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Myths
surround the abortion debate
PRAISED BE JESUS
CHRIST!
(Now and Forever)
To paraphrase the 32nd president of the United States: Jan. 22, a date
that will live in infamy.
Each year as that date approaches, I urge the Catholics of Northcentral
Indiana to recognize in some way the anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade
Supreme Court decision. My voice is but one of many. Some of you speak
out, some march, some educate, some just reflect. Nonetheless, I hope,
all pray as I do daily for the end of legalized abortion.
The goods news is that the pro-life movement has grown year by year both
in members and vitality. The bad news is that unborn children continue
to be denied birth in huge numbers.
Each year approximately 1.3 million abortions take place. In the
meantime, countless women have suffered physically, emotionally and
spiritually because of abortion.
Even though abortion is a violation of human rights incomparable in
magnitude and an atrocity for the human family (statement of the United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops on the 30th anniversary of Roe
vs. Wade), it is legal in the United States throughout pregnancy. A
surprising number of people do not seem to understand that. While Roe
vs. Wade appeared to create a right with some limitations, Doe
vs. Bolton, which was decided the same day, erased those limitations
by creating a “health” exception so broad that it effectively allows
abortion for any reason at any time. The lack of any limits to legal
abortion was never more clear than in the case of Stenberg vs.
Carhart in 2000, when the Supreme Court ruled that even the horrific
partial-birth abortion procedure could not be restricted.
Many are surprised, if not shocked, to learn about the lack of any
meaningful legal limitations for abortion. In reality, a number of myths
surround the abortion issue.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for
Pro-Life Activities has a program it calls “The Second Look Project,” a
series of Roe “reality checks” (informational cards) which it
sends to members of Congress and the media. These cards highlight
abortion myths. Here are a few examples for your reflection.
Myth: Most Americans favor U.S. abortion law. Fact: Most
Americans actually oppose it. A 2005 Harris Interactive Poll claims 52
percent of Americans favor Roe vs. Wade and 47 percent oppose it.
But the poll describes Roe as “the U.S. Supreme Court decision making
abortions up to three months of pregnancy legal.” The fact is, the
courts have made abortion legal through all nine months of pregnancy. In
the same poll, 72 percent of Americans said abortion should be
illegal in the second three months of pregnancy, 86 percent said
abortion should be illegal in the last three months of pregnancy.
Even support for abortion in the first three months is open to question.
In a 2004 Zogby International poll, 61 percent of Americans said
abortion should not be permitted after the fetal heartbeat has begun.
That occurs in the first month.
Myth: The US abortion rate is relatively low. Fact: It is
among the highest of all developed countries in the world. The U.S. has
the highest abortion rate in the Western world, and the third highest of
all developed nations worldwide. A total of 3,500 induced abortions take
place every day; 24.5 percent of all U.S. pregnancies end in abortion.
That’s not a misprint. Studies indicate that one in every four
pregnancies ends in abortion.
Myth: Most American women support Roe vs. Wade. Fact:
Most do not. Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion throughout pregnancy
for virtually any reason. Yet according to a national survey of women
published by the Center for Gender Equality, only 30 percent think
abortion should be generally available. In fact, most women say abortion
should be substantially limited or never permitted: 17 percent said
abortion should never be permitted; 34 percent said abortion should be
permitted only in cases of rape, incest and to save the woman’s life.
When asked to rank 12 issues in order of importance for the women’s
movement, women ranked “keeping abortion legal” next to last.
Myth: Most abortions are done before fetal organs are
functioning. Fact: The vast majority are done after the fetal
heart has begun beating. A fetal heart begins to beat about 21 or 22
days after fertilization. Seventy-seven percent of abortions in the
United States are done well after this point.
Myth: U.S. abortion law has not encouraged the use of abortion as
a method of birth control. Fact: Nearly half of all abortions are
performed on women who have already had at least one. Forty-eight
percent of women having an abortion in the United States have had at
least one previous abortion. In some states the rate of repeat abortions
is much higher.
Myth: Roe vs. Wade empowers women to choose freely whether
abortion is their best option. Fact: Legalized abortion has made
it easy for others to pressure women into having abortions. An on-line
survey of women who had abortions shows that many women feel pressured
by the baby’s father: 85 percent of fathers offered no encouragement to
continue the pregnancy. When women said they wanted to continue the
pregnancy, the fathers’ dominant reactions were: slightly upset, 60
percent; mad, 38 percent; very angry, 43 percent; compared to “happy,”
0.7 percent. Seventy-three percent of fathers suggested an abortion. At
the same time, 80 percent of the women surveyed experienced guilt; 83
percent, regret; 79 percent, loss; 62 percent, anger; 70 percent,
depression.
Myth: If Roe vs. Wade is overturned, abortion will
automatically be illegal in the U.S. Fact: If Roe is
overturned, abortion policy will be decided through the democratic
process in each state. That’s the way it was before Roe vs. Wade.
It was Roe which declared all abortion law, even the most
liberal, unconstitutional. As a result, no state can prohibit any
abortion at any time during pregnancy. If Roe is overturned,
policy decisions about abortions will be made by the citizens of each
state through the democratic process, rather than by courts. Some states
will place limits on abortion; in others there will likely be few
limits.
There are encouraging signs. Fewer abortions are being done each year,
and fewer doctors are willing to be involved in abortion. More Americans
identify themselves as pro-life, while the numbers of those saying they
are “pro-choice” have declined significantly. Ultrasound and other
medical advances have made possible a greater appreciation of the
humanity of the unborn child. In the three decades since Roe vs. Wade,
thousands of pro-life groups, individual parishes and pregnancy resource
centers have provided practical assistance and support to thousands of
women facing difficult pregnancies. And, most state legislatures have
enacted measures to restrict or regulate the practice of abortion and
reduced its incidence.
As the late John Paul II reminded us in his powerful encyclical letter
“The Gospel of Life,” “it is impossible to further the common good
without acknowledging and defending the right to life, upon which all
other inalienable rights of individuals are founded and from which they
develop.” |
