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Abortion Fact Sheet
Abortion History:
1821 Connecticut passes the first law in the United States barring abortions after "quickening," or noticeable fetal movement.
1860 Twenty states have laws limiting abortion.
Mid 1960's Saline abortions prove extremely dangerous in Japan, Sweden, Russia, and other countries and are outlawed, but this procedure is still legal in the United States today.
1970 Alaska, Hawaii, and New York liberalize abortion laws, making abortion available at the request of a woman and her doctor.
1972 A total of 39 women die from illegal abortion complications in the United States during this year.
1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision strikes down state laws that made abortion illegal.
1973 A total of 80 women die from legal abortion--and that's only what was reported, remember, abortion is unregulated.
1992 717,706 people die from the leading cause of death, heart disease. 1,528,900 babies are aborted.
1994-1995 Nationwide trial of abortion pill RU486
1995 Norma McCorvey, AKA Jane Roe in Roe v. Wade, declares that she will spend the rest of her life fighting legalized abortion.
1999 Suction abortion is the most common type of abortion in the US.
2000 RU486, a pill containing some anticancer medication, is approved for use as an abortion pill. 2% of US test subjects had to be hospitalized due to immense bleeding.
Methods of Abortion:
Suction Aspiration (Most Common in US)
Suction aspiration, or "vacuum
curettage," is the abortion technique used in most first
trimester abortions. A powerful suction tube with a sharp cutting
edge is inserted into the womb through the dilated cervix. The
suction dismembers the body of the developing baby and tears the
placenta from the wall of the uterus, sucking blood, amniotic
fluid, placental tissue, and fetal parts into a collection
bottle. Great care must be taken to prevent the uterus from being
punctured during this procedure, which may cause hemorrhage and
necessitate further surgery. Also, infection can easily develop
if any fetal or placental tissue is left behind in the uterus.
This is the most frequent post-abortion complication.
Salt Poisoning
Otherwise known as "saline
amniocentesis," "salting out," or a
"hypertonic saline" abortion, this technique is used
after 16 weeks of pregnancy, when enough fluid has accumulated in
the amniotic fluid sac surrounding the baby. A needle is inserted
through the mother's abdomen, and about a cup of amniotic fluid
is withdrawn and replaced with a solution of concentrated salt.
The baby breathes in, swallowing the salt, and is poisoned. The
chemical solution also causes painful burning and deterioration
of the baby's skin. Usually, after about an hour, the child dies.
The mother goes into labor about 34 hours after instillation and
delivers a dead, burned, and shriveled baby. About 97% of mothers
deliver their dead babies within 72 hours. Hypertonic saline may
initiate a condition in the mother called "consumption
coagulopathy" (uncontrolled blood clotting throughout the
body) with severe hemorrhage as well as other serious side
effects on the central nervous system. Seizures, coma, or death
may also result from saline inadvertently injected into the
woman's vascular system or being absorbed through the uterus. The
complication rate of this procedure is second only to cardiac
transplantation.
RU486 (Just Approved by the FDA)
This publicized, safe, "medical
abortion" pill, may in fact be the most dangerous form of
abortion yet. It is a two-part plan. The first part denies the
developing fetus progesterone, the hormone needed to remain
attached to and nourished by the mother and attaches in the place
that progesterone normally goes (to prevent the bonding of
progesterone). The second part induces uterine contractions that
expel the dead baby. However, this is far from safe. One of the
ingredients in the first part was formerly used in fighting
cancer. This drug is so dangerous that before its legalized use
as an abortion-inducing medication it was required that doctors
whose patients were on the drug be especially trained in its use,
and that the practice be no more than an hour away from an
emergency room. But with its use as a method of abortion, most
regulations have disappeared (remember, the Roe decision outlawed
regulation of abortion). The whole process takes about a week,
during which the mother can expect to have severe pain, nausea,
and considerable, if not deadly, bleeding, and find the destroyed
baby.
Partial-Birth Abortion
This procedure is used to abort babies of women
who are 20 to 32 weeks pregnant -- or even later into pregnancy.*
Guided by ultrasound, the abortionist reaches into the uterus,
grabs the unborn baby's leg with forceps, and pulls the baby into
the birth canal, except for the head, which is deliberately kept
just inside the womb. (At this point in a partial-birth abortion,
the baby is alive and moving its limbs.) Then the abortionist
jams scissors into the back of the baby's skull and spreads the
tips of the scissors apart to enlarge the wound. After removing
the scissors, a suction catheter is inserted into the skull and
the baby's brains are sucked out. The collapsed head is then
removed from the uterus.
*Babies 23 weeks or older can survive outside the mother.
Alternatives to Abortion:
1. 250,000 US families are waiting to adopt a precious child.
2. Over 3,000 crisis pregnancy centers exist in the US alone (enough for 60 per state).
3. Many churches and other organizations have groups that help single mothers with day-to-day tasks.
4. For women scared of raising a child on their own, marriage is sometimes an option, too, or you can talk to your family for possible assistance.
What We Can Do To Help Stop Legal Abortions:
1) Become and stay informed about abortion and share your knowledge with others.
2) Write to your state government leaders and officials, editors, and the media, and call into radio talk shows to let them know how you feel.
3) Wear a "Precious Feet" pin, get a pro-Life bumper sticker for your car, or make or get pro-Life stickers for your mail (or, as I do, print out pro-Life labels on ordinary paper, cut them out, and tape/paste them to letters, bills, and all other mail).
4) Donate time, money, or items (you can buy baby/child/maternity/women's clothing at yard sales and thrift stores0, for example) to your local Crisis Pregnancy Center.
5) Make or get pro-Life fact sheets and leave them in public places such as doctors' offices, the post office, the grocery store, or inside books and magazienes, and when salespeople come to your door, give them a fact sheet on abortion.
6) Get your church involved with pro-Life activities/fundraisers/awareness.
7) Get involved with pro-Life activities and organizations, including those on the internet. (for more info go to studentsforlife.8k.com).
8) Vote For pro-Life candidates. Find out which companies are pro-Life and support them, and find out which companies support abortion and boycott them. Find the abortuary closest to you and write a letter/e-mail of disapproval. If it is in a hospital, avoid going to that hospital for your healthcare needs if possible.
9) Students: do projects and write papers about abortion. This not only exposes your teachers and classmates to the reality of abortion, but you will probably learn even more and become more able to spread the truth to others. Take the opportunity to talk about abortion at work and with friends.
10) Adopt a child or become a foster parent (or if you are not in the situation to do that, support adoption/foster care facilities). Use adoption postage stamps.