Abortion: Challenged to Speak Pro-Life Without the Bible, Part 2

Argument #6: "We shouldn't let deformed babies be born."
Doctors can now perform in-womb surgeries to correct some defects at gestation periods as low as 20 weeks.

In 1999, photographer Michael Clancy was hired by USA Today to photograph a ground-breaking in-womb procedure on a baby at 21 weeks' gestation. A sonogram showed that Samuel Armas was going to be born with spina bifida. But surgery was performed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to correct the defect. Armas was then carried by his mother for a normal remaining pregnancy.

During the surgery, a C-section incision was made and the baby was re-positioned in the womb for proper access. The baby's tiny but fully formed fingers can be seen around the doctor's finger. Clancy's photo capturing this event has been widely circulated (1).

Some people say the story is a myth. See the photo and entire story here at Clancy's website. As of later interviews when Armas was three years old, he had no physical or mental encumbrances except for having to wear leg braces (2).

Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop has described a baby girl he operated on to correct a defect called an "omphalocele" - a huge sac containing the baby's organs that was bigger than the baby's head. Years later, this baby became the head nurse in his intensive care unit (3).

Argument #7: "The pro-choice movement protects women."
There's no doubt that the majority of pro-choice people have great intentions and believe this protects women. But the actions of those actually providing the services may sometimes be questionable. Poor sanitation at abortion clinics threatens women's safety.Research shows that abortion clinics have lower sanitation requirements than veterinary hospitals.

I was present as a reporter at a 2003 testimony before the Florida House Subcommittee on Health Standards. Dr. Randy Armstrong, a Tampa obstetrician and gynecologist, stated that he cares for as many as ten women per monthwith complications from [unsanitary legal] abortions (4a).

Yet, before the same subcommittee, representatives from the Florida Chapters of Planned Parenthood and the National Organization for Women opposed the need for more cleanliness legislation (4b). Why would they oppose these safety measures?

As a former crisis pregnancy center volunteer, it is my experience that the phrase "pro-choice" itself is ironic. When working with post-abortive women or women in a second unwanted pregnancy, the remark I heard most often was: "I felt I had no choice."
-Some felt pressured into abortion by other people or their own financial circumstances.
-Some stated they would have chosen otherwise if different options had been presented.
-Some were still hoping for other options while at the abortion clinic in a confused state of mind, but didn't get any (abortion clinics in many states continually fight against being required to show ultrasounds or present options such as adoption).

Going back to Everett's "Blood Money", she reveals being paid $25.00 for each abortion she sold when she
worked for other clinics: "We did not discuss alternatives to abortion. Our counselors were paid generously to sell a product, and that's what they did" (5).

Argument #8: "The pro-life movement condones violence against abortion clinics."
This is one place we must approach a biblical principle: True Christians do not condone vigilante violence or murder. They believe that any vengeance or retribution should come from God alone. Just because a few demented people who claim to be followers of Christ have unfortunately committed violence against abortion workers and clinics doesn't mean Christians approve of this. That generalization must stop.

Yes, violence against clinics and the murdering of abortion doctors is horrible. But a handful of violent occurrences over the years doesn't approach the enormity of more than 45 million unborn babies to date.

Argument #9: "A woman's body is her own. It's between her and her God, and she needs an unencumbered chance in life."
It might be between her and her God, but without knowing some of these facts, she will not be armed with all her decision-making capabilities.

Aside from rape or date rape, incest and spousal abuse, a person's real choice for their life path - male or female - may come with saying "NO" to sex. But teenagers and single adults experience great peer pressure to have illicit relations. It is glorified in movies and TV, and liberal sex educators advise them to "try sex out to discover who they are."

As a result, the latest trend is "hooking up" which takes place in middle school through college. Students are forsaking dating for group activities, after which one of the group approaches another to "hook up" (have sex with no strings). With condoms touted in sex education classes as the next best invention to the wheel, this has increased pregnancies and STD's.

Forced abortions have come to light here in the United States. This certainly takes away from "a woman's body being her own". But the courts have failed to fault abortion doctors. Here are two cases from the last few years:

An Eleventh Circuit Court case revolved around a woman who had a change of heart when placed on the abortion table. As the doctor began probing with instruments, she asked him to stop and let her get up. Instead, the doctor held her down with aid from nurses and completed the abortion, making a mistake that injured her intestines. The court ruled in favor of the doctor and the clinic (6).

A 25 year old Maryland woman, four months pregnant, changed her mind in the procedure room. She ran back to the clinic entrance where her boyfriend stopped her, stating he'd already paid for the abortion. Three clinic workers and the abortionists surrounded the women, sedated her by injection, and then took her back into the procedure room. After the forced abortion, she awoke in a closet (7).

Argument #10: "A lady named Jane Roe started it all."
Norma McCorvey, the "Jane Roe" in Roe v. Wade, now speaks out against abortion. The fact that McCorvey has become a Christian often automatically discredits her, but that doesn't take away the true facts of her original case:

In 1969, pregnant and desperate, she sought refuge with an attorney from a women's rights group that was already lobbying for legal abortion. McCorvey admits lying that she was raped to cover up her shame of pregnancy, but thought the lawyer went into court just to get her a safe abortion at a medical facility. She wasn't told her case was being used to get abortion legalized nationally.She didn't know much of what went on in the courtroom, and she never even had the abortion. Roe v. Wade was based on a charade.

Footnotes:
1 - Photographer Michael Clancy's recounting of the events and photo, www.michaelclancy.com/story.html, retrieved 3/7/06. Or at World Net Daily: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=17801, retrieved 3/24/09.
2 - Update on Samuel Armas: http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1012548/posts.
3 - Drs. Romer, Smith, Cook and DeCook, "Partial Birth Abortion is Bad Medicine," New York NY: Wall Street Journal, Sept. 19, 1996. Portions found in Official Record, U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee, March 7, 2003.
4 a,b - Florida House of Representatives Subcommittee on Health Standards, April 10, 2003. View PDF file to see proponents and opponents: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?PublicationType=Committees&CommitteeId=2124&Session=2003&DocumentType=Action%20Packets&FileName=1598.pdf.
5 - Carol Everett with Jack Shaw, Blood Money, Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Press Books, Questar Publishing, c. 1992. Back cover quote.
6 - United States District Court Middle District Of Florida, Orlando Division, Deposition Testimony Of William P. Egherman, M.D., August 28, 2002: Jane Roe, Ii, Plaintiff, Vs. Aware Women Center For Choice, Inc., Edward W. Windle, Jr.,Patricia B. Windle, William P. Egherman, M.D., Defendants; Case No.: 6:99-Cv-850-Orl-19krs.
7 - "Forced Abortions Legal in USA - Court of Appeals Rules", cited from Population Research Institute, Front Royal, VA., PRI Weekly Briefing 2/27/04 Vol. 6 / No. 8. http://www.pop.org/main.cfm?id=215&r1=2.00&r2=1.50&r3=0.05&r4=0.00&level=3&eid=543, retrieved 11/28/07.

Other: Norma McCorvey, Won by Love, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, c. 1997.

Portions of Part 1 and Part 2 of this Article are reprinted from Sheryl Young's original article in the Florida Baptist Witness Newspaper, January, 2008.