Written by Rebecca (Hamilton)
October 5, 2000
Presented at The Church of God in Youngstown October, 2000
Note: Although the figures are outdated (they are tragically higher), the message remains the same- Abortion is wrong, PERIOD!! Revisions are noted in parenthesis.
There is a tragedy in America today claiming the lives of 1.5 million children per year. That makes 39 million (58 million by 2016) total in the 27 years since Roe vs Wade. My goal is to help bring America’s Holocaust to an end by way of education. Abortion has claimed more lives than Hitler, Hiroshima and the Holocaust combined. I could give you countless scripture to prove God is against abortion, like Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed the in the belly I knew thee,” or Psalm 127:3, “Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” But I’m not. I will simply sum it up by quoting one of the top ten- “thou shalt not commit murder.”
Having said that, I will now move on to discuss abortion itself. I am going to start by defining life, beginning at the point of conception. The egg cell and the sperm cell are the only two cells of completely different nature that when combined create something even more entirely different in the whole scientific universe. At the point of conception, the egg is already two weeks old. 46 chromosomes combine to determine all of the physical characteristics that you and I possess today (temperament is also determined at conception). 30 hours after conception the zygote rapidly divides and floats down the fallopian tube to the uterus. At one week old, the blastocyst searches for a place to implant. The yolk sack produces blood cells. It is 1/6 of an inch long. It is developing a backbone, spinal column, nervous system, kidneys, liver, and intestines. At two weeks old the baby, now called an embryo, has a tail, arm and leg buds and eyes. It produces hormones which stop the menstrual cycle. In other words, this is what the baby has developed before a woman even knows she’s pregnant. At three weeks (5 weeks gestation), it is the size of a raisin and has a heartbeat. At five weeks, the baby has a mouth, tongue, muscle system and blood type. It practices moving. At six weeks, the fetus is 1/2 an inch long, swims and moves gracefully, has longer arms and legs, fingers and most importantly, brain waves. This is important because doctors determine if you are dead by an absence of brain waves. At eight weeks the heart is almost complete and 20 baby teeth are forming under the gums. 55.5% of all abortions have been done by this point. That means that 45.5%, almost half of all abortions, are done on babies that have a heartbeat, arms and legs, brainwaves and a nervous system, which means they can experience pain. At ten weeks the baby has vocal chords, has a fully formed brain, ears, spleen, can feel pain and may suck its thumb for comfort. It silently cries, especially when being aborted. This is known as the silent scream. It hurts to know that a baby can feel pain and isn’t even given a sedative during an abortion.
At thirteen weeks, it has adult taste buds. At fourteen weeks it is 5 1/2 inches long and weighs 6 ounces, has hair, grasps and kicks. At twenty weeks, the baby hears its mother’s voice, has fingernails and sex organs. It is possible for the baby to survive if born now, although they usually don’t. A little girl named Kenya King was born at 19 weeks, or 4 1/2 months, weighed 18 ounces and lived. Babies are routinely saved at 21-22 weeks. At 23 weeks on, they are considered viable. This is most upsetting if you consider that 13,000 babies per year are aborted from 21 weeks, or five months, on. Between 22 and 38 weeks, the baby finishes developing the parts it already has, especially the lungs.
Now that we know it is in fact a life at conception, I’ll move on to “the law” and abortion procedures. Justice Harry Blackmun ruled that aside from normal procedure guidelines (an abortion must be performed safely, by a licensed physician), a state has no right to restrict abortion in the first six months. In the last three months, the states have restriction rights except for in cases of the health of the mother. Health is then defined as: physical, emotional, psychological, familial and age. In other words, anyone can get an abortion at anytime during there pregnancy for any reason (Many states are rejecting such loose laws and banning abortions, except in cases of life of mother, beyond 22-24 weeks. Many states have passed Pain Capable Abortion Bans).
On August 10, 1995, Norma McCorvey, the Roe of Roe vs Wade, states that she rejects the abortion movement and renounced the claim that she was raped in order to get an abortion, which she never actually got. This revealed that abortion on demand, Roe, was built on a lie.
The definition of abort is- to miscarry in giving birth; to fail to come to fruition; premature expulsion of the human fetus. An abortifacient is a drug that causes an abortion. There are many methods to kill a baby in his mother’s womb, all of which are inhumane and repulsive. Most common methods are pills (mifepristone) taken to suffocate and starve the baby. This is done around 35 days gestation, or five weeks. An MVA abortion empties the uterus with a manual syringe. D&C empties the uterus with a tube and suction machine. The D&E abortion removes the baby with a currette (a long metal loop) by ripping the baby’s arms and legs off before removing its body. Salt, or saline abortion, not popular any more (has since been banned in the United States), is done around 16 weeks gestation in which 1/2 a cup of amniotic fluid is removed and replaced with a 1/2 a cup of concentrated salt. The baby inhales and swallows. It experiences painful burning and deterioration of the skin. This is like pouring salt on a slug or snail. A hysterotomy is used when the abortion fails. It is similar to a c-section and the baby is often removed alive. The D&X, or partial-birth abortion (PBA is now banned in the United States), is used on larger baby’s. The doctor delivers the baby feet first to its head. He jams scissors into the baby’s neck and opens them. He then suctions out the baby’s brains and delivers the head. This goes beyond unconstitutional, it is infanticide and evil. Medical experts have testified to congress that it is never medically necessary to kill a partially delivered baby to preserve the life of the mother! Ron Fitzsimmons, head of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers states that, “I lied through my teeth,” when claiming that Partial-birth abortions were rare and for extraordinary medical reasons.
Ever wonder what happens if a child is born alive after a failed abortion? Two nurses testified to the House Judiciary Committee that sometimes babies live and hour or more, one lived for eight hours. They are often taken to soiled linens rooms. Allison Baker testified, “I once walked into the soiled utility room and saw, lying on a medical counter, a 22 week old fetus, naked, exposed, and breathing. Moving its arms and legs. The fetus was visibly alive, and was grasping for breath. I did wrap the fetus and place him in a warmer, for two hours he maintained, until he
finally expired.” Charles Canady (R-FL) introduced the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, which would guaruntee that infants who are born alive would receive the same care and attention as anyone else (This bill eventually became law). Princeton University Bio-ethicist Peter Singer is quoted as saying, “Parents should have the option to kill disabled or unhealthy babies for a period of up to 28 days. It has no greater value than that of a nonhuman animal at this stage.” What is next?- Legalizing infanticide?!!
Then there is the trafficking of fetal tissue to do stem cell research. Doctors say they can get up to $2,500 for an intact fetus. Others request specific body parts. Dr Miles Jones has stated that, “It is easy to get a woman to consent to having their babies used in medical experimentation,” citing that it would be used for good. What they are not being told is that there are other ways, such as using adult cells or umbilical cords to do the same research. Remember, though, that the love of money is the route of all evil. (Since this article was written, Planned Parenthood was exposed in 2014 for illegally selling baby parts in a series of undercover videos by the Centers for Medical Progress. PP was briefly under investigation by the federal government; the case is at a standstill. The government of California, were filmmaker and citizen journalist David Daleiden resides, had his home searched and the videos confiscated. Although Planned Parenthood has not been formerly charged, states all around the country are defunding the organization and channeling the monies into other health centers. Planned Parenthoods all around the nation are shutting their doors.)
The next topic is the effects abortion has on a woman. Short-term effects include: infection (which can later cause ectopic pregnancy, premature birth and low-birth weight babies), excessive bleeding, nausea, vomiting, extreme discomfort and cramping, blood clots, allergic reactions, hemorrhaging, and sometimes death. Well, there is always a death, but sometimes the woman dies as well as the baby. Some long-term effects include: infertility, post-traumatic stress disorder (PAS- post-abortion syndrome), depression, hyesterctomy, recurring nightmares about the baby, torn cervix (which causes incompetency) and vulnerability to breast cancer. The abortion-breast cancer link (ABC link) is very simple to explain. Breasts are sensitive to carcinogenic (cancer producing) cells before a woman gets pregnant. When she gets pregnant her hormone levels (arestradol, progesterone and B-hcg) go way high. These serve to stimulate the breast to maturity for breast-feeding. If an abortion occurs, the hormones drop dramatically and suspends the natural process of maturing, thus causing a “hormonal blow.” These cells are now left vulnerable to carcinogens. Fully matured cells are less vulnerable. Such is not the case for a miscarriage because the woman usually has a miscarriage due to hormone levels not rising, therefore there is no “hormonal blow.” A woman’s risk for breast cancer is 10% without an abortion. The risk increases if she has an abortion to: 150% if she is under 18; to 110% is she is over 30; to 89% if the baby is over 18 weeks; to 370% if she is black; to 260% if she has two or more abortions. Women who have breast cancer already and have an abortion have a five year survival rate of 40% as opposed to those who carry to term (59% five year survival rate). There was a study done on two groups of rats, all of which were injected with cancer cells. 50% of them were given abortions, 77% of which died of breast cancer. Of the 50% who gave birth, 0 got breast cancer. PPFA denies that abortion may lead to breast cancer, although they admit that it does leave the breast vulnerable to it.
The pro-abortion perspective claims the infamous “my body,” citing that the baby is a mere parasite thriving off of the body of the mother. Others claim the safety of the mother, rape or incest as a reason to have legalized abortion. There were laws long before Roe that protected the mother if she could die as a result of carrying a baby to term. And as for rape, I have this to say: why should there be two victims? Yes, the woman was violated, but her the shame she feels and depression are magnified if she has an abortion. Remember, that baby was part hers as well. Yet others state, “We need to keep it safe and legal.” NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) co-founder, Dr. Bernard Nathenson renounced the pro-abortion movement and admitted that NARAL lied about there being millions of “back-alley” abortion deaths. In fact, in 1972, the year before Roe vs Wade, the CDC reports that there were only 39. Since the legalization of abortion, there have been 17.4 maternal deaths per year. So, we are slaughtering millions of babies to save the lives of 1.6 women a year?!!
Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) was founded for population control. Margaret Sanger, the founder of PPFA, states that, “All our problems are the result of over-breeding among the working class.” PPFA’s reasons for getting an abortion include: not ready, can’t afford, doesn’t want to be a single parent, doesn’t want anyone to know she’s had sex or is pregnant, is too young, has all the children she wants, husband, partner, parents don’t want it, she or the fetus has health problems, is the victim of rape or incest. Health and victim reasons only apply to 2% of all abortions.
PPFA says that they want to reduce the number of teen mothers so that they can finish high school, however, teens only make up 20.1% of all abortions. 20-24 year old make up 31.7% (20-24 year olds is currently the leading age group for abortions) and over 25 makes up 48.2%. This tells me that almost have of all abortions are to women over 25 who do not want to mess up their career or have an imperfect child.
PPFA says that women experience relief after having an abortion and that they rarely feel guilt and regret. This contradicts the countless stories that I have read by women who’ve had abortions. They all basically say the same thing. They think about the child that they will never get to hold or kiss every day of their life, even 15-20 years later. They wonder what their child would have been like. They celebrate its birthday and have suicidal thoughts. Many have committed suicide.
Pro-abortion advocates claim a woman has a right to privacy and should not have an “undue burden” in access to an abortion. Pro-choice is a lie- babies do not choose to die. Many pro-choice advocates are against parental consent laws stating that the laws only delay the abortion. PPFA promotes birth-control not abstinence as a means to preventing pregnancy. They think sexuality education should be taught in school grades K-12, stating that, only a “minority of unrealistic people,” believe in abstinence-only education. PPFA claims that 2.5 million pregnancies a year are unintended. Unintended does not mean unwanted. For every 3 births in the US there is one abortion. PPFA has over 850 clinics (700 clinics in 2015) and 5 million clients yearly. They perform one out of every 8 abortions in the US (PP is the nations largest abortion provider at 300,000 per year as of 2016). Their service record includes for 2000: 167,928 abortions; 36,870 referrals to other abortion clinics; 16,065 clients for prenatal care; 67,050 referrals for prenatal care; 0 adoptions; 4,892 adoption referrals. So, out of the 292,807 patients, 204,798 ended in abortion. This is not planned parenthood, this is abortion incorporated!!
In some states, it is illegal to be within 100 feet of an abortion clinic with pro-life pamphlets. I ask of the pro-abortion community, “What would be wrong with guiding a woman to choose life for her baby, or to let her hold a new born baby before she makes up her mind, or to show her a video of the procedure she is about to have done?” The product may be a child that gets to live. What would be wrong with that? If these babies are so unwanted, then why is the waiting list to adopt an infant seven years long? Why? Because there are no babies to adopt, that’s why. No child is unwanted! (Since roe v wade the number of babies available for adoption dropped from 49,000 to 18,000 per year. The average cost for an adoption is $25-35,000).
Alternatives to abortion
The pro-abortion advocates say that all we care about is the unborn baby, we don’t really care what happens to the mother or child once she gives birth. Or that we don’t care about the abuse and neglect of already born children whose mothers chose to keep it or abandon it. That is simply not true. Lawmakers are working hard to pass “Baby Moses” laws that would enable a woman to drop her baby off at a designated area, no questions asked, and have her baby be adopted (It is legal to drop your baby off at police stations, fire departments and hospitals). This beats finding a dead baby in a dumpster. But, can we blame women who throw their newborns away? They saved themselves four hundred dollars for the abortion by doing it themselves. Either way, the baby got put into a garbage can. The difference is one is legal, the other is not. Opposition to the laws question motives, stating that the laws are, “regressive and unhelpful” (these baby drop off sites are gaining more acceptance).
There are over 3,000 crisis pregnancy centers (this number remains consistant for 2016; there are 9,000 community health centers, 1/2 of which are whole health women’s centers that don’t do abortions). CPC’s providing pre and post-natal care, legal assistance, housing, maternity and baby clothes, financial support, cribs, diapers, adoption help, advice on how to continue education, and a countless list of referrals for foods stamps, education grants, child care, etc… In a nation as prosperous as ours, there is no reason for abortion. Some church, government program, or other organization will be able and willing to help a pregnant woman give her baby life. It is selfish to think that a child must die so that we can live how ever we feel like. We put ourselves above animals, but a mere dog happily gives birth to her young. A cat will actually run into a burning house to save her kittens. We save the whales and hug the trees but abort our babies. A garbage can is no place for a baby, but that is were millions have ended up.
Abortion is not the ending of a pregnancy, it is the killing of a baby human and the making of the mother of a dead baby.
If you think that there is nothing you can do to stop this tragedy, you are wrong. You can pray, you can write to your congressmen. You can get involved, volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center. You can vote pro-life without compromise. You can spread the word about what abortion really is. Together we can be a voice for the voiceless and restore America’s virtue and honor to help end the killing of our most precious resources, the unborn child.
For Every Great Battle, There is a Great Victory!!