Before I came back to the Church, I considered myself to be very reasonable about the abortion issue. I took the proverbial politically correct approach: an approach that is the only one absolutely accepted, promoted and certainly championed currently by our overly secularized world.
Pro-choice is the term I chose. It seemed to be hip and, again, “reasonable,” which is quite ridiculous because very little reasoning — or even thinking — went into the issue on my end. It was just a matter of going with the current cultural flow of things. Although I said I would never have an abortion myself, I bought into the lie that I had no right to speak out against another woman’s so-called “right to choose.” Beyond that, I didn’t spend too much time on the subject.
Very few who support abortion realize how it’s an industry that cares little about freedom, choice and, most of all, women’s health. The drumbeat of lies promoted by Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers has convinced millions for decades that abortion is a major part of “women’s health.” Without it, women would be reduced to being victimized by back-alley abortions. The trouble is, as more and more cases are showing us, the back-alley abortions never stopped. They just moved to main street after the Supreme Court decisions of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, which gave us abortion on demand through nine months of pregnancy.
The case of former abortionist Kermit Gosnell and his now-infamous Philadelphia “house of horrors” proved to be just the tip of the iceberg. Just recently, another abortion facility, this one also in Pennsylvania, finally was forced to close down because of health violations. Keep this in mind when recalling again how abortion proponents constantly shout from the rooftops how concerned they are about women’s health.
Violations included failure to provide a sanitary environment, outdated medications and supplies, improper staffing with no licensed registered nurse on location and lack of documentation regarding medical staff qualifications.
The story about Hillcrest Women’s Medical Center did get some play in the local press and a lot of coverage in conservative circles. But, as with the Gosnell story, the national media mostly have been ignoring it.
In addition to Hillcrest comes the news that the folks at Planned Parenthood of Northern New England are teaming up with the ACLU and suing Maine’s attorney general along with that state’s 16 district attorneys. The lawsuit is demanding the state wipe out a 1979 law requiring abortions be performed only by licensed physicians. Oh, the injustice of having an actual medical doctor perform surgery! And the pro-lifers are the ones labeled backward and anti-women’s health.
Back in my pro-choice days, I didn’t go around pushing my opinion. But I would, however, tend to get my Italian up whenever I heard someone challenging my extremely comfortable way of looking at things. Looking back, I realize I was being challenged by the Holy Spirit. My very comfortable little world began to crumble when I learned of these types of incidents. I realized I had been sold a bill of goods.
Stories about the billion-dollar abortion industry being about anything but women’s health provide for many a Romans 8:28 moment: “We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” God can use them for good to change the hearts and minds of many a pro-choicer. It happened with yours truly. It can happen to those in your circle and beyond as well.
This column first appeared on OSV Newsweekly. To read Teresa’s latest OSV columns click here.
