What has Roe done?
On January 22, 1973, 7 men on the U.S. Supreme Court struck down more than 30 state bans on abortion, and legalized abortion in all 9 months of pregnancy, for whatever reason, across the United States. Regardless of whether you know their names, these historic decisions, Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, have affected your life. Abortion advocates argue that legal abortion is necessary for women’s liberation, but what has Roe really done for us?
Consider just the impact that abortion has on a woman’s health:
In reality, it is the abortion industry that benefits most from Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. For example, Planned Parenthood, America’s Abortion Goliath, committed almost 334,000 [v] abortions in 2011, their largest total ever. From those abortions, they made an estimated $151 million dollars, almost half of their health services revenue. And Planned Parenthood has mandated that each of its affiliates are required to commit abortions and meet abortion quotas. [vi] For additional information on how Planned Parenthood profits off of you, see ASU Students for Life's Planned Parenthood Project.
Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton have left more than 40 years of devastation in their wake. Legalizing abortion did not help women. The pro-abortion scare tactics that thousands of women will die when abortion is made illegal are false. The majority of pre-Roe abortions were not committed in back-alleys and the abortion industry has admitted that it made up the myth that tens of thousands of women died every year from illegal abortion. When abortion is illegal again, there will not be an epidemic of women dying from abortion.
There is nothing safe about legal abortion. Abortion will always be dangerous for women and bad for their health. Roe has done nothing to change that. Legal abortion has not made abortion clean or safe. Abortionists like Kermit Gosnell and Douglas Karpen are butchering women in dirty facilities. They are the norm for the abortion industry, not the exceptions. Legal abortion enables men to cover up abuse of women and coerce them into having abortions. We need to be offering real support and options for women experiencing crisis pregnancies. Ask yourself these questions:
Consider just the impact that abortion has on a woman’s health:
- Suicide rates among aborting women are 6 times higher compared to those who give birth and 2 times higher compared to those have a miscarriage. [i]
- Abortion increases the risk of placenta previa in later pregnancies by 30%. (Placenta Previa can lead to life-threatening hemorrhages before and after birth.) [ii]
- Abortion increases the risk for breast cancer. (At least 53 out of 68 worldwide studies demonstrate this fact. One of the most prominent of these was conducted by the U.S. National Cancer Institute, which found that the risk of breast cancer was 50% higher among those who had an abortion.) [iii]
- Increased risk for pre-term delivery in future pregnancies. (Pre-term delivery significantly increases the risk of infant death and disabilities such as cerebral palsy.) [iv]
In reality, it is the abortion industry that benefits most from Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. For example, Planned Parenthood, America’s Abortion Goliath, committed almost 334,000 [v] abortions in 2011, their largest total ever. From those abortions, they made an estimated $151 million dollars, almost half of their health services revenue. And Planned Parenthood has mandated that each of its affiliates are required to commit abortions and meet abortion quotas. [vi] For additional information on how Planned Parenthood profits off of you, see ASU Students for Life's Planned Parenthood Project.
Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton have left more than 40 years of devastation in their wake. Legalizing abortion did not help women. The pro-abortion scare tactics that thousands of women will die when abortion is made illegal are false. The majority of pre-Roe abortions were not committed in back-alleys and the abortion industry has admitted that it made up the myth that tens of thousands of women died every year from illegal abortion. When abortion is illegal again, there will not be an epidemic of women dying from abortion.
There is nothing safe about legal abortion. Abortion will always be dangerous for women and bad for their health. Roe has done nothing to change that. Legal abortion has not made abortion clean or safe. Abortionists like Kermit Gosnell and Douglas Karpen are butchering women in dirty facilities. They are the norm for the abortion industry, not the exceptions. Legal abortion enables men to cover up abuse of women and coerce them into having abortions. We need to be offering real support and options for women experiencing crisis pregnancies. Ask yourself these questions:
In Memoriam
For a list of women who were killed while having a legal abortion in the United States since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion, click here.
Virtual Tour
Citations
[i] Gissler M, Hemminki E, Lonnqvist J., Suicides after Pregnancy in Finland, 1987-94: Register Linkage Study, British Medical Journal. 313:1431 (1996).
[ii] J.M. Thorp et al., Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence, OBSTET. & GYNECOL. SURVEY 58(1): 75 (2003).
[iii] American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, ABC Link: Induced abortion and Subsequent Breast Cancer (2010), available at www.aaplog.org/complications-of-induced-abortion/induced-abortion-and-breast-cancer/abc-link/. J.R .Daling, et al., Risk of Breaset Cancer Among Young Women: Relationship to Induced Abortion, 86 J. NAT’L CANCER INST. 1584-92 (1994). J. Brind et al., Induced Abortion as an Independent Risk Factor for Breast Cancer: A Comprehensive Review and Meta- Analysis, 50 BRIT. J. EPIDEMIOLOGY & COMMUNITY HEALTH 481-96 (1996).
[iv] J.M. Thorp et al., Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence, OBSTET. & GYNECOL. SURVEY 58(1): 75 (2003). W.M. Callaghan, The Contribution of Preterm Birth to Infant Mortality Rates in the U.S., PEDIATRICS 118(4): 1566 (Oct. 2006); B. Rooney & B.C. Calhoun, Induced Abortion and Risk of Later Premature Births, J. AM. PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS 8(2): 46, 46-27 (2003).
[v] Planned Parenthood Federation of America 2011-2012 Annual Report:http://issuu.com/actionfund/docs/ppfa_ar_2012_121812_vf/3
[vi] Johnson, Abby. The Hill, “Exposing the Planned Parenthood business model,” April 4, 2011:http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/153699-exposing-the-planned-parenthood-business-model.
[ii] J.M. Thorp et al., Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence, OBSTET. & GYNECOL. SURVEY 58(1): 75 (2003).
[iii] American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, ABC Link: Induced abortion and Subsequent Breast Cancer (2010), available at www.aaplog.org/complications-of-induced-abortion/induced-abortion-and-breast-cancer/abc-link/. J.R .Daling, et al., Risk of Breaset Cancer Among Young Women: Relationship to Induced Abortion, 86 J. NAT’L CANCER INST. 1584-92 (1994). J. Brind et al., Induced Abortion as an Independent Risk Factor for Breast Cancer: A Comprehensive Review and Meta- Analysis, 50 BRIT. J. EPIDEMIOLOGY & COMMUNITY HEALTH 481-96 (1996).
[iv] J.M. Thorp et al., Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence, OBSTET. & GYNECOL. SURVEY 58(1): 75 (2003). W.M. Callaghan, The Contribution of Preterm Birth to Infant Mortality Rates in the U.S., PEDIATRICS 118(4): 1566 (Oct. 2006); B. Rooney & B.C. Calhoun, Induced Abortion and Risk of Later Premature Births, J. AM. PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS 8(2): 46, 46-27 (2003).
[v] Planned Parenthood Federation of America 2011-2012 Annual Report:http://issuu.com/actionfund/docs/ppfa_ar_2012_121812_vf/3
[vi] Johnson, Abby. The Hill, “Exposing the Planned Parenthood business model,” April 4, 2011:http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/153699-exposing-the-planned-parenthood-business-model.
Additional Sources
| WhatHasRoeDone_Sources.pdf |
Material prepared by Students of Life of America. Used with permission.
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