8 key myths about abortion
The Dobbs Supreme Court decision in June which overturned Roe v. Wade, notes Ob-gyn, Ingrid Skop, “has sent abortion advocates and their allies in the media scurrying to strike fear into the hearts of women.” Just last Tuesday, the White House held a meeting to see how they could further promote abortion in America.
But much of the abortion debate essentially centers around eight key myths about the abortion procedure:
Myth # 1: The Dobbs case will cause women to die for lack of abortions.
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I spoke with the above-mentioned Dr. Skop on a radio segment. She has delivered more than 5,000 babies and serves as a senior fellow and director of medical affairs at Charlotte Lozier Institute, a pro-life organization. She wrote an op-ed exploding this myth.
Says Dr. Skop: “An ectopic pregnancy happens when an embryo implants outside of the uterus, usually in the fallopian tube, and the fetus has no chance of survival to a live birth ... As soon as it’s diagnosed, physicians will treat an ectopic pregnancy because the mother’s life is at risk, a routine obstetric procedure that is not jeopardized by Dobbs. This is lifesaving medical care. It is not an elective abortion.”
Myth # 2: Abortion does not kill a human being.
Recently, Whoopi Goldberg said that abortion is needed to remove that “toxic thing” inside women. But we were all once that “toxic thing.” How dehumanizing. Similarly, one abortion clinic nurse said that the unborn babies are just “pieces of goo.”
But Carol Everett disagrees. She’s a former abortion worker (and part owner of some abortion facilities). She once told me, “In the front counseling room, the young woman is asking, ‘Is it a baby?’ And she’s being told, ‘No.’ But in the back, every single baby, as early as it can be done, has to be put back together — the arms, legs, hands, feet, the head, and the spine — to be sure it’s all there. It is a baby.” (Anything left inside can cause an infection.)
Myth # 3: Life begins when a baby is born.
Danielle D’Souza Gill, the daughter of Dinesh D’Souza, wrote a book in 2020, entitled, The Choice: The Abortion Divide in America.
She addresses this and other myths in a radio segment she did with me: “They always act as if ‘poof’ — the baby has exited the womb. Now it’s a person. And that really makes no sense because moments before it’s born versus moments after it’s born, really make no difference. We’re really just talking about a matter of location.”
Myth # 4: Even if it’s technically a human life, the fetus doesn’t feel anything or know what’s happening anyway.
Gill explodes this canard: “The baby in the womb actually has more consciousness, more brain waves than a comatose person … It does feel pain and releases cortisone and the same stress hormones we release, even in the first trimester, when it’s under duress, when we’re trying to abort it.”
Myth # 5: Abortion is a safe and simple procedure.
Gill answers: “First of all, we have to ask: For whom? Obviously, it’s not safe for the child ... They like to act as if it’s an everyday nothing — like removing a polyp. But in reality, your body is going to fight back against that because the woman’s body is designed to protect that life and protect that fetus.”
Myth # 6: Abortion is necessary in order for women to fully control their own bodies.
Gill responds: “They like to say, ‘My body, my choice.’ And I would say to them, ‘Sure, you can do whatever you want with your body, but we’re talking about another human’s body. It’s another human’s body that you’re trying to mutilate. And it’s another person’s heartbeat you’re stopping.”
Myth # 7: We must have legal abortions because of rape and incest (leaving people with the impression they comprise most abortions).
Dr. Chuck Donovan, president of the above-mentioned Charlotte Lozier Institute, says the data shows that abortions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother comprise less than 1% of all abortions.
Myth # 8: The mother has no option but to give birth and keep her baby.
Donovan told me in a radio interview that safe harbor/safe haven laws exist in one form or another in all 50 states and in the District of Columbia. Within 30 days of delivering a baby, that baby can be brought over in a box or basket to a local fire department or police department and be dropped off, no questions asked, no charges filed.
The Declaration of Independence says our rights come from the Creator and the first of these is the right to life. After a half-century of the abortion ethic, we have a lot of lost ground cherishing that right. Exploding myths that promote abortion is a step in the right direction.
Jerry Newcombe, D.Min., is the executive director of the Providence Forum, an outreach of D. James Kennedy Ministries, where Jerry also serves as senior producer and an on-air host. He has written/co-written 33 books, including George Washington’s Sacred Fire (with Providence Forum founder Peter Lillback, Ph.D.) and What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? (with D. James Kennedy, Ph.D.). www.djkm.org? @newcombejerry www.jerrynewcombe.com
