."
Claim: Rape & incest - "Abortion should be legal to end a pregnancy resulting from rape or incest."
Answer: It's important to remember that the child conceived in rape, or incest, is no less human than any other child. Dr. David Reardon ( http://www.afterabortion.com) points out that abortion is the very worst "solution" that can be offered to the pregnant woman at this crisis time in her life. Abortion compounds her problems. Abortion makes her an aggressor against her own innocent child and it never makes the painful memories of rape go away. If a small child were killed in the street by a negligent driver and it was later determined that the child had been conceived in rape, would the driver be held less responsible? Is that child's death less tragic?
Claim: "It's a woman's issue. Men should have no say."
Answer: Every baby has a mother and a father. Why should fathers be denied their parental rights? Men have a natural instinct to defend the innocent and the weak. More than half of America's pro-life movement is made up of women who want men to join their cause. Many women became pro-life after discovering their abortion was a terrible mistake. They know how painful abortion is from first hand experience and many ask men to get involved so fewer women and babies will become victims of abortion.
Also check out:
Chemical Abortions
http://www.lifesite.net/abortiontypes/chabortion_types.html
Abortifacient Contraceptives
http://www.lifesite.net/abortiontypes/pillabortion_types.html
Surgical Abortions
There are many methods of abortion. The procedure used depends largely upon the stage of pregnancy and the size of the unborn child. Dr. J.C. Willke, in his book, Abortion Questions and Answers (Hayes Publishing Co. Inc, Cincinnati, 1985), has divided the methods of abortion into three main categories: those that invade the uterus and kill the child by instruments which enter the uterus through the cervix; those that kill the preborn child by administration of drugs and then induce labour and the delivery of a dead baby; and, those that invade the uterus by abdominal surgery.
Dilation of the uterus is required in cervical methods of abortion. The usual method of dilation is to insert a series of instruments of increasing size into the cervix. A set of dilators, metallic curved instruments, are used to open the cervix sufficiently to accommodate the instruments of abortion. In contrast with a normal birth, where the dilation occurs slowly over a period of many hours, the forceful stretching by the abortionist to open the cervix takes a matter of seconds. This premature and unnatural stretching of the cervix can result in permanent physical injury to the mother.
Laminaria (dehydrated material, usually seaweed) is sometimes used to reduce damage to the cervix. Inserted into the cervix the day before the scheduled abortion, it absorbs water and swells, gradually pushing open the cervix in the process.
Eight-week pre-born baby
At eight to nine weeks the eyelids have begun forming and hair appears. By the ninth and tenth weeks the preborn child sucks her thumb, turns somersaults, jumps, can squint to close out light, frown, swallow, and move her tongue.
At this early stage of development, suction abortions are performed using a smaller tube, requiring little dilation of the cervix. This is called "menstrual extraction." However, if all the fetal remains are not removed, infection results, requiring full dilation of the cervix and a scraping out of the womb.
Suction Aspiration
This is the most common method of abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. General or local anaesthesia is given to the mother and her cervix is quickly dilated. A suction curette (hollow tube with a knife-edged tip) is inserted into the womb. This instrument is then connected to a vacuum machine by a transparent tube. The vacuum suction, 29 times more powerful than a household vacuum cleaner, tears the fetus and placenta into small pieces which are sucked through the tube into a bottle and discarded.
Dilation and Curettage (D&C)
This method is similar to the suction method with the added insertion of a hook shaped knife (curette) which cuts the baby into pieces. The pieces are scraped out through the cervix and discarded [Note: This abortion method should not be confused with a therapeutic D&C done for reasons other than pregancy.]
Twelve-week pre-born baby
By the end of the third month all arteries are present, including the coronary vessels of the heart. Blood is circulating through these vessels to all body parts.
The heart beat ranges during this fetal period from 110 to 160 beats per minute. All blood cells are produced by the liver and spleen, a job soon taken over by the bone marrow. White blood cells, important for immunity, are formed in the lymph nodes and thymus.
Vocal chords are complete, and the child can and does sometimes cry (silently). The brain is fully formed, and the child can feel pain. The fetus may even suck his thumb. The eyelids now cover the eyes, and will remain shut until the seventh month to protect the delicate optical nerve fibers.
14 weeks - Muscles lenghten and become organized. The mother will soon start feeling the first flutters of the baby kicking and moving inside.
15 weeks - The fetus has an adult's taste buds and may be able to savor the mother's meals.
16 weeks - Five and a half inches tall and only six ounces in weight, eyebrows, eyelashes and fine hair appear. The child can grasp with his hands, kick, or even somersault.
Eighteen week pre-born baby
The fetus is now about 5 inches long. The child blinks, grasps, and moves her mouth. Hair grows on the head and body.
20 weeks - The child can hear and recognize mother's voice. Though still small and fragile, the baby is growing rapidly and could possibly survive if born at this stage. Fingernails and fingerprints appear. Sex organs are visible. Using an ultrasound device, the doctor can tell if the child is a girl or a boy. The one on the left is a baby girl.
Dilation and Evacuation (D&E)
This method is used up to 18 weeks' gestation. Instead of the loop-shaped knife used in D&C abortions, a pair of forceps is inserted into the womb to grasp part of the fetus. The teeth of the forceps twist and tear the bones of the unborn child. This process is repeated until the fetus is totally dismembered and removed. Usually the spine must be snapped and the skull crushed in order to remove them.
Salt Poisoning (Saline Injection):
Used after 16 weeks (four months) when enough fluid has accumulated. A long needle injects a strong salt solution through the mother's abdomen into the baby's sac. The baby swallows this fluid and is poisoned by it. It also acts as a corrosive, burning off the outer layer of skin. It normally takes somewhat over an hour for the baby to die from this. Within 24 hours, labor will usually set in and the mother will give birth to a dead or dying baby. (There have been many cases of these babies being born alive. They are usually left unattended to die. However, a few have survived and later been adopted.)
Six month pre-born baby
Seen here at six months, the unborn child is covered with a fine, downy hair called lanugo. Its tender skin is protected by a waxy substance called vernix. Some of this substance may still be on the child's skin at birth at which time it will be quickly absorbed. The child practices breathing by inhaling amnionic fluid into developing lungs.
Prostaglandin Chemical Abortion:
This form of abortion uses chemicals developed by the Upjohn Pharmaceutical Co. which cause the uterus to contract intensely, pushing out the developing baby. The contractions are more violent than normal, natural contractions, so the unborn baby is frequently killed by them -- some have even been decapitated. Many, however, have also been born alive.
Hysterotomy or Caesarean Section:
Used mainly in the last three months of pregnancy, the womb is entered by surgery through the wall of the abdomen. The technique is similar to a Caesarean delivery, except that the umbilical cord is usually cut while the baby is still in the womb, thus cutting off his oxygen supply and causing him to suffocate. Sometimes the baby is removed alive and simply left in a corner to die of neglect or exposure.
30 weeks - For several months, the umbilical cord has been the baby's lifeline to the mother. Nourishment is transferred from the mother's blood, through the placenta, and into the umbilical cord to the fetus. If the mother ingests any toxic substances, such as drugs or alcohol, the baby receives these as well.
32 weeks - The fetus sleeps 90-95% of the day, and sometimes experiences REM sleep, an indication of dreaming.
Five steps to a partial birth abortion:
Guided by ultrasound, the abortionist grabs the baby's legs with forceps. The baby's leg is pulled out into the birth canal.
The abortionist delivers the baby's entire body, except for the head
The abortionist jams scissors into the baby's skull. The scissors are then opened to enlarge the skull. The scissors are removed and a suction catheter is inserted. The child's brains are sucked out, causing the skull to collapse. The dead baby is then removed.
40 weeks - The baby, now approximately seven and a half pounds, is ready for life outside its mother's womb. At birth the placenta will detach from the side of the uterus and the umbilical cord will cease working as the child takes his first breaths of air. The child's breathing will trigger changes in the structure of the heart and bypass arteries which will force all blood to now travel through the lungs.
After the Abortion
The memory of an abortion never goes away. You live with it for the rest of your life. But there is hope. If you are dealing with the pain of a past abortion, Birth Choice highly recommends two outstanding post-abortion recovery programs :
Rachel's Hope, 858-581-3022. Rachel's Hope is especially designed for Catholic women.Website at http://www.rachelshope.org
.
Silent Voices 619-422-0757. Silent Voices has a general Christian approach. Visit their website, http://www.silentvoices.org.
The Demonic Abortion Industry
http://www.hli.org/sl_2007-07-27.html
The Edge
Pete Vere
Abortion and Contraception: Old Lies
July 10, 2007
Growing up Catholic, I knew theologically that my church forbade abortion and contraception. Although the church's stand on abortion was self-evident in my opinion, I didn't really understand why she took such a hard line on contraception until I found myself judging annulment cases on a Catholic marriage tribunal. With few exceptions, I could trace every marital breakdown to the couple saying "no" to the fertility with which God had blessed them.
Shocked, I began to research the history of abortion and contraception in my spare time. I was interested, both as a canon lawyer and a pro-family journalist, in discovering how modern society had fallen for such a grand lie. Yet, the deeper I researched, the darker were the conclusions.
Contraception and abortion were nothing new. Rather, they were old lies that were often tied to sorcery and witchcraft in the ancient and medieval worlds. This is the context in which I found myself reading two books by Dr. John M. Riddle, a professor of history at North Carolina State University, published by Harvard University Press. The first was Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance (1992) and the second was Eve's Herbs: A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West (2002).
Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance.
To begin, Riddle's thesis in this work is simple: contraception, abortifacients and abortion-inducing substances are not modern inventions. Both the ancient and medieval worlds had knowledge of herbs and other plants that, when administered in a certain ways, prevented conception or caused women to abort. That being said, I did not find this work as interesting as Eve's Herbs. While Riddle does an excellent job detailing the various formulas used throughout history to prevent conception and induce abortion, Contraception and Abortion often reads like a cookbook or a pharmacist's manual. Thus, I would find it tedious reading, since my interest lay more with the why than the how.
Nevertheless, I am glad I read Contraception and Abortion for three reasons:
1) the book confirms, in great detail, that abortion and contraception have been practised for as long as man has kept written records;
2) the book admits that abortion and contraception are often linked to pagan gods (or more commonly, goddesses); and
3) the book corroborates — from a secular, scholarly and historical perspective — that the Christian church has struggled against abortion and contraception for centuries, and thus, our present-day struggle as right-to-life activists is nothing new.
Eve's Herbs: A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West.
I found Eve's Herbs the more compelling of Riddle's two books. While it was not without its weaknesses, it answered a question that had long troubled me: I had often wondered why Holy Scripture appeared to say so little about the grave evils of abortion and contraception. As a pro-life Christian, it troubled me that the Bible never mentioned the words "abortion" or "contraception." Eve's Herbs provided me with a startling realization: in ancient and medieval times, contraception and abortion were often considered a form of sorcery and witchcraft, rather than a form of medicine.
Thus, Holy Scripture may never use the words abortion and contraception; however, the Bible is not silent on the issue. It simply condemns these practices under a different name. For example, Riddle notes the following while discussing the medieval witch: "The magic associated with women was often connected to their use of herbs." He then cites a number of modern studies corroborating the effectiveness of the anti-fertility herbs used by witches and midwives during the Middle Ages. "In other words, the deeds described in the 15th century as the sevenfold traits of witchcraft are all creditable, according to modern medicine," Riddle states. "Midwives and witches, whether one and the same, knew the drugs to take to reduce fertility."
The author quotes modern historian Richard Trexler: "Infanticide was far and away the most common social crime imputed to the aged witches of Europe by the demonologists." While sometimes prone to accepting the allegations of anti-Catholic historians, Riddle disputes one of their more common claims; namely, that midwives were often singled out for accusations of witchcraft because they were women of prominence and influence. "More likely," he writes, "the primary reason witches were persecuted was the same as that for which a woman in Hamburg was burnt to death in 1477: 'because she had instructed young females how to use abortion medicines.'" He had already noted that "Sexual offences were, by far, the leading offences of which witches were accused in three Essex villages between 1560 and 1599."
Eve's Herbs is an excellent expose of the wide availability of contraception and abortion in the ancient and medieval times. It also does a fairly good job, from a secular and scholarly perspective, of showing the historical link between contraception, abortion and witchcraft.
Pete Vere is a canon lawyer and a Catholic author. He recently co-authored Surprised by Canon Law: 150 Questions Catholics Ask About Canon Law (Servant Books) with Michael Trueman and More Catholic Than the Pope (Our Sunday Visitor) with Patrick Madrid. He lives in Sault Ste. Marie, Canada.
This article originally appeared in Interim, Canada's pro-life newpaper online, and is used by permission of the author.
Spirit & Life®
"The words I spoke to you are spirit and life." (Jn 6:63
Human Life International e-Newsletter
Volume 01, Number 79 | August, 10, 2007
The "Sacrament" of Abortion
The standard Catholic description of a real Sacrament is that it is an "efficacious sign instituted by Christ to give grace." The "sign" is whatever the particular Sacrament is meant to convey: Baptism - cleansing from sin, Eucharist - union with Christ, Penance - forgiveness of sins, etc. "Efficacious" means that it actually produces the effect it signifies, and it "gives grace" as sort of a conduit of divine life into our souls. A Catholic Sacrament is holy in itself and does not need a holy person to administer it, and on the basis of the Sacrament's innate holiness, the children of the Church are sanctified and in turn sanctify the world in which we live.
The demonic "sacrament" of abortion has the same characteristics as a real Sacrament except that it reverses any concept of holiness and perverts its meaning. This is because the devil always mimics God's plan to communicate His life to us and does everything he can to draw us away from that life. In this case, abortion is a "sign" that points to death; it is "efficacious" in that it brings death through bodily destruction; it "destroys grace" in that each act of abortion is a mortal sin that seduces and corrupts all of those who take part in it.
Furthermore, abortionists, witches and Satanists put their "faith" in the "sacrament" of abortion. Don't take my word for it. In a 1999 LifeSite interview, retired abortionist Patricia Baird-Windle, self-professed wiccan (witch), actually said, "Abortion is a major blessing, and a sacrament in the hands of women. ... At the very crucible of the sacrament of abortion work is that some women have an abortion out of love for the baby, [some] out of love for the children they already have and are having a hard time feeding." Rarely am I shocked by what abortion apologists say, but this perverse logic leaves me utterly speechless. It shouldn't surprise me, though; Ms. Baird-Windle claims responsibility for 65,000 abortions in the three death centers that she owned.
There's more. An Episcopal "priestess," Carter Hayward said, "Abortion would be a sacrament if women were in charge. Abortion should be a sacrament even today. I suspect that for many women today, and for their spouses, lovers, families and communities, abortion is celebrated as such, an occasion of deep and serious and sacred meaning." No comment is really necessary here.
Let us never pretend that abortion is just a social or political phenomenon that has to be voted out of office to be defeated. We must do everything we can to restore legal protection to our most innocent citizens, but our battle against the devil will not be won at the polls. It will be won on our knees before the Lord and on our feet before the centers of death. More than ever we need men and women of tested holiness who are willing to fight the spiritual battle for the lives of God's precious babies and the souls of their mothers and fathers. Even abortionists like Baird-Windle are caught up in a demonic religion which can be challenged and defeated by those of us who belong to the true Church of Christ, the only spiritual power strong enough to defeat the "sacrament" of abortion.
(Please see sidebar for a page of numerous "abortion as sacrament" quotes from those who justify this demonic practice. If you want to see how corrupt the extreme feminist establishment with regard to their "sacrament" please look at the publication of a 1975 book called "Abortion is a Blessing" on the "Freedom From Religion Foundation" website.
Human Life International 4 Family Life Lane – Front Royal, VA 22630 U.S.A. Phone: 1-800-549-LIFE Fax: 540-622-6247 E-mail: hli@hli.org Website: www.hli.org
Abortion Backers Can't Ignore New York Times Story
That Babies Feel Pain
http://www.lifenews.com/nat3732.html
Abortion in America: Legal & Unsafe
http://www.catholicculture.org/library/view.cfm?RecNum=2951
On Child Abuse and Abortion
http://www.seghea.com/pat/life/onchildabuse.html
Why rights must start in the Womb
DONNA NICHOLSON
http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=1729972007
Diary of an Unborn Child
http://www.beautifulandhappy.com/thoughts/diary-and-letter-of-an-unborn-child/
A Pro-life Perspective
Diane Dew's Essays on Life Issues
http://dianedew.com/aborindx.htm
Ex-Abortion Clinic Owner Tells Pro-life Group Truth about Abortion Business
By Michael Baggot
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/apr/08043001.html
Abortion -
This is a Dismemberment Abortion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us_y9GP_-DA
UNUSUAL TESTIMONY OF ONE WOMAN
CASTS NEW LIGHT ON UNBORN, ISSUE OF ABORTION
http://www.spiritdaily.net/afterlifeabortion.htm
Incredible Human Body
shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/product/dvds/science-and-space/incredible-human-body-dvd
Prenatal Development
shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/product/dvds/science-and-space/biology-of-prenatal-development-dvd
In The Womb
shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/product/dvds/science-and-space/in-the-womb-dvd
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Source for locating a Center in your time of need!
OPTION HELP LINE
Toll Free 1-800-395-HELP 24/7
http://www.pregnancycenters.org/
WARNING:
http://www.priestsforlife.org/images/index.htm
http://www.abort73.com/HTML/I-A-3-techniques.html
http://www.abortionfacts.com/partial_birth/partial_birth.asp
Abortion and Breast Cancer
http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/
What is Abortion?
Abortion is a surgical or medical procedure that puts an end to a pregnancy. It is performed by a licensed physician. In addition to the moral, ethical, religious, and personal debates about abortion, there are very definite legal and medical considerations:
- Elective abortion is not legal everywhere;
- Parental consent is required for minors in many jurisdictions;
- Abortion and the aftermath can result in a subsequent inability to carry a pregnancy to term;
- Abortion can result in secondary infertility;
- Abortion is generally undertaken during the very beginnings of a pregnancy, while many women are still unsure if they're pregnant, undecided about their directions, or in denial about the pregnancy
- Abortion can result in the woman's death.
The actual procedures used in early stage abortion is:
Suction - a device that operates like a vacuum is used to extract the fetus, placenta, and other tissue; dilation and curretage - the fetus, placenta, and other tissue are cut and scraped out; dilation and extraction - the fetus is pulled out (in pieces) with forceps and the placenta and other tissue are removed.
Shocking Youtube Video: Fr. Frank Pavone Demonstrates Dismemberment Abortion on Fetus Model
By Hilary White
NEW YORK, April 10, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Fr. Frank Pavone, the well-known head of the US organisation, Priests for Life, has recently posted two videos to the internet video website YouTube in which he demonstrates in graphic detail exactly what happens to a child in a surgical abortion. Using a plastic model of a child at 18 weeks gestation, a common age for surgical abortions, Fr. Pavone holds up a pair of forceps and demonstrates the procedure of dismemberment.
He says dispassionately, "The forceps are used to grab one of the extremities of the child...and to pull them off. Literally it is a dismemberment abortion. The legs are pulled off the child; the arms are pulled off; the rest of the body is taken out piece by piece and then the head is crushed and the contents of the head come out as well."
He quotes an abortionist describing the procedure, who says, "We know the foetus is still alive either because we can feel it move or we actually see a heart beat as we're starting the procedure."
Fr. Pavone says that this blunt clinical description of the standard surgical procedure is "not about religion" but about making explicitly clear exactly what happens in an abortion procedure.
"Some people think that because I'm a priest saying these things that this is all just religious belief....If I take off my collar and describe to you what abortion is, I will be saying exactly what I just said."
"If we're going to talk about abortion in this country, let's make sure we know what we're talking about and let's work to bring it to an end."
In a second video, Fr. Pavone describes a suction abortion, normally carried out on a slightly younger child. For this he uses a plastic model of a child at 12 weeks, and a plastic tube called a cannula. "The hollow tube is inserted into the uterus. It is connected to a vacuum pump the vacuum pump is turned on and the abortionist moves the cannula around the child and the force of the suction either breaks the baby's body apart and sucks it through the tube or if the baby is small enough, the baby goes through the tube intact."
He quotes an abortionist, Dr. Martin Haskell, who says that sometimes the child's heart is still beating as it goes down the tube into the collection jar.
A stream of thought in the pro-life movement holds that graphic descriptions of this kind, or graphic images of aborted children, serve only to put people off the pro-life message. But those advocating such forthright depictions of abortion argue that a 'softer,' more palatable approach fails to convey the urgency of the problem and serves only to justify complacency.
The two videos are part of a set that have been posted to YouTube. The video on the suction abortion has been viewed 9,308 times since being posted on March 29. The two videos are part of a set of 34 informational videos being posted by Fr. Pavone as part of Priests for Life internet education work.
Other videos posted to the page include advice on voting, the Catholic Church's position on abortion and related life issues and how to refute standard pro-abortion assertions. Some of them feature other speakers, including Dr. Alveda King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. who has dedicated herself to pro-life advocacy.
To visit Priests for Life YouTube page:
http://www.youtube.com/user/FrFrankPavone
Fr. Frank Pavone Creates Abortion Stir
Fr. Frank Pavone has posted two videos on You Tube in which he demonstrates the most common abortion procedures, using the actual abortion instruments and fetal models. We ask you to view and to spread far and wide these challenging videos. The links are as follows: www.youtube.com/watch?v=us_y9GP_-DA - Dismemberment D&E Procedure
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBOAPleF1t0- Suction Abortion Procedure
Life in the Womb
When the unborn child is only about 3 weeks old his heart begins to beat. By the 10th week of life the unborn is so developed that his tiny fingers even have fingerprints. By 12 weeks he is able to turn his head, kick his legs, curl his toes, and make a fist. In addition, the baby can open its mouth, swallow, suck its thumb, and make facial expressions. All body systems are present.
The baby can also feel pain!
Fetal Development
How Your Unborn Child Grows
Week 2:
At conception, the sperm joins with ovum (egg) to form one cell that contains the complex genetic blueprint for every detail of human development. At this point the child's sex, hair and eye color, height, and skin tone are already mapped out.
Week 4:
The embryo's heart has been beating for one week already. The beginning of the spinal cord, muscles, and nerves become apparent. Arms, legs, eyes and ears can now be seen. The amniotic sac and placenta are in place and providing nourishment to the embryo.
Week 6:
This is a critical period of growth for the embryo. The eyes begin to form and the extremities can be seen in much more detail, including all 10 fingers. The embryo is now moving and responds to touch.
Week 10: At the 9th week:
the embryo is now considered a fetus. The fetus is able to grasp and can suck his/her thumb. Fingerprints are already visible in the skin. In addition to being able to sense touch, the fetus can now feel pain. At week 12, the fetus sleeps and awakens.
Week 14:
The fetus is growing very rapidly at this point. The mother can now feel energetic movement, and hair is visible on the scalp. Sex differentiation becomes apparent by week 13.
Week 18:
The ears are now functioning and the baby can hear his mother's voice. By the end of the 4th month, the fetus weighs a half pound or more and is eight to ten inches in length.
Week 22:
The head of the fetus now accounts for 1/3 of his/her length. If this baby were to be born prematurely, he/she has a good chance of survival with sufficient medical care.
Week 26:
The tongue has formed taste buds and the eyes have fully developed. The baby's lungs are completely functioning and he can even cry.
Week 30:
Vision, hearing, taste, and touch are all being used now. The baby opens and closes her eyes and looks around. Research shows that the child can recognize her mother's voice.
Week 40:
The baby is now ready for life outside of his mother's womb. By this time, the infant usually weighs six to nine pounds and his heart is pumping 300 gallons of blood per day.
Sources
• A Child Is Born (also in paperback) (book), Lennart Nilsson, Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1990. Order from Amazon.com. • Nine Month Miracle (CD ROM software), A.D.A.M. Software, Inc., 1600 RiverEdge Parkway, Suite 800, Atlanta, GA, 30328. • The First Nine Months of Life, (brochure), Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, CO, 1995. • Introduction to Child Development , 6th ed., (text book) John Dworetzky, West Publishing Company, San Francisco, CA, 1996. • Psychology Today, (magazine) "Fetal Psychology," Janet L. Hopson, October 1998. • Epigee Women's Resource: Information about pregnancy, reproductive health, and fetal development. • When You were Formed in Secret, (handbook) Gary Bergel, Intercessors for America, 1988.
© Terwilliger Web Development Services, 2004
How are abortions done?
Abortion
If you are pregnant you currently have the legal option of abortion. You deserve to know how abortions are performed and the risks they pose to your health.
- Suction Aspiration: After dilating the cervix which is the donut shaped organ at the entrance of the uterus, a hollow plastic tube with a knife-like edge is inserted into the uterus. The abortionist then cuts and scrapes the uterus and the baby is removed by a suction machine attached to the plastic tube. Great care must be taken to prevent the uterus from being perforated or torn.
Dilation and curettage or D & C:
This is similar to the suction aspiration method except that a curette (loop-shaped steel knife) is used instead of a plastic tube. The baby is scraped out instead of sucked out.
Dilation and evacuation or D & E:
The same as a dilation and curettage but done after 12 weeks. Parts of the baby are dismembered and pulled out by a forceps. The baby's head must be crushed in order to pass through the cervix. The final step of the above methods just mentioned is for the nurse to reassemble the parts of the baby's body on a table to make sure that all of the "products of conception" have been removed. If any baby body parts or fragments of the placenta are left inside the woman, she is likely to develop a serious infection.
Prostaglandin:
These are drugs which produce labor and delivery at whatever stage of pregnancy they are administered. The mother gives birth to a baby who is so premature he or she cannot survive. Occasionally when this method is used a baby is aborted alive. And when an abortion produces a live baby, it is called a complication.
Mifepristone (formerly RU-486) sometimes called The Abortion Pill:
First a steroid drug is taken orally which either destroys the baby's placenta or prevents it from being formed. Then a prostaglandin drug is taken to induce the uterus to contract and vaginally deliver the baby, who is much too young to survive.
Salt Poisoning or Saline Abortion:
A concentrated salt solution is injected into the amniotic fluid through the mother's abdominal wall. It takes about an hour for the baby to die after his skin has been chemically burned and after swallowing and breathing the salt solution. The mother delivers a dead or dying baby about 24 hours later.
Partial Birth Abortion:
The mother is given drugs to induce labor. The abortionist turns the baby so that it comes down the birth canal feet first. When all but the head is delivered, the abortionist plunges a scissors or similar instrument into the back of the neck at the base of the skull, inserts a tube, then sucks out the baby's brains to collapse the skull, all with no anesthesia, then completes the delivery of a now dead baby.
Hysterotomy:
This is a late term procedure. The mother's abdomen is surgically opened as in a Caesarian section. The baby is lifted out, placed in a surgical bucket and allowed to die.
Abortion Methods Described (Plus, Misleading Claims about Abortion)
Suction Abortion:
Used during the first three months of pregnancy - A suction tube (27 times stronger than a home vacuum cleaner) is inserted into the womb. The powerful suction tears the baby apart limb from limb and sucks it from the womb along with the placenta. The baby's remains are deposited into an attached waste bottle.
Dilation and Curettage (D&C):
Used at the end of the third month of pregnancy (approximately 12 weeks) - The cervix is dialated, ring forceps are inserted into the womb and the baby is extracted piece by piece. Then a curette (a sharp knife in a loop shape) is inserted and used to scrape away any of the baby or the placenta that remains. Profuse bleeding follows.
Dilation and Extraction (D&E):
Used after 13 weeks - The cervix is dialated and the unborn child is dismembered with plier-like forceps. Force is needed to pull the baby apart. The instrument is used to seize a leg or other part of the body and then, with a twisting motion, tear it from the baby's body. The baby's spine is snapped and the skull crushed. After the baby parts are removed, they are reassembled outside the womb to be sure all are removed. Frequently baby parts are left inside the mother's womb. This can cause serious complications and sometimes death.
Help is available for women who have been injured by abortion or for the families of women who have died from abortion. You can read about tragic abortion injury cases and find out who to call for legal help by clicking: Abortion Injuries or Deaths? Call: 1-800-U-CAN-SUE.
Partial-Birth Abortion:
Partial-Birth Abortions are used from the 4th month through the end of the 9th month of pregnancy. These late-term abortions are regularly used to kill healthy babies that pose no danger or threat to their mother.
For this abortion, the abortionist uses ultrasound to locate the unborn baby's legs. Forceps are then used to pull the baby's legs through the birth canal, delivering the baby feet first, except for the head. Scissors are then used to puncture the base of the back of the head. A suction device is then inserted to suction out the baby's brain so the skull will easily collapse. The dead baby is then removed.
Congress and the Senate voted twice to outlaw these gruesome abortions. Unfortunately, President Clinton wants them to remain legal and he vetoed the bill both times the legislation was sent to him for his signature. Because of President Clinton's two vetoes, this horrifying method of child-killing remains legal today.
Why would Clinton veto a ban on Partial-Birth Abortion when so many doctors and medical professionals were recommending that they be outlawed? The American medical Association's Council on Legislation voted UNANIMOUSLY to recommend to the AMA Board of Trustees to endorse the Ban on Partial-Birth Abortions.
Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, along with hundreds of physicians and the Physicians' Ad Hoc Coalition for Truth (PHACT) said that this "procedure" is never necessary to save the life of the mother.
Dr. Nancy Romer, FACOG, Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Miami Valley Hospital in Ohio said, "People deserve to know that the partial-birth abortion is never medically indicated either to save the health of a woman or preserve her future fertility."
Dr. Martin Haskell, an abortionist who specializes in these late-term abortions, has admitted to performing over 1,000 of these abortions. He stated in a recorded interview with the American Medical News (the official newspaper of the AMA) that: "In my particular case, probably 20% (of these procedures) are for genetic reasons. And the other 80% are purely elective." That means in 80% (that's over 800 babies) there was no health risk for the mother and the baby had no handicaps.
It has been documented that thousands of these abortions are performed each year. A New Jersey newspaper reporter with the Bergen County Record discovered and reported that 1,500 babies are killed each year by partial-birth abortion at one New Jersey "Hospital" alone.
It's hard to know exactly how many of these abortions are performed each year, but we do know that the Centers for Disease Control reported there are over 17,000 abortions performed each year on babies older than 4 1/2 months gestation. Whether it's partial-birth abortion, or some other barbaric method, it's a tragic holocaust.
If you would like to voice your outrage over these late-term abortions, please call the abortion telephone poll at 1-900-PRO-LIFE. You can find information about the telephone poll on our website by clicking 1-900-PRO-LIFE telephone poll.
Saline amniocentesis:
Used after 16 weeks - A concentrated salt solution is injected with an amniocenteses needle into the amniotic fluid. The baby breathes and swallows it and dies over an hour later of acute salt poisoning. The mother then delivers a dead burned baby. Use has declined because of dangers for the mother and sometimes the baby survives.
Prostaglandin:
Used late-term - Prostaglandin is injected into the amniotic sac causing premature labor and delivery of a dead baby.
Inter-cardiac injections:
Poison is injected into the chest or heart of the fetus via a long needle inserted through the mother’s abdomen. The dead baby is absorbed. Sometimes this results in the loss of all the babies when using this method for "pregnancy reduction" with multi-fetal pregnancies.
Chemical Abortions: The Pill, RU486, methotrexate, Norplant, IUD’s, prostaglandin’s, and Depo Provera all cause early abortions. You may not be aware of the fact that the Pill has a "back up" abortifacient action that works to kill a baby very early in its development if ovulation occurs and conception takes place. With some of the new "mini-pills," scientific research shows that ovulation takes place in 67-81% of the women who use these "birth control pills."
Dr. Ronald Chez, a scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), publicly stated that the new Pills of today, with their lower estrogen dose, allow ovulation up to 50% of the time! It is estimated that Chemical "Contraceptives" cause between 7 to 12 million early abortions each year in America (Source: Study of Abortion Deaths Ad Hoc Commission 1995). Most women using the Pill (and other "birth control" methods listed above) do not know they can become pregnant and have early abortions.
What About A Safe Abortion?
Is there any such thing? Obviously it certainly isn't safe for the baby, and it invades the mother's body by forcing open the cervix long before it is ready. This can be very painful. Sometimes the cervix is permanently damaged, making it difficult or impossible for the woman to carry a future baby to term. The sharp instruments that are used can perforate the uterus resulting in hemorrhaging, infection, scarring, damage to surrounding organs and sterility. Some women have aborted the only baby they will ever be able to bear. Abortion increases the risk of breast cancer, especially when a first pregnancy is aborted. If an emergency occurs during an abortion, the woman is taken to the hospital in a private car without the first aid equipment of an ambulance because the clinic does not want the negative publicity of an ambulance at its back door. The hospital personnel are not required to list abortion as the cause of the woman's injuries, so there is a lot of cover up, denial and fear that goes on. Even in women who have no apparent physical damage from abortion there is a high incidence of depression, low self-worth, self doubt, guilt, nightmares, trouble in relationships and even suicidal thoughts.
If circumstances are making your pregnancy difficult let us relieve and support you. You are not alone. There are many people who care about you and your baby who are willing to stand with you and help you find the courage and resources to give your baby life. All our services are free.
•Adoption referrals and counseling
What is a laminaria?
This is a small bit of dehydrated material inserted into the cervix one day in advance. If you have had a laminaria inserted, please go immediatly to a hospital for removal by a physician.
How does the pill work?
There are two types of birth control pills on the market today. The type most commonly used are called combined pills because they contain a combination of two horomoes (a synthetic estrogen and progestin). The other type, which is much less commonly used, contains only progestion.
Combined pills work the following ways:
*They usually, but not always, prevent ovulation
*They cause changes in the cervical mucous making it difficult for sperm to reach an egg
*They change the lining of the uterus in such a way that if the conception occurs, implantation of the newly-conceived human being is hindered
*The primary purose of the combined pill is to prevent conception. However, if conception occurs, then an early abortion is very likely to take place.
*Most women who use the combined pill are probably not aware of its abortive potential. Surely some women would not want to use the Pill if they knew that it can at times, work by causing a very early abortion.
Does the progestin-only pill work the same way?
Pills that contain only progestin (often called "mini-pills") are nto very effective in preventing ovulation. Therefore, they hunder sperm from reaching an egg (contraceptive action), and hinder implantation of a newly conceived human being (abortive action).
What about IUD?
There is little doubt that intrauterine devices (IUD's) work most of the time by causing early abortions. The IUD's primary purpose is to prevent a newly-conceived human being from implanting or remaining implanted in the uterus.
What is Natural Family Planning?
"Natural Family Planning" (NFP) relies upon the wife's understanding of her body's natural functions to determine when during her monthly cycle, she is fertile. Abstinence would be required during this fertile perious to avoide pregnancy. NFP requires no drugs or devices and unlike the Pill and IUS, is 100% medically safe. It is morally acceptable to major religious faiths. Instruction in the use of NFP is available in the Rochester area.
Studies have shown the Sympto-Thermal Method (one form of NFP) to be 99% effective in avoiding pregnancy for those who are motivated and properly instructed. Since NFP involves knowing when the fertile period occurs, it has been used by married couples not only to space their children, but also to help in concieving a child.
What is Chastity?
Chastity is a beautiful virtue in which sexual intimacy is reserved for marriage. Yet it is more than that. it is an attitude and a way of living. Chastity influences the way you dress, look at, talk about, and treat members of the opposite sex.
There are many good and practical reasons for reserving sexual intercourse for marriage: e.g. avoiding the worry of pregnancy, feeling guilty, being used, and contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Most of all, God wants us to reserve sexual intimacy for marriage. We know from the Bible that chastity and modesty are value that God wants us to practice in our lives.
Surley, in our sexually permissive society, practicing chastity may be difficult, but absolutely safe and rewarding.
Pro-Life America Saving babies and families from abortion! Speakers · TV · Radio · Videos · Literature
Misleading Claims about Abortion . . .
Claim: "It's my body."
Answer: A woman's body does not have two beating hearts, two blood types, two heads, four eyes, four arms, and four legs. A pregnant woman and her baby have all this and more. And what about when she's pregnant with a male baby? That's not her body . . . it's a unique, baby boy growing in her womb.
Claim: "It's only a fetus."
Answer: FACT: A fetus is a human being..... Fetus -- literally meaning "little one" in Latin -- refers to the pre-born baby after eight week's gestation. Webster's Dictionary says a fetus has, "passed the early stages of development and attained the basic final form prior to parturition (birth)." Some people seem to have forgotten they once lived and grew in the womb as a "fetus." Would it have been okay if they had been aborted when they were "only a fetus?"
Claim: "Abortion is legal, therefore, it must be right."
Answer: The U.S. Supreme Court has been wrong on many major decisions and then overturned itself. Remember the Dred Scott case on slavery? If the Supreme Court suddenly declared child abuse or rape legal, would that make them right? Would we ignore such injustices and do nothing to protect the innocent?
Claim: "Freedom of Choice" - It's a woman's "right to choose!"
Answer: How can anyone claim they have the "freedom" or "right" to kill an innocent baby? The only "choice" in abortion is between a dead baby and a live baby. Furthermore, advocates who defend this "choice" are not consistent. Why is it only in the case of abortion they argue that "choice" should be absolute? Using the same rationale, wouldn't people have the right to "choose" to use drugs ("it's my body") or the right to "choose" to practice prostitution? Humane societies don't tell people they have a "Freedom of Choice" to kill their own children. There are right choices and wrong choices. In recent history, millions of innocent people died because of terribly wrong choices which slave owners and Nazis thought they had a "right" to make. Terrible choices have led to dead slaves, dead Jews, and dead babies.
Claim: "The government shouldn't interfere."
Answer: Our Declaration of Independence declares that each of us has an "inalienable right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." Thomas Jefferson defined government's role, "The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government." Government should protect all of us, especially before we are born, when we are most vulnerable.
Claim: "Poor women need public funds (your tax money) to pay for abortions so they're not be discriminated against."
Answer: The rich can readily afford cocaine and prostitutes. Should taxpayers also be forced to buy these for the poor? The bottom line is that abortion is the worst form of child abuse. It kills a baby and wounds the mother for life. If the poor cannot afford abortions, they and their children are blessed not to become victims of this bloody holocaust.
Claim: "I'm personally opposed to abortion, but I would not impose my morality on others."
Answer: What about other moral issues like rape, robbery, child abuse, arson and murder? What if politicians said, "I'm personally opposed, but . .. ." They'd be kicked out of office on the spot! What about slavery? If abolitionists had bought this "personally opposed, but" argument, some states could still be saddled with slavery today. Every law ever passed sets standards which reflect someone's (or a body of lawmakers') morality. A politician who won't vote against something he/she is morally opposed to doesn't have an ounce of honesty in his/her blood.
Claim: Privacy - "In 1973, The Supreme Court said women have a "constitutional right" to privacy on abortion."
Answer: The Court has been wrong before and it is wrong on this decision. Nobody has a right to injure or kill another person "privately." Does a "right to privacy" also protect parents who abuse, molest or kill their born children in the "privacy" of their home? Why not? What about their "privacy?" How is it that Roe v. Wade determined that unborn children are not "persons" even though they have the right to inherit property, the right to be protected from a drug-addicted mother, the right not to be killed by a drunk driver, and many other rights. Some states have entire sections of law outlining Crimes Against Unborn Children in which they are protected from negligent or willful harm or death from conception on.
Claim: "Dred Scott and Roe v. Wade aren't comparable."
Answer: Yes, they are comparable in that the Supreme Court was wrong to deny inalienable rights in both cases. The Dred Scott decision of 1857 upheld slavery as legal. That was wrong. It decreed that black people are the private property of the slave owners. This was a grave error made by the Supreme Court, denying African-Americans one of their most fundamental human rights -- the right to Liberty. In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court erred again by denying a whole class of human beings (pre-born babies) the most fundamental right -- the right to Life.
Claim: "If legal abortions are banned, women will resort to dangerous back alley abortions."
Answer: In 1972, the year before the Supreme Court legalized abortion, a total of 39 women died from illegal abortions, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Dr. Bernard Nathanson, co-founder of NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League), admits his group lied and inflated the number of women who died from illegal abortion when testifying before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972: "We spoke of 5,000 - 10,000 deaths a year. I confess that I knew the figures were totally false . . . it was a useful figure, widely accepted, so why go out of our way to correct it with honest statistics?" Claims that abortion became safer for women after it was legalized fail to acknowledge that large numbers of women are physically injured or killed by so-called "safe and legal" abortions every year. The book "Lime 5" documents 230 cases of women injured or killed by abortion or sexually assaulted by their abortionists (see page 18 and www.prolife.com for details). Former abortion provider Carol Everett states, "In the last 18 months I was in business (Everett ran four abortion centers in Texas in 1982), we were completing 500 abortions monthly and killing or maiming one woman out of 500."
Claim: Rape & incest - "Abortion should be legal to end a pregnancy resulting from rape or incest."
Answer: It's important to remember that the child conceived in rape, or incest, is no less human than any other child. Dr. David Reardon ( http://www.afterabortion.com) points out that abortion is the very worst "solution" that can be offered to the pregnant woman at this crisis time in her life. Abortion compounds her problems. Abortion makes her an aggressor against her own innocent child and it never makes the painful memories of rape go away. If a small child were killed in the street by a negligent driver and it was later determined that the child had been conceived in rape, would the driver be held less responsible? Is that child's death less tragic?
Claim: "It's a woman's issue. Men should have no say."
Answer: Every baby has a mother and a father. Why should fathers be denied their parental rights? Men have a natural instinct to defend the innocent and the weak. More than half of America's pro-life movement is made up of women who want men to join their cause. Many women became pro-life after discovering their abortion was a terrible mistake. They know how painful abortion is from first hand experience and many ask men to get involved so fewer women and babies will become victims of abortion.
Also check out:
Chemical Abortions
http://www.lifesite.net/abortiontypes/chabortion_types.html
Abortifacient Contraceptives
http://www.lifesite.net/abortiontypes/pillabortion_types.html
Surgical Abortions
There are many methods of abortion. The procedure used depends largely upon the stage of pregnancy and the size of the unborn child. Dr. J.C. Willke, in his book, Abortion Questions and Answers (Hayes Publishing Co. Inc, Cincinnati, 1985), has divided the methods of abortion into three main categories: those that invade the uterus and kill the child by instruments which enter the uterus through the cervix; those that kill the preborn child by administration of drugs and then induce labour and the delivery of a dead baby; and, those that invade the uterus by abdominal surgery.
Dilation of the uterus is required in cervical methods of abortion. The usual method of dilation is to insert a series of instruments of increasing size into the cervix. A set of dilators, metallic curved instruments, are used to open the cervix sufficiently to accommodate the instruments of abortion. In contrast with a normal birth, where the dilation occurs slowly over a period of many hours, the forceful stretching by the abortionist to open the cervix takes a matter of seconds. This premature and unnatural stretching of the cervix can result in permanent physical injury to the mother.
Laminaria (dehydrated material, usually seaweed) is sometimes used to reduce damage to the cervix. Inserted into the cervix the day before the scheduled abortion, it absorbs water and swells, gradually pushing open the cervix in the process.
Eight-week pre-born baby
At eight to nine weeks the eyelids have begun forming and hair appears. By the ninth and tenth weeks the preborn child sucks her thumb, turns somersaults, jumps, can squint to close out light, frown, swallow, and move her tongue.
At this early stage of development, suction abortions are performed using a smaller tube, requiring little dilation of the cervix. This is called "menstrual extraction." However, if all the fetal remains are not removed, infection results, requiring full dilation of the cervix and a scraping out of the womb.
Suction Aspiration
This is the most common method of abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. General or local anaesthesia is given to the mother and her cervix is quickly dilated. A suction curette (hollow tube with a knife-edged tip) is inserted into the womb. This instrument is then connected to a vacuum machine by a transparent tube. The vacuum suction, 29 times more powerful than a household vacuum cleaner, tears the fetus and placenta into small pieces which are sucked through the tube into a bottle and discarded.
Dilation and Curettage (D&C)
This method is similar to the suction method with the added insertion of a hook shaped knife (curette) which cuts the baby into pieces. The pieces are scraped out through the cervix and discarded [Note: This abortion method should not be confused with a therapeutic D&C done for reasons other than pregancy.]
Twelve-week pre-born baby
By the end of the third month all arteries are present, including the coronary vessels of the heart. Blood is circulating through these vessels to all body parts.
The heart beat ranges during this fetal period from 110 to 160 beats per minute. All blood cells are produced by the liver and spleen, a job soon taken over by the bone marrow. White blood cells, important for immunity, are formed in the lymph nodes and thymus.
Vocal chords are complete, and the child can and does sometimes cry (silently). The brain is fully formed, and the child can feel pain. The fetus may even suck his thumb. The eyelids now cover the eyes, and will remain shut until the seventh month to protect the delicate optical nerve fibers.
14 weeks - Muscles lenghten and become organized. The mother will soon start feeling the first flutters of the baby kicking and moving inside.
15 weeks - The fetus has an adult's taste buds and may be able to savor the mother's meals.
16 weeks - Five and a half inches tall and only six ounces in weight, eyebrows, eyelashes and fine hair appear. The child can grasp with his hands, kick, or even somersault.
Eighteen week pre-born baby
The fetus is now about 5 inches long. The child blinks, grasps, and moves her mouth. Hair grows on the head and body.
20 weeks - The child can hear and recognize mother's voice. Though still small and fragile, the baby is growing rapidly and could possibly survive if born at this stage. Fingernails and fingerprints appear. Sex organs are visible. Using an ultrasound device, the doctor can tell if the child is a girl or a boy. The one on the left is a baby girl.
Dilation and Evacuation (D&E)
This method is used up to 18 weeks' gestation. Instead of the loop-shaped knife used in D&C abortions, a pair of forceps is inserted into the womb to grasp part of the fetus. The teeth of the forceps twist and tear the bones of the unborn child. This process is repeated until the fetus is totally dismembered and removed. Usually the spine must be snapped and the skull crushed in order to remove them.
Salt Poisoning (Saline Injection):
Used after 16 weeks (four months) when enough fluid has accumulated. A long needle injects a strong salt solution through the mother's abdomen into the baby's sac. The baby swallows this fluid and is poisoned by it. It also acts as a corrosive, burning off the outer layer of skin. It normally takes somewhat over an hour for the baby to die from this. Within 24 hours, labor will usually set in and the mother will give birth to a dead or dying baby. (There have been many cases of these babies being born alive. They are usually left unattended to die. However, a few have survived and later been adopted.)
Six month pre-born baby
Seen here at six months, the unborn child is covered with a fine, downy hair called lanugo. Its tender skin is protected by a waxy substance called vernix. Some of this substance may still be on the child's skin at birth at which time it will be quickly absorbed. The child practices breathing by inhaling amnionic fluid into developing lungs.
Prostaglandin Chemical Abortion:
This form of abortion uses chemicals developed by the Upjohn Pharmaceutical Co. which cause the uterus to contract intensely, pushing out the developing baby. The contractions are more violent than normal, natural contractions, so the unborn baby is frequently killed by them -- some have even been decapitated. Many, however, have also been born alive.
Hysterotomy or Caesarean Section:
Used mainly in the last three months of pregnancy, the womb is entered by surgery through the wall of the abdomen. The technique is similar to a Caesarean delivery, except that the umbilical cord is usually cut while the baby is still in the womb, thus cutting off his oxygen supply and causing him to suffocate. Sometimes the baby is removed alive and simply left in a corner to die of neglect or exposure.
30 weeks - For several months, the umbilical cord has been the baby's lifeline to the mother. Nourishment is transferred from the mother's blood, through the placenta, and into the umbilical cord to the fetus. If the mother ingests any toxic substances, such as drugs or alcohol, the baby receives these as well.
32 weeks - The fetus sleeps 90-95% of the day, and sometimes experiences REM sleep, an indication of dreaming.
Five steps to a partial birth abortion:
Guided by ultrasound, the abortionist grabs the baby's legs with forceps. The baby's leg is pulled out into the birth canal.
The abortionist delivers the baby's entire body, except for the head
The abortionist jams scissors into the baby's skull. The scissors are then opened to enlarge the skull. The scissors are removed and a suction catheter is inserted. The child's brains are sucked out, causing the skull to collapse. The dead baby is then removed.
40 weeks - The baby, now approximately seven and a half pounds, is ready for life outside its mother's womb. At birth the placenta will detach from the side of the uterus and the umbilical cord will cease working as the child takes his first breaths of air. The child's breathing will trigger changes in the structure of the heart and bypass arteries which will force all blood to now travel through the lungs.
After the Abortion
The memory of an abortion never goes away. You live with it for the rest of your life. But there is hope. If you are dealing with the pain of a past abortion, Birth Choice highly recommends two outstanding post-abortion recovery programs :
Rachel's Hope, 858-581-3022. Rachel's Hope is especially designed for Catholic women.Website at http://www.rachelshope.org
.
Silent Voices 619-422-0757. Silent Voices has a general Christian approach. Visit their website, http://www.silentvoices.org.
The Demonic Abortion Industry
http://www.hli.org/sl_2007-07-27.html
The Edge
Pete Vere
Abortion and Contraception: Old Lies
July 10, 2007
Growing up Catholic, I knew theologically that my church forbade abortion and contraception. Although the church's stand on abortion was self-evident in my opinion, I didn't really understand why she took such a hard line on contraception until I found myself judging annulment cases on a Catholic marriage tribunal. With few exceptions, I could trace every marital breakdown to the couple saying "no" to the fertility with which God had blessed them.
Shocked, I began to research the history of abortion and contraception in my spare time. I was interested, both as a canon lawyer and a pro-family journalist, in discovering how modern society had fallen for such a grand lie. Yet, the deeper I researched, the darker were the conclusions.
Contraception and abortion were nothing new. Rather, they were old lies that were often tied to sorcery and witchcraft in the ancient and medieval worlds. This is the context in which I found myself reading two books by Dr. John M. Riddle, a professor of history at North Carolina State University, published by Harvard University Press. The first was Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance (1992) and the second was Eve's Herbs: A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West (2002).
Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance.
To begin, Riddle's thesis in this work is simple: contraception, abortifacients and abortion-inducing substances are not modern inventions. Both the ancient and medieval worlds had knowledge of herbs and other plants that, when administered in a certain ways, prevented conception or caused women to abort. That being said, I did not find this work as interesting as Eve's Herbs. While Riddle does an excellent job detailing the various formulas used throughout history to prevent conception and induce abortion, Contraception and Abortion often reads like a cookbook or a pharmacist's manual. Thus, I would find it tedious reading, since my interest lay more with the why than the how.
Nevertheless, I am glad I read Contraception and Abortion for three reasons:
1) the book confirms, in great detail, that abortion and contraception have been practised for as long as man has kept written records;
2) the book admits that abortion and contraception are often linked to pagan gods (or more commonly, goddesses); and
3) the book corroborates — from a secular, scholarly and historical perspective — that the Christian church has struggled against abortion and contraception for centuries, and thus, our present-day struggle as right-to-life activists is nothing new.
Eve's Herbs: A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West.
I found Eve's Herbs the more compelling of Riddle's two books. While it was not without its weaknesses, it answered a question that had long troubled me: I had often wondered why Holy Scripture appeared to say so little about the grave evils of abortion and contraception. As a pro-life Christian, it troubled me that the Bible never mentioned the words "abortion" or "contraception." Eve's Herbs provided me with a startling realization: in ancient and medieval times, contraception and abortion were often considered a form of sorcery and witchcraft, rather than a form of medicine.
Thus, Holy Scripture may never use the words abortion and contraception; however, the Bible is not silent on the issue. It simply condemns these practices under a different name. For example, Riddle notes the following while discussing the medieval witch: "The magic associated with women was often connected to their use of herbs." He then cites a number of modern studies corroborating the effectiveness of the anti-fertility herbs used by witches and midwives during the Middle Ages. "In other words, the deeds described in the 15th century as the sevenfold traits of witchcraft are all creditable, according to modern medicine," Riddle states. "Midwives and witches, whether one and the same, knew the drugs to take to reduce fertility."
The author quotes modern historian Richard Trexler: "Infanticide was far and away the most common social crime imputed to the aged witches of Europe by the demonologists." While sometimes prone to accepting the allegations of anti-Catholic historians, Riddle disputes one of their more common claims; namely, that midwives were often singled out for accusations of witchcraft because they were women of prominence and influence. "More likely," he writes, "the primary reason witches were persecuted was the same as that for which a woman in Hamburg was burnt to death in 1477: 'because she had instructed young females how to use abortion medicines.'" He had already noted that "Sexual offences were, by far, the leading offences of which witches were accused in three Essex villages between 1560 and 1599."
Eve's Herbs is an excellent expose of the wide availability of contraception and abortion in the ancient and medieval times. It also does a fairly good job, from a secular and scholarly perspective, of showing the historical link between contraception, abortion and witchcraft.
Pete Vere is a canon lawyer and a Catholic author. He recently co-authored Surprised by Canon Law: 150 Questions Catholics Ask About Canon Law (Servant Books) with Michael Trueman and More Catholic Than the Pope (Our Sunday Visitor) with Patrick Madrid. He lives in Sault Ste. Marie, Canada.
This article originally appeared in Interim, Canada's pro-life newpaper online, and is used by permission of the author.
Spirit & Life®
"The words I spoke to you are spirit and life." (Jn 6:63
Human Life International e-Newsletter
Volume 01, Number 79 | August, 10, 2007
The "Sacrament" of Abortion
The standard Catholic description of a real Sacrament is that it is an "efficacious sign instituted by Christ to give grace." The "sign" is whatever the particular Sacrament is meant to convey: Baptism - cleansing from sin, Eucharist - union with Christ, Penance - forgiveness of sins, etc. "Efficacious" means that it actually produces the effect it signifies, and it "gives grace" as sort of a conduit of divine life into our souls. A Catholic Sacrament is holy in itself and does not need a holy person to administer it, and on the basis of the Sacrament's innate holiness, the children of the Church are sanctified and in turn sanctify the world in which we live.
The demonic "sacrament" of abortion has the same characteristics as a real Sacrament except that it reverses any concept of holiness and perverts its meaning. This is because the devil always mimics God's plan to communicate His life to us and does everything he can to draw us away from that life. In this case, abortion is a "sign" that points to death; it is "efficacious" in that it brings death through bodily destruction; it "destroys grace" in that each act of abortion is a mortal sin that seduces and corrupts all of those who take part in it.
Furthermore, abortionists, witches and Satanists put their "faith" in the "sacrament" of abortion. Don't take my word for it. In a 1999 LifeSite interview, retired abortionist Patricia Baird-Windle, self-professed wiccan (witch), actually said, "Abortion is a major blessing, and a sacrament in the hands of women. ... At the very crucible of the sacrament of abortion work is that some women have an abortion out of love for the baby, [some] out of love for the children they already have and are having a hard time feeding." Rarely am I shocked by what abortion apologists say, but this perverse logic leaves me utterly speechless. It shouldn't surprise me, though; Ms. Baird-Windle claims responsibility for 65,000 abortions in the three death centers that she owned.
There's more. An Episcopal "priestess," Carter Hayward said, "Abortion would be a sacrament if women were in charge. Abortion should be a sacrament even today. I suspect that for many women today, and for their spouses, lovers, families and communities, abortion is celebrated as such, an occasion of deep and serious and sacred meaning." No comment is really necessary here.
Let us never pretend that abortion is just a social or political phenomenon that has to be voted out of office to be defeated. We must do everything we can to restore legal protection to our most innocent citizens, but our battle against the devil will not be won at the polls. It will be won on our knees before the Lord and on our feet before the centers of death. More than ever we need men and women of tested holiness who are willing to fight the spiritual battle for the lives of God's precious babies and the souls of their mothers and fathers. Even abortionists like Baird-Windle are caught up in a demonic religion which can be challenged and defeated by those of us who belong to the true Church of Christ, the only spiritual power strong enough to defeat the "sacrament" of abortion.
(Please see sidebar for a page of numerous "abortion as sacrament" quotes from those who justify this demonic practice. If you want to see how corrupt the extreme feminist establishment with regard to their "sacrament" please look at the publication of a 1975 book called "Abortion is a Blessing" on the "Freedom From Religion Foundation" website.
Human Life International 4 Family Life Lane – Front Royal, VA 22630 U.S.A. Phone: 1-800-549-LIFE Fax: 540-622-6247 E-mail: hli@hli.org Website: www.hli.org
Abortion Backers Can't Ignore New York Times Story
That Babies Feel Pain
http://www.lifenews.com/nat3732.html
Abortion in America: Legal & Unsafe
http://www.catholicculture.org/library/view.cfm?RecNum=2951
On Child Abuse and Abortion
http://www.seghea.com/pat/life/onchildabuse.html
Why rights must start in the Womb
DONNA NICHOLSON
http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=1729972007
Diary of an Unborn Child
http://www.beautifulandhappy.com/thoughts/diary-and-letter-of-an-unborn-child/
A Pro-life Perspective
Diane Dew's Essays on Life Issues
http://dianedew.com/aborindx.htm
Ex-Abortion Clinic Owner Tells Pro-life Group Truth about Abortion Business
By Michael Baggot
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/apr/08043001.html
Abortion -
This is a Dismemberment Abortion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us_y9GP_-DA
UNUSUAL TESTIMONY OF ONE WOMAN
CASTS NEW LIGHT ON UNBORN, ISSUE OF ABORTION
http://www.spiritdaily.net/afterlifeabortion.htm
Incredible Human Body
shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/product/dvds/science-and-space/incredible-human-body-dvd
Prenatal Development
shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/product/dvds/science-and-space/biology-of-prenatal-development-dvd
In The Womb
shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/product/dvds/science-and-space/in-the-womb-dvd
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