Guide to Informed Choices
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manner. Take this description, for example, by the Comprehensive Women's Health Center:
When you are well relaxed, the doctor will remove the laminaria and will use suction and instruments to empty your uterus. When you wake up, you won't remember the procedure. 337
Imagine you find yourself in this predicament and you opt for their abortion procedure. The staff are nice and the clinic even looks pleasantly clean. The procedure goes fine and it‘s actually not as bad as you thought. Relieved that it‘s over, you go home and fix yourself a nice meal. That night you‘re flicking through the TV channels for something to watch and you see a biology program featuring an ultrasound of a fetus the same age yours was: yawning, dreaming and brushing her face (see Reason #8 ). No! Noooo! You wail pitifully. Nooooo! It can‘t be. It just can‘t. It‘s not a baby. It wasn‘t a baby. They told me that. Sobs break out making your whole body shudder. With a look of shock on your face, you are horrified that you may have just paid to have your own baby killed. You are mercifully saved when you hit your head on the wooden headboard and wake up. Ouch! But at least it was all a dream.
For some women, that bad dream is played out in full. Cindy was one of those women: I wouldn‘t realize until years later that, when my child was aborted at 10 weeks old… he already had a heartbeat, arms, legs, hands, feet, a face… But they didn‘t tell me any of that… Anyway, I couldn‘t even think of any questions at that point… It seemed all as a bad dream. And yes, abortion clinics do tell women it‘s not a baby: Q UESTION
: Am I killing a baby if I have an abortion?
A
: No! Nor are we in the baby killing business! 338
you. On 26 week abortions. Yes, if you‘re wondering if that‘s late, it is. Premature babies survive at that age.
I had not solved four problems ―I had not solved four ―problems.‖ I had not simply removed four ―growths of tissue‖ from my womb. The truth was, I had murdered four innocent babies who were helplessly dependent upon me for their lives.‖
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—―Illa,‖ Aborted Women: Silent No More
Abortion clinics know that women want to hear that an abortion is not a major thing, and so they reassure women that it will be over quickly. After all, what could be that big and bad if it‘s so quick? Comprehensive Women's Health Center
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says, ―Most of the procedure time is spent preparing your body for the procedure. The suction is only used for about 1 minute.‖ 340
Private Choices the procedure was 10 minutes and I felt like nothing ever happened.‖ 341
That‘s exactly what they want you to believe. And that‘s exactly how Becky saw her problem, at the time: The doctor informed me of how the procedure would be done: inserting a seaweed stick into my cervix to expand and open me up to allow for the instrument that would suction out the unwanted embryo. I would be put under general anesthesia and he would take care of the rest. It would be simple, painless, and I would no longer be in the predicament I was in. I had it all figured out. In my mind I would be ‗back to life‘ as I knew it in no time at all. It was a callous decision on my part, and one that I deeply regret .
Clinics advertise that their procedure, ―takes only a few minutes and is a simple, safe procedure.‖ 342 But, if the procedure is so simple, quick and risk-free, then why do abortion clinics charge women so much? Why do first trimester abortions cost a whopping $500 to $1000 and second trimester anywhere from $600
to $10,000?
343 Either they are profiting big time or they are lying about the risks. Or both. (See Reason #60: The abortion industry is a business AND Reason #30: Abortion carries risks .)
The truth is, while abortion clinics portray their services as a quick fix, there is a lot they don‘t tell you. (See also Reason
#3: You have been lied to .)
Comparing an abortion with a dental visit? Abortion clinics not only compare your visit to having your tonsils out 344
but they frequently compare it to a dental visit: -
You receive pain killers ―like Novocain at the dentist‖ 345
The ―products of conception‖ are taken out of the ―uterine cavity‖ 346
-
The suction tube is ―similar to the one dentists use to clear the mouth of saliva‖ 347
-
An abortion poses ―no greater risk than having a tooth pulled and is almost certainly less painful.‖ 348
Reason #32 ―Clinics who say an abortion is no big deal are lying.‖
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Reason #33 Abortion clinics target you when you are vulnerable and desperate
First, they lure you in with assurances that they‘ll help you
Abortion is a skillfully marketed product sold to women at a crisis time in their life. If the product is defective, she can't return it for a refund. 349
Carol Everett, former abortion clinic director
ou‘ve made the most difficult decision of your life…Now… Let us help‖ 350 The words sound so comforting. Coming up to the main page advertising abortion services, you are greeted with curly writing and flowers announcing, ―Welcome…It‘s all about you.‖ It feels like the webpage for a spa or retreat center. To the side of the menu a slide show plays — the women‘s faces are all of a different race. ―Choice has no color,‖ the slide show says. You don‘t know what they mean but think the girls look pretty. Looking at the rest of the page you start reading under the title ―What to decide‖: We recognize that the decision to have an abortion is difficult. The sleepless nights, the prayers, the regrets, we understand. No one can undo the dilemmas of the past, but we can ease the pain and help you focus on the future by providing you with excellent health care. 351
— but wait a moment, this is an abortion clinic. What are they really doing here? The excellent health care they refer to means suctioning the life from your body. Will they still be there to hold your hand in 20 years when you come to regret the choice? They want you to see your pregnancy as a mistake, and it sure might seem like that to you. But how can you resolve a mistake or ‗ease the pain‘ by killing the evidence? Isn‘t that just covering it up? This clinic was not the only one advertising their abortions like a spa retreat. Eve Surgical Center has a young woman kicking her feet on the grass with a daisy flower in the foreground. 352
A Choice for Women opens with gentle piano music and a white lotus. 353
Aalto Women‘s Clinic features a background of brilliant blue sky, waters and a palm tree, placed beside a smiling
woman‘s face.
354
Princeton‘s Women‘s Center displays two pretty young ―Y
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girls sitting in the sunshine, one with flowers in her hair. 355
Compare those flowery images with the reality of abortion in Reason #49: Abortion procedures are brutal .
They set the mood to distract from what is really going on manual for abortionists recom- mends setting a happy atmosphere for the act, saying that patients should not hear the sounds of the operating room and should be surrounded by cheerful decor.
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One abortion clinic‘s website promotes their comfortable furnishings: Facilities are designed and furnished to provide a warm, comfortable environment in which patients can feel at ease. 357
Another advertises their
relaxing atmosphere: Soft lighting and relaxing music fill each treatment room, while aromatherapy and a warm heating pad help you relax. This treatment, combined with the care of our professional staff, encourages a deeper state of relaxation before, during and after the abortion procedure. 358
Even if it‘s nice, setting the scene is just a distraction. Next, they dope you up so you won‘t change your mind A female assistant will be with you to talk with you and comfort you. 359
—Houston Women‘s Clinic
t‘s amazing how what has been billed as a simple medical procedure by abortion clinics also seems to be very distressing for some women. One site assures, ―We trust that I.V. sedation will make you less apprehensive and that the entire procedure will be less traumatic for you.‖ 360
If an abortion really is just a termination of ‗tissue,‘ then why does it cause any ‗trauma‘ at all? Another clinic displays on their opening screen, ―95% of our patients sleep…feeling nothing and have no memory of the procedure.‖ 361
They obviously realize women do not wish to remember this event. One clinic says that you might even go into a ‗dream-like state‘ and not remember: The I.V. contains a pain medication that offers a high level of pain relief, and a powerful sedative that puts you in a more relaxed, sometimes dream-like state. For many patients, the I.V. also acts as a memory inhibitor, leaving them with a ―patchy‖ memory of the procedure. 362
unconscious so you won‘t have any A I
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memory of it: With deep sedation, the woman is unconscious during the procedure (5 to 15 minutes) and afterward she has no memory of the events. 363
remember anything: The medications are given intravenously and you will not feel, see, hear, or remember anything. The anesthesia will be administered by an anesthetist, who will work with you to make this experience as comfortable as possible. 364
But, what is so distressing for you to remember? If everything pro-lifers say is false, if everything you might see is good, if abortion really is like going to the dentist and having a tooth out, why this big fuss to knock you out of it? Incidentally, things don‘t always go as planned and you can read in Reason #3
how Sycloria was supposed to be asleep but wasn‘t. Yet another abortion clinic says to prospective patients: Our patients who choose full sedation usually don't remember the abortion experience. Once the procedure is completed (usually within 10 minutes) you will be moved to recovery where you will sleep for about 30 minutes prior to going home.
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Are you seeing any pattern yet? For what other surgery is there such emphasis on not remembering what you just came in for? Whatever the drug, many — perhaps all — clinics use some form of anti-anxiety drug. ―All patients receive Xanax and Cytotec. Xanax
is an
anti-anxiety medication, which will help you relax.‖ 366 I
found out online that Xanax is used ―to treat moderate to severe anxiety disorders, panic attacks… major depression.‖ 367
is ―decreased inhibitions‖ such as ―increased risk-taking behavior.‖ 368 Could such a side effect actually work in favor of the abortion clinics?
The big question we should all be asking is, why is abortion so panic inducing, and are we really doing women a favor?
The big question we should all be asking is, w hy is abortion so panic inducing, and are we really doing women a favor by masking their instinctual reactions to this procedure? Perhaps less women would go through with it if they were ‗in their right minds‘. If women need tranquilizers just to get them through this, perhaps we should
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be talking more about the other options for them, besides abortion. Another clinic uses Valium to reduce anxiety and promote amnesia: ―You will receive the IV sedation (Valium and Nubain). Ninety-five percent of our patients will sleep and have no memory of the procedure.‖ 369
Or perhaps Ativan: ―We will also give you Ativan to relax you.‖ 370
use for ―management of severe anxiety.‖ 371
Why do abortion clinics dope you up on drugs? Both conscious sedation and general anesthesia are good methods for women who believe the procedure may be too uncomfortable or who may experience too much anxiety to remain calm throughout the abortion. 372
You know, I wonder if more women would change their mind about abortion if they weren‘t so doped up on drugs to relax them and dilute their inhibitions. Women are being given tranquilizers to calm them before abortion. While this may be compassionate in one sense, it may also be simply for the benefit of abortion staff, with more relaxed, dopey women. It may also be that women who are doped up with strong medications are less likely to cause problems by changing their minds part way into the procedure. Patients will receive Xanax post-op to assist with relaxation.… Remaining calm and following the instructions of the OR crew is essential to a safe an uncomplicated procedure with Local Anesthesia. 373
Perhaps these drugs make it easier on the staff and nurses. Mercifully for the women, they forget — or are the memories simply buried deeper in the unconscious? Perhaps
it makes
them more
‗cooperative‘ so they don‘t struggle like the girl in the story below, who was held down by the nurse. Violet hadn‘t taken anxiety reducing drugs and this is what happened to her: I started talking to the girls around me. It didn‘t take me long to realize that they were all doped up on Ativan (which I was not fortunate enough to be receiving because I had to drive myself). It did, however, make them more honest. One girl told me how she thought it would be funny when she went back to her OBGYN for her 6-week check up and he would discover that her baby was no longer there. One by one we were called back downstairs, until there was only two. Then it was my turn. I went back downstairs to the nurse‘s station on the second floor, I noticed a girl in a chair that looked like the ones you give blood in. She didn‘t look too comfortable, but I didn‘t pay much attention, I was too nervous. Then I was taken into another little room with a table and was asked to remove my pants. A nurse came in for what she said was to
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hold my hand. I thought that was kind of odd, no one had wanted to comfort me the past four hours I had been waiting. The doctor came in a minute later, looking very tired. It was already nine o'clock. I told him to tell me what he was going to do before he did it. He agreed. He inserted a speculum and dilated my cervix, and a minute after that, he didn't have to tell me what he was going to do anymore. He was very rough. Medically speaking, I don't know what he did after that. I know that it felt like he was scrambling my insides, in between pulling me down the table.
―The nurse grabbed my hands and wouldn‘t let them go‖
I remember trying to keep my hands over my mouth so that I wouldn‘t scream, but then the pain was so intense that I couldn‘t help it. I began reaching for something to hold onto, for what I don‘t know. I did come across an outlet with something plugged into it. I wasn‘t going to pull it, but then the nurse grabbed my hands and wouldn‘t let them go. The nurse did the best she could to hold me down. It was then that I realized why she was there. I cried and begged him to stop. I screamed. This went on for about 5 minutes, which doesn‘t seem like very long, but it was a lifetime to me. I know he was trying to hurry. In one swift move he stopped and pulled out the speculum. …The nurse tried to hurry me out of the room. I asked if I could lie still for one more minute. I was still in a lot of physical pain, and she said no. There were more girls to see. I put my clothes back on and went back to the previous room, where I had seen that girl, and was placed in one of those chairs and given a heating pad. One of the nurses commented, "You didn't get any Ativan, did you?‖ She had heard me. Everyone had.
A similar thing happened to Rachel when she changed her mind on the abortion table. She was told it was too late and a nurse pushed her shoulders back: I was devastated by the procedure; the evil sucking sounds, the doctor telling me (when I wanted to stop everything and just jump off the table) that it was too late, that the shot he had given me to numb my cervix had also killed my baby and we had to finish (that was a lie, I know now, it was just a shot to numb the cervix and had no effect on the baby); the big nurse who gripped my hand with one hand and pushed my shoulders back with the other. 374
Maybe there are many others like her |