Ethicist sees strategy for making abortion illegal & unthinkable
by Tammi Ledbetter Vol. XI, No. 10, Nov/Dec 1998
With evidence that abortion is inherently injurious to the physical, psychological, social, familial, and spiritual health of women, a biomedical ethicist believes abortion can be made not simply illegal, but unthinkable. A "healing" strategy on the issue of abortion in America is being advanced by David C. Reardon, director of the Elliot Institute, Springfield, IL, which has focused on post-abortion research and education for the past 12 years.
In his book, Making Abortion Rare, Reardon contends nonjudgmental love for those who have had abortions is the key to ending abortion among this and future generations. Reardon, who addressed the newly formed Women At Risk organization's initial national conference Aug. 7-8 in St. Louis, sees the pro-life movement as having concentrated on "dispelling the lie that abortion only destroys an inconsequential bunch of cells, not a human life." Attention now needs to be focused what he calls the second lie that "abortion is safe, and it helps women control and improve their lives."
Much of his research and proposals can be found at the Elliot Institute's site on the Internet, www.afterabortion.org. In addition, he offers a comprehensive list of post-abortion counseling groups and other resources, including those of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
The 1973 Supreme Court case which legalized abortion was based on the premise "the states no longer had any need to regulate abortion because the advances of modern medicine had now made abortion ‘relatively safe,’" Reardon recounts, adding abortion was viewed by the justices as a health service provided to women.
If abortion is ever recognized as dangerous to the health of women, Reardon states the national policy toward abortion could then be re-evaluated. With more than 1.5 million women undergoing abortions each year, he finds "just cause for governments to regulate or prohibit abortion in order to protect their citizens." Reardon points to many studies of the aftereffects of abortion which "paint a haunting picture of physical and psychological damage among millions of women who have undergone abortions."
While 10 percent of women undergoing induced abortion suffer from immediate complications that range in severity from minor infections to endotoxic shock, Reardon notes sterility is a possible ultimate outcome, a condition experienced by 3 to 5 percent of women having abortions. Other long-term complications include the increased likelihood of ectopic pregnancies, as well as cervical damage, a condition twice as likely to affect women under 17.
"Families of pregnant teens need to be told that over 90 percent of women having abortions suffer damage to their self-esteem," Reardon states. "Nearly 50 percent of post-abortion women begin to increase drug and alcohol abuse. In the years to follow, 60 percent experience suicidal tendencies, with up to 28 percent actually attempting suicide."
Since more than half of women who suffer post-abortion trauma report they were forced by others into unwanted abortion, Reardon sees the critical task to be educating these "others" about abortion's risks. "By encouraging abortion, these 'significant others' are actually hurting the loved ones whom they are trying to help." Reardon points to a major study of first-pregnancy abortions which revealed 48 percent of women experienced abortion-related complications in later pregnancies. Women in this group experienced 2.3 miscarriages for every one live birth. Yet another researcher found among teenagers who aborted their first pregnancies, 66 percent subsequently experienced miscarriages or premature birth of their second "wanted" pregnancies.
Premature births, complications of labor and abnormal development can occur in subsequent pregnancies, and women who have had abortions face a 58 percent greater risk of dying during a later pregnancy, studies reveal, according to Reardon.
The best available data indicates on average there is a five- to 10-year period of denial during which a woman who was traumatized by her abortion will repress her feelings, Reardon reports. "During this time, the woman may go to great lengths to avoid people, situations, or events which she associates with her abortion and she may even become vocally defensive of abortion in order to convince others, and herself, she made the right choice and is satisfied with the outcome. In reality, these women who are subsequently identified as having been severely traumatized, have failed to reach a true state of 'closure' with regard to their experiences."
Ultimately, Reardon wants to mend the divisions and heal the hurts between those who oppose abortion and those who have had abortions. By pointing to evidence that many women felt pressured into abortion and saw no alternative for their circumstances, Reardon hopes to draw Americans together in the abortion debate with a mutual concern for women. Once people realize the heartache which women face after having abortions, they can assist in making others aware of post-abortion counseling. When the subject of abortion arises in a conversation, Reardon advises people to acknowledge new awareness of why some people choose abortion and how it affects them, carefully avoiding any condemnation.
He proposes concerned individuals speak of new programs that "help women and men find freedom from the burdens of secrecy and shame associated with past abortions. This can be done without soliciting an admission of a past abortion," Reardon says, because "doing so will probably be seen as unwanted prying and will be counterproductive. It is enough to simply cover these three points during a casual conversation."
Reardon expects some will ask for more information, but at the very least such comments will plant a seed of compassion toward those who have had abortions, but are afraid to seek counseling. "Those who have had abortions now know that you are someone who can understand and empathize with their feelings, and moreover, that you may know more about how to find healing," Reardon continues. "By developing understanding, compassion, and hope surrounding this issue in millions of women and men, including both those who have had abortions and those who have not, we can quickly create a much more loving and healing environment for those who are burdened by a past abortion." [BP]
[Note: I have visited www.afterabortion.org and found it clear and easy to use. Write down its address. Someone you know may need it some day. TCP]