Abortion and the politics of ultrasound

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | 3/24/07 | Star Parker

[JohnHuang2]

South Carolina appears close to becoming the first state in the country to require that women considering an abortion view an ultrasound image of their fetus before deciding to undergo the procedure.

The state House has passed the legislation 91-23, prospects that the Senate will pass it look good, and Gov. Mark Sanford has stated his support for the initiative.

Opponents call it "intimidation" and "emotional blackmail" of women seeking to abort.

According to NARAL Pro-Choice America President Nancy Keenan, "The women of South Carolina are fully capable of asking their doctor for information they need to make private, personal medical decisions. Politicians don't belong in the examining room."

(Column continues below)

Seventeen states already have or are considering legislation that would ensure that ultrasound viewing is available to women considering abortion. But South Carolina would be the first to make the viewing mandatory.

Those advancing the legislation feel that the state must guarantee that women considering abortion have all available relevant information before making this life-changing decision. The powerful images that ultrasound makes possible are surely relevant. I support this view and support the legislation.

Anyone who follows me and my work knows that I am staunchly "pro-life." I aggressively support and work with the nationwide crisis-pregnancy-center movement that counsels women considering abortion, encourages them to have their children and helps them with their lives after they give birth.

From the vantage point of we who deeply care about the abortion debate, there isn't much in the way of shades of gray. It's black and white – a clashing of fundamentally different worldviews. Which is why the emotions run so deep.

An increasing number of crisis-pregnancy centers now have ultrasound equipment that allows clients to see the child developing within them. Their experience shows that there is little question that this materially impacts the decision that women make. Centers report that anywhere from 62 percent up to 95 percent of women who had intended to abort changed their minds after seeing the images.

Assuming that these statistics are accurate, the question remains whether these young women changed their minds because their perceptions of the reality with which they were dealing changed, or because they were intimidated or emotionally blackmailed.

Intimidation or blackmail implies some kind of threat. What exactly might that threat be?

You might say that a young woman with a pregnancy she did not intend is emotionally vulnerable. I would agree with that.

It's exactly why statements from the NARAL universe that portray these young women ("fully capable of asking their doctor for information they need") as cool, sober and rational, calculating the equivalent of whether or not to have a wart removed or to get a Botox injection, are so ludicrous.

As any woman can tell you, instincts and intuition are powerful. These women are stressed because they know that suddenly the decision they have to make is not casual, that it is deeply meaningful and gravely important. Chances are, if they had the tools at their disposal to make a proper decision, they would not be in the situation they are in to begin with.

In South Carolina, as in the nation as a whole, about half the abortions that are performed are on women under 24. Around 17 percent are on women under age 19.

What kind of sense can it possibly make to suggest that a young woman, who we don't think is old enough to vote or go into a liquor store and buy beer, has the resources on her own to understand the implications of aborting a child? Is there some absence of proportion here?

A woman in her 40s may not remember who taught her math in high school, but she'll never forget the abortion she had. Why?

Knowledge comes to us through different paths. We hear and read words. But visual images are something else. Why, when we realize something we had been indifferent to or unaware of, do we say our "eyes were opened"?

More eyes are opening in our country today and realizing that freedom is not tantamount to meaninglessness.

When these young women see fingers, toes and a beating heart, they understand the emerging life within them. This is a profound moment of personal growth. It's what causes their change and opens the door to their own rebirth and a life with new possibilities.

As in the words of the great hymn, "Amazing Grace": "Was blind, but now I see."

Sanford and the South Carolina Legislature provide a model of leadership and human responsibility toward which the rest of the nation should take a long, careful and hard look.

[goldstategop]

Its funny to see liberals oppose an ultra-sound procedure. Here I was thinking they were pro-choice. Another lie. What in heaven's name are the libs afraid of? That a woman will recognize the humanity of her unborn child and decide to carry it to term? No wonder they're they're fanatically opposed to anything that might reveal what an abortion really does.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[RunningWolf]

Hey a great way around naral, now, and all those other perverted organizations would be to have walk up and free ultra-sound scans available to those young women at the malls. And the ultra-sound scan is not an expensive thing at all if you are a non-profit entity.

I would think that their own curiosity would be magnetic, and once they see the image of their own baby, they will fall in love with it 99.999% of the time.

Just my guess though. If you think that a good idea, get it to the right people, no attribution needed.

Regards

[babygene]

To make a "choice", ignorant of the facts, is no choice at all...

[RunningWolf]

What in heaven's name are the libs afraid of? That a woman will recognize the humanity of her unborn child and decide to carry it to term?

You got it, they have become the dealers of murder in its most violent form in the pursuit of their ideology.

[beaversmom]

Take that abortionists!

[sarasmom]

My OB/GYN showed me several ultrasound's and tried to influence me to abort my "defective" baby. There were six holes in her developing heart...all but two closed before she was born, the remainder closed by the time she was two years old.
(I am blessed with a normal, healthy daughter)

I was old/mature/experienced enough to decide that even though my baby might not be born perfectly healthy, I could muster the strength and had the resources to deal with any serious birth defects.

The intent of this law is clear, and seemingly well intentioned.

The potential unintended consequences in its actual implementation might be chillingly counterproductive, depending on the expertise and ethics of the ultrasound technician, the choice of which machine is used, and what photo is presented to the mother.

Just a thought, based on my actual experience with the technology involved.

[Recovering_Democrat]

I got to meet Star Parker one night; just before the 2004 election day. What a wonderful woman...she deserves more recognition than she receives.

[Prov3456]

To Nancy Keenan, NARAL, Planned Parenthood, et al:

What are you afraid of - if "it" is only a blob of tissue...........?

Thank you for posting this. I wish Star would add that question to her repertoire of responses.

[theBuckwheat]

Yes, liberals are all for "choice" and being "fully informed" when it comes to advancing causes they favor. My wife works in a Pregnancy Resource Center (PRC) and spends the bulk of her time talking to young women who have discovered they might be pregnant. Yes, the center she works at has ultrasound equipment and the proper staff to operate it.

It is important to note that when abortion advocates such as NARL, or Planned Parenthood, talk about "choice", it is a one sided choice. They do not want their customers to think of the contents of the womb as anything other than "tissue" or "products of conception".

So, when a young woman decides to examine her options and walks into a Pregnancy Resource Center and accepts an offer to see this "tissue", the vast majority are almost shocked to see a developing human being.

I think this shock almost has a double effect. The obvious effect is that the pregnancy becomes real enough to trigger the woman's natural maternalism. The second effect is a revulsion at the lies they have been told.

It is not unusual for the staff of PRCs to be accused of "denying women their choice". Or, "making women have babies they don't want". I cannot fathom how detached from reality these vitriolic insults are. I can only speculate that "telling truth to power" (a favorite liberal concept) is forbidden when that "truth" happens to shatter the alternate-reality utopia that liberals are busy constructing.

Nobody in the NARL/PP camp protested when Bill Clinton famously said he wanted abortion "safe, but rare" simply because they knew it was a meaningless statement when abortion on demand up until the moment of natural childbirth is still legal, as it is at this very moment. Apart from their ideology, NRAL/PP has a gross conflict of interest, for PP makes millions in profits every year from providing abortion services. They view ultrasound-equipped PRCs as being dangerous to their profits.

[ops33]

I remember once getting into an argument with a woman who supported abortion without any restrictions. The basis of her argument was that a fetus wasn't a human being therefore killing it was not morally wrong. I asked her only one question. I asked her "What if you are wrong?" She stammered and stuttered but could not answer my question.

[AFPhys]

My OB/GYN showed me several ultrasound's and tried to influence me to abort my "defective" baby. ... (I am blessed with a normal, healthy daughter)

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! (even if it is Lent!)

[Angel]

I perform ultrasounds at a Crisis Pregnancy Clinic and it is powerful. Unfortunately only about 30% of the abortion minded women at our clinic decide to carry their pregnancy.

Besides the ultrasound, we have maternity homes, parenting classes and lots of resources for the women. Often informing them about the help available will show them that they can carry and be successful.

Since about 15 - 20% of pregnancies end in a miscarriage, we can save woman a lot of pain if their pregnancy wasn't viable anyway.

[rhema]

Ping

[MHGinTN]

There are now buses with ultrasound equipment and information/aid for pregnant women ... and they literally park close to abortuaries and broadcast the invitation to take a look before making a final decision. If memory serves, they are operating in New York and New Jersey, so far.

[MHGinTN]

Thank you for the ping ...

[AppyPappy]

"The women of South Carolina are fully capable of asking their doctor for information they need to make private, personal medical decisions."

Then why do so many women change their mind? Perhaps the pro-abort people lie to them.

[cpforlife.org]

Pro-Life PING

Please FreepMail me if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List.

[cpforlife.org]

1-minute GE-4D Ultrasound commercial.
http://www.cpforlife.org/HTMLobj-4225/GE_4D_Ultrasound_Commercial.rm