Guide to Informed Choices
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exact words were, ‗You know, you will have to end this pregnancy.‘ At best, that might give me 18 months to live… The thought of aborting the pregnancy and then dying anyway was not a positive option. Nor was the thought of having a baby and leaving him without a mother.‖ 1300
In this woman‘s case the pregnancy was carefully monitored and conventional treatment begun after birth. For those who may be interested in alternative cancer treatments — ones that may not harm the baby and could be started immediately, you might like to do your own research at a site such as www.naturalcancer.net . This would be my first choice. The good news is some cancers are not affected by pregnancy and even better, pregnancy may actually help protect you from breast and ovarian cancer. 1301
Pre-eclampsia lso known as toxemia and in the early stages, Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension, pre-eclampsia is the most common complication of pregnancy. Symptoms include high blood pressure, swelling and protein leaking into the urine. Untreated pre-eclampsia could lead to eclampsia which includes seizures and coma. Pre-existing hypertension would increase your risk during pregnancy. 1302
The important thing is to get baby out. Fortunately, this condition almost always occurs late in pregnancy, giving the baby at least some chance of survival. Management of the condition is aimed at maintaining a safe pregnancy as long as possible, so that the baby will be born late enough to have a chance at survival, while not threatening the woman‘s life. Treatment may include A
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bed rest, blood pressure medications, a low sodium diet and an early delivery. When the baby is nearing full term or when the woman‘s condition requires it, the baby is delivered by labor or C-section. 1303 This
gives both of them a fighting chance and makes abortion unnecessary.
Diabetes ith today's
improved monitoring and treatment, diabetes in pregnancy is no longer as threatening as it once was. 1304 The
American Diabetes Association says that ―With your blood glucose in the target range and good medical care, your chances of a trouble-free pregnancy and a healthy baby are almost as good as they are for a woman without diabetes.‖ 1305 Management of a diabetic pregnancy (either regular or gestational diabetes) involves controlling blood sugar levels with diet and exercise and sometimes medication. 1306 Diabetic pregnancies should be monitored because out-of-control blood sugar could lead to high blood pressure which could lead to a stroke or seizure and damage to internal organs.
Heart Disease eart disease may involve a number of disorders of the heart, ranging in severity from mild to serious. Since pregnancy increases the blood flow and stress on the heart, a heart problem can certainly be serious and requires careful medical observation. Treatments may include bed rest, close monitoring during pregnancy and delivery, low sodium diet and diuretic medication to decrease the fluid on the heart, medication to prevent blood clots or irregular heart beat or valve replacement surgery — which, believe it or not, is possible during pregnancy. 1307 The
good news is that only 0.5 — 2.0% of pregnant women have heart disease. 1308
After many years‘ work in several large gynecological hospitals, I have never yet seen a woman‘s life in danger, necessitating abortion. I have seen two extremely sick women offered abortions because of serious heart-lung disease; both refused, and both delivered normal children, normally. 1309
—unnamed obstetrician
Kidney Disease idney disease is another often-cited reason for a medical abortion. The kidneys are also given extra work during pregnancy. One of the things they do is filter your baby‘s blood as well as yours (which itself is increased during pregnancy). This can put stress on kidneys which are already sick. Treatment may include frequent checkups, blood tests, urine tests, blood pressure monitoring, W H
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antibiotics for infection, or even dialysis 1310
— and yes, pregnant women are able to receive dialysis, though it should be given more frequently than normal. 1311
Most women with mild to moderate renal disease tolerate pregnancy well and have a successful obstetric outcome, without adverse side effects on the underlying kidney problem. 1312
—Joseph A. Garcia-Prats, MD and Sharon G. Hornfischer, RN BSN
Sexually Transmitted Diseases exually
transmitted diseases, as unpleasant as they are, seem to pose no extra risk during pregnancy. Written by medical professionals, the books I read focused on not passing the disease onto the baby (a caesarean birth may be recommended) and if drugs are used for flare ups or treatment, making sure they are not harmful to the baby. 1313
There is even hope for those with the horrible ―A‖ word, AIDS; ―Even though a baby has a risk of being infected during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding, we know if a woman is in the early course of the illness, she can usually have an uneventful pregnancy, labor and delivery.‖ 1314
So what‘s the point of all this?
he point is, there are dangerous conditions — I know, I didn‘t list them all — but there are also increasingly sophisticated ways to treat and monitor those conditions. Though the conditions may be serious, in many cases a mother and her baby can be brought through pregnancy in good health — or at least with no deterioration of the current condition. Interestingly, often if a woman is that sick, she will not likely get pregnant in the first place; and if she does, a miscarriage may naturally occur.
Although the woman‘s life should come first (for her baby‘s sake and because it‘s a life for a life), death of the fetus should come as a secondhand effect of saving the woman‘s life, not as a direct intent to kill him. It‘s really your call.
What if you don‘t want an abortion and somebody says you need one? ‘m not a medical doctor so I have to provide that obvious disclaimer and state that you should seek professional medical advice for your specific condition. Which is, in fact, my next advice! Seek medical care from the very best, such as a S T
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high-risk obstetrician as opposed to a regular medical doctor. If you have a high- risk pregnancy, you need this expertise. Get a second (or even third) medical opinion. Consider contacting a pro-life doctor for his expert opinion or care. You can search for pro life doctors in your state at www.aaplog.org . Find out all you can about your condition. Investigate alternative treatments that won‘t harm the fetus. These include drugs or natural therapies. If early delivery is required, have the child delivered by Caesarean rather than killed by D&C — that way the child may have some chance at life. Weigh up the risks and make your decision. Pray for a miracle.
Reason #93 ―Consider the
risks and
possibilities — is abortion really necessary in your situation?‖ Reason #94 Had one abortion? Don‘t make it two
The psychology of repeat abortions he data shows that women with a previous abortion are at risk for repeat abortions. The pro-choice Guttmacher Institute reports that ―47% of abortions are obtained by women who have had a prior abortion.‖ 1315
That‘s a lot. Why do women have repeat abortions, apart from the obvious fact that they are pregnant a second time and don‘t wish to be? What‘s the psychology behind repeat abortions? For some women like Deborah Hulebak, a second abortion is a way of proving that the first one wasn‘t really bad after all: I feel like I did it because I had to prove to myself that I was right. I had to prove to myself that it didn‘t hurt, that I could go through it over and over again and it wouldn‘t hurt. The more I did it, the less it hurt, physically and emotionally. I deadened myself to pain — and to right and wrong. 1316
For others, deep down they feel that they have done something unforgivable and T
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so they figure they‘re already a lost cause, so what‘s there to lose? A few even punish themselves by become a doormat for foolish men and end up in the same situation again. Whatever the reason, the statistics show that women who choose abortion are at increased risk for more than one abortion.
No matter what you‘ve done you can turn your life around f you‘ve had an abortion (or even many), it doesn‘t mean you‘re an evil person. No doubt the decision wasn‘t easy. I doubt you relished making the choice and wished you didn‘t have to. I doubt you rejoiced at the chance to prove your ―reproductive rights‖ that day. You probably wished more than anything that you hadn‘t gotten into that situation in the first place — or perhaps that when you did you had support and finances. You may not have even wanted the abortion — part of you may have felt you had no other choice. Or perhaps you were blissfully ignorant and all you could think of was, it‘s my right and my body and it‘s only cells. People make choices for all sorts of reasons — then again, sometimes there‘s no logic behind them. Without justifying that decision, I think it‘s important that you feel heard and understood, even comforted. I think one‘s conscience would be a brutal taskmaster after an abortion. You certainly do not need mine as well.
If they can change, so can you Be earnest, and repent. -Rev. 3:19
orma McCorvey, the woman in whose name abortion was legalized in
Roe v. Wade , has changed her mind and heart. For years she worked as an employee in an abortion clinic and was the poster girl for abortion. She now regrets any part she had in legalizing abortion and has started her own pro-life ministry. 1317
If she can change, so can you. Dr. Bernard Nathanson, an advocate who helped legalize abortion and an abortionist who performed over 60,000 abortions, now regrets his part and has turned to God in repentance. 1318
If he can change, so can you. This book includes the stories of other former abortionists as well as women who have had abortions and turned around. Countless others have turned away from their past and you can too.
Will I get a second chance? Some people may wonder if they might ever get a chance to give life to that soul they aborted. I personally believe it may be I N
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possible. 1319
Will my baby forgive me? Just put yourself in your baby‘s position. Your mother did something stupid and really wrong, but she didn‘t realize what she was doing and how much she would suffer later and regret what she did. Wouldn‘t you realize that she was scared or ignorant and deserved your mercy? I think so. Some women who had had abortions have found healing through dreams or other personal experiences. One woman shared the following experience with Betty Eadie. It was published in The Ripple Effect:
I had this dream. It seemed more real, like no other dream I‘ve ever had. I was standing in a beautiful garden… A young man walked up to me and introduced himself by name. He said that he forgives me for what I did to him. I was puzzled, not knowing what he meant. He handed me a beautiful rose then said, ―You were to be my mother.‖ He kissed me and held me like I have always wanted to hold my child. I asked him to forgive me over and over again. I know he already has, and it was healing to hear him tell me that he loves me still. 1320
There is a healing process O L ORD
, have mercy on me; heal me, for I have sinned against you. —Psalm 41:4
f you‘ve had an abortion you don‘t have to hate yourself any longer. Seek God‘s forgiveness and self-forgiveness. After confessing the sin, it‘s not going to help by mulling over it. Instead, get out there and make a difference. Volunteer to help at a pregnancy center. Speak up about the truth of abortion wherever someone will listen. Pray for the hearts of mothers to be touched by the angels that they might spare their babies. Maybe at some time you‘ll feel called to have a child or adopt a child in need. Express gratitude for everything. Ask the Lord where He wants you right now. Demonstrate your change of heart by your actions. From the stories that were sent to me, I share with you some women‘s glimpses of their personal journey towards healing: Twenty years later it was so very hard to even attempt to come forth from my prison of death and shame and self-loathing. One day, I heard, on a Christian radio station, a story that continued the chipping away at all those hard, cold stones around my heart. A lady on Dr. James Dobson‘s show told about her abortion experience, about how she felt, how it had changed her forever, I
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how she had carried around her grief, and how she had found healing and forgiveness that only Jesus can give.
I was undone. I had thought, for all those 20 years, that it was just me, alone in my pain and sorrow and anger. I never knew there was such a thing as post- abortion stress, had never heard the phrase before. Never had known of crisis pregnancy centers, never knew there was one that year in my town when I had needed somewhere to turn besides Planned Parenthood. I listened to the radio, and I cried and cried, great tears of so many emotions that had been buried deep within for so very long. Cried like I hadn‘t in a very long time. Luckily, I was home alone at the time; I was an emotional wreck. At the end of the program, I pulled
myself together somewhat, Kleenex box in hand, and I went online, to the Internet site for Focus on the Family. I ordered a package of books about the subject of post-abortion stress. And was amazed at the knowledge I had gained that day: I was not alone anymore. 1321
I finally came to a point where I realized that no matter what the cost I had to confess of my sin of abortion and ultimately deal with the pain. The thick, stone walls that I had built around my hardened heart finally came crashing down just like the walls of Jericho in the Bible. —Christine
I was a mess and I could not face it alone any longer. I discovered a group called Healing Hearts Ministries on the web. This loving ministry is led by post-abortive women for post-abortive women. I went through the study and learned about God‘s forgiveness. He forgives everything — even abortion! I praise God for healing me. He has given me peace and has set me free. —Yoli
Rachel came home from K-4 one day and told me she had accepted Jesus as her Savior. She would beg me to take her to church. I was still trying to quit drinking and smoking pot and occasionally cocaine. I finally gave in and we went to church. A few months later Jesus saved me. It was 1992. I started listening to Christian music and, at times when the songs about abortion played, I would have to pull off of the road because the tears obscured my vision. At a 1999 revival the preacher said to come up to the altar if you‘ve done something and can‘t forgive yourself. I went down and as I knelt, crying uncontrollably, God revealed to me that the friend beside me was also there because of an abortion. My friend was horrified when
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I told her I knew, but I told her that I had had one too. It was the first time in 21 years that I had told someone what I had done! Together we attended a post-abortion class in the area sponsored by Save-a-Life. I continued to heal over the next few years and the Lord led me to lead the post abortion study at that center. —Tena
But
TODAY I STAND BEFORE YOU , healed by God‘s grace, and I am privileged to join God in the work of healing other women who have had abortions. —Adena
Bible verses to remind myself that God will not leave us nor forsake us no matter what decisions we have made, and that He forgives me and loves me unconditionally. Without my Savior, I had no hope. It was probably the most difficult time in my life, a time I thought I would never recover from, and my faith in Jesus Christ saved me! —Nicole
Want to pursue some of these post- abortion groups yourself? Check out the resource section at the end.
Reason #94 ―One abortion doesn‘t need to justify another‖ Reason #95 What if the timing is right but you just don‘t know it?
It‘s just not the right time Now, I'm pregnant and now I know I want a child. But not yet and not now. 1322
Bronwyn‘s Story, abortion clinic website
any women insist they do want children one day, just not now. Now seems too unprepared, too terrifying, too confusing. Too soon. Somehow the
future seems
better. Everything will be better then. Or so we hope. While acknowledging that this is a real fear and concern that many women have, I want to suggest that there may be something good about ―now‖ — even if it seems you have all the reasons in the world why now is not a good time. Consider the following:
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