Tag: Abortion Clinics

Save the Turtles but Not the Babies

If you go to see the movie, Gosnell: the Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer, you will understand the title of this post.

Gosnell Movie

My husband and I saw this movie today. The movie is based on the actual court documents from the trial. It was riveting and held the attention of the audience. We were in a small theater; probably three fourths of the seats were occupied. The later showing was sold out.

The film showed the condition of the abortion facility. The abortion procedures were described but not shown on screen. The focus was on the trial, and the hesitation that the health and legal systems have in overseeing abortions.

Gosnell Movie

There are some things in life and in our culture that we would rather not think about. Babies who are born alive have their neck cut with scissors to kill them. Because it is legal, is it kinder to suction the gray matter of a baby’s brain (insuring death) prior to delivering the baby?

We should weep for our country. How can we think that we are solving human problems with abortion? I do not fault the desperate women—I fault the solution that we are offering them.

I hope you will make time to see this movie. It presents a real picture of a complex issue.

Decision Was a Sad Day for Women’s Health

This letter was first published on the editorial page of the Daily Herald on July 3.  I was sorting through my thoughts about the Supreme Court decision when I wrote this:

Is it a victory for women? The Supreme Court overturned a Texas law that would have required safety regulations for abortion clinics.

Two years ago Joan Rivers was in an outpatient surgical clinic that did have safety regulations that were violated, and she died. The outcry was huge, and rightly so. The director of the clinic stepped down and a large settlement was made with River’s family.

What happens when an abortion clinic—which is an outpatient      surgical clinic— doesn’t have to meet safety standards?  What     happens when a woman is injured or dies at this clinic?

Abortion providers aren’t concerned. They are profiting from women in difficult circumstances.   Poor women or desperate women are more    likely to seek care at a Planned Parenthood clinic. Are we comfortable with the idea that these women deserve less?

I have to wonder if Justices Ginsburg, Kagan and Sotomayer would feel comfortable having a surgical procedure in a clinic that is unregulated and unsafe. Justice Ginsburg wrote in her opinion that abortion is safer than childbirth. That is a blanket generalization. I have been a childbirth nurse for more than 30 years, and I disagree.

Childbirth ranges from a normal physiologic birth (which is safer than abortion) to high-risk pregnancies and births that require medical intervention. I think I can assume that Justice Ginsburg has never seen the tools that are used in a surgical abortion. Nor is she aware of the medications that may be involved.

It is a sad day for women. Five Justices struck down a Texas law that     established common sense safety practices for abortion clinics.