DANGERS OF LEGAL ABORTION

Although one often hears slogans about "safe, legal abortion," all too

many women have discovered to their sorrow that abortion, even legal

abortion, is far from "safe."

According to Herbert Ratner, M.D., five to ten

percent of women who undergo abortion will never be able to

achieve pregnancy or carry a child to term, which is obviously a

devastating blow to many women.

An infection in the fallopian tubes can cause blockage of scar tissue

that renders a woman barren. The infection can also cause a serious

condition called Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID), which entails

severe, chronic pain. Sometimes a hysterectomy is necessary; in some

cases, an emergency pan-hysterectomy must be performed in which all of

the woman's reproductive organs, including the ovaries, must be

removed.

 

SURGEON OPERATES BLIND

Unlike most other surgeons, the abortionist works "in the dark" by

feel alone. Not being able to see what he is doing, he is obviously

at a disadvantage. Sometimes the abortionist uses a sharp, knife-like

scraping tool; other times, he uses a high-powered suction machine.

For most early abortions, a suction device is attached to a vacuum

pump that is 29 times more powerful than the average home vacuum

cleaner.

Danger is ever present. The suction can easily puncture the wall of

the uterus and damage the intestines and other visceral organs. Some

women have bled to death from visceral damage; others have been saved

by emergency surgery but must go through life with a colostomy. Safe,

legal abortion?

August of 1986, a woman (Jane Doe) had an abortion at the Dayton

Women's Health Center. Bleeding profusly, she was rushed by

ambulance from the abortion center to a hospital. In emergency

surgery the physicians discovered that "the entire front of her uterus

was blown away."

 

 

HORRIBLE DISCOVERY

The surgeons removed the damaged uterus, but before closing the

surgical wound, one of the physicians explored her abdominal cavity

with his hand. Behind her liver he found the decapitated head of a

24-week-old unborn child. The abortion center is nervous about a

possible lawsuit stemming from this case.

Early in 1987, another woman (Jane Roe) had an abortion at the Dayton

Women's Center. Several days after the abortion she went to a

hospital emergency room in septic shock. Her condition was critical.

Physicians immediately operated and found parts of the aborted child

that the abortionist had failed to remove. The felt they probably

could not save her.

But the physicians were able to bring the infection under control.

Nevertheless, the woman's body was devastated by the pervasive sepsis.

She had to have her feet and lower arms amputated.

The cervix is the muscular ring at the neck of the womb. This muscle

is designed to open from the inside out, during childbirth. The

abortionist must stretch this muscle unnaturally from the outside in.

This unnatural opening often ruins the cervix, which makes it

impossible for the woman to carry another pregnancy to term.

 

PSYCHOLOGICAL DAMAGE

Although the physical complications of abortion can be devastating,

the psychological damage is perhaps even worse. Some women who have

had an abortion find they cannot look a baby in the eye. Some dread

the sound of an ordinary home vacuum cleaner because it reminds them

of the sound of the abortion vacuum machine. Some block out the guilt

of the abortion through excessive use of alcohol, over-eating, or

abuse of Valium or other drugs.

Some women may feel a sense of relief after the abortion, but the

guilt will probably be felt, off and on, for the rest of their lives.

It is common for an aborted woman to wonder whether her child was a

boy or girl; she will calculate what would have been the baby's

birthday, year after year for the rest of her life.

If she is unable to achieve pregnancy or carry a child to term, the

guilt and remorse are intensified. Suicidal tendencies are not

uncommon.

One woman who had an abortion was troubled by the same nightmare over

and over again. In her dream, she was running down the streets of the

city, frantically looking for her baby. When she woke up, she knew

the baby she was looking for in the dream was the one she had killed.

 

ABORTIONISTS ADMIT DANGERS

Abortion is obviously hazardous, and few women make it through the

procedure unscathed. Abortionist Warren Hern of Boulder, Colorado,

one of the most experienced abortionists in the country, addressed a

meeting of the National Abortion Federation (NAF) in Dallas in 1981.

Hern said, "It's impossible to do a sterile abortion." He said that

even "after my I-don't-know-how-many-thousandth abortion," he still

occasionally experiences a complication. "No matter how good you

are," he asserted, "there is a danger of retained tissue."

At the meeting, abortionist Phillip Stubblefield warned of the

"danger" that the abortion movement may leave a "legacy of

prematurity and miscarriage."

At the 1982 NAF meeting in Minneapolis, abortionist Philip Darney

cautioned his colleagues to be aware of "the relative position of

your instruments...(because) these instruments can inflict

considerable damage on the pelvic viscera."

NAF held its 1983 meeting in New Orleans. Feminist Cindy Pearson,

who runs the Feminist Women's Health Center in San Diego, addressed

this meeting and admitted to a complication rate as high as eight

percent.

Lawsuits for medical malpractice and physical damage are common, and

the courts are starting to see more lawsuits about psychological

damage.

******** Postabortive Legal Action for Women 1-800-962-2319 ********

If you or someone you know has been injured by legal abortion, please

call this number. These people can put you in touch with a lawyer and

work on getting you compensation for your injury. Malpractice lawyers

are quite willing to talk to you free of charge; if they decide to take

your case, you will not be charged a fee unless the lawyer wins your

case and you collect an award.

 

IF YOU ARE INJURED BY YOUR ABORTION

You may be entitled to a settlement or award for injuries you suffer in

abortion.

Legal abortion is often followed by physical complications and even more

by emotional complications. If you have been injured by legal abortion,

you have the right to copies of your abortion records. You have the

right to seek counsel of an attorney who may be able to sue this clinic,

its administration and owners and the employees of this clinic for

damages to your body.

If you or someone you know develop any of the following problems, call

1-800-962-2319. Personnel at this number can advise you to seek more

medical attention and can refer you to lawyers who are familiar with

cases of abortion malpractice, negligence, and fraud.

SOME PHYSICAL COMPLICATIONS OF ABORTION ARE:

Amniotic fluid embolism Failed abortion

Perforation of bladder Anesthesia reaction

Perforation of the bowel Brain damage

Genital tract infection Collapsed lung

Perforation of the uterus Hemorrhage

Peritonitis Damage to womb

Incomplete abortion Postabortion syndrome

Ectopic pregnancy Punctured vagina

Incomplete separation of placenta Embolism

Infection Shock

Kidney failure Injury to cervix

Sterility Pulmonary edema

Kidney loss and damage Respiratory arrest

Loss of sleep Retained placenta

Trauma of reproductive tract Metabolic complications

Unintended major surgery Anuria

Multiple organ loss Urinary tract infection

Bladder damage Myocardial infarction

Bleeding Ovary loss

Cervical trauma Intense pain

Cervical adhesions and stenosis Amenorrhea

Cervical incompetence General complications

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

If you have suffered or are suffering from any of the above or are

suffering from emotional problems, or do not think you were given

adequate information regarding abortion call 1-800-62-2319.

ALL INQUIRIES ARE CONFIDENTIAL

Abortion-rights groups are approaching other organizations -- many of

which should logically have nothing to do with abortion -- to form a

broad-based coalition of support. Labor unions have been hard hit for

support, which ahs been forthcoming from the following unions (most of

which are AFL-CIO related):

American Postal Workers Union

Communication Workers of America

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees

National Education Association

Association of Professional Flight Attendants

Oregon AFL-CIO

Minnesota AFL-CIO

Oil and Chemical Atomic Workers

Service Employees International Union

Writers Guild of America

United Auto Workers

Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union

American Federation of Government Employees

American Nurses Association

International Ladies Garment Workers Union

Sacramento AFL-CIO

International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried Machine

and Furniture Workers

United Food and Commercial Workers Union

 

Other groups working with abortion-rights activists include the:

Alan Guttmacher Institute

American Association of University Women

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

American Medical Association

American Psychiatric Association

American Psychological Association

American Public Health Association

American Veterans Committee

Black Women's Agenda

National Association of Public Hospitals

National Association of Social Workers

National Coalition of American Nuns

National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs

National Lawyers Guild

National Urban League

Newspaper Guild

Presbyterian Church of the USA

Union of American Hebrew Congregations

Sierra Club

Unitarian Universalist Association

United Methodist Church

If you have any influence with any of these groups, you should strongly

object to their abortion advocacy.

Pro-Life groups have attempted to keep up. While pro-life groups cannot

hope to compete on a financial level ... [all have reported decreased

funding since the Webster decision] ... they have increased their

pressure on politicians in order to counter the activity of pro-abortion

groups.

---

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