OPINION:
Gaslighting is the word of the year, but can we talk about how we have been gaslighted on abortion for the last 40 years? With Roe in 1973, the argument was to legalize abortion so that women aren’t dying in back alleys. Then in the ‘90s, as Bill Clinton coined it, abortion should be “safe, legal, and rare,” to the mid-‘00s, when “abortion is health care” became the mantra.
As we celebrate the birth of Jesus in the knowledge that Roe has been cast to the ash heap of history, we do so knowing there are nearly 1 million lives missing due to abortion this year alone — and nearly 400,000 of those are Black lives. Some may believe Roe was overturned due to those pesky pro-lifers that just wouldn’t let up on caring about babies being slaughtered — but in actuality, it was a combination of this and the fact that the abortion industry has just flat-out proved to hate women.
The argument for legal abortions used to be to protect women from the aforementioned back-alley abortions. Still, over half of all abortions are back-alley-like, where a woman takes a few pills to “self-manage” her abortion, bleeds out for a few days, risks hemorrhaging and infections, sees the bloody remains of her child in the toilet or shower and is told to take a few ibuprofens and feel empowered.
For over 20 years, these legal chemical “coat hangers” have racked up over 4,000 adverse events, including deaths. We’re talking about women hemorrhaging to the point of needing blood transfusions and hospitalizations, and this is only what’s been reported to the Food and Drug Administration. What we do know is that emergency room visits have spiked over 500% due to this DIY abortion method.
Although the pill carries four times the lethal risk to women than surgical abortion, it is more lucrative and cheaper for the abortion industry. By shifting liability to the woman with a pill, they lower their overhead cost of facilities and staff while doubling their intake if she’s part of the 10% incompletion rate of the pill.
Ironically, abortion bill titles typically include the word “care” but always find a way to lower care for women, From not requiring a licensed physician, not being physically examined, not requiring admitting privileges to hospitals in case of emergency complications, and even failing health inspections when and if they are inspected at all, the abortion mill industry is medieval. Any former Supreme Court attempt to right these conditions was struck down.
An overwhelming majority of women feel pressured to choose abortion to make others happy and often choose it for the convenience of partners, sexual abusers, coaches, academia, Hollywood and corporate interests. Abortion only makes things easier for everyone around her.
Concurrently, abortion is demonstrably linked to adverse mental health such as post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide, depression, emotional dysregulation, panic attacks, substance abuse, and outward risky behaviors.
At the heart of the pro-life movement is being pro-woman. The demand from women has been for real care and practical resources, and this is why pregnancy resource centers continue to outnumber abortion clinics 3 to 1.
We need a society that values motherhood and builds strong families, where abortion is replaced with state-paid family leave, child tax credits, incentives for marriage and an efficacious adoption system. This is what the country of Hungary did to invest in families, which makes for a stronger society. The Texas Heartbeat Act, coupled with $100 million in their statewide Alternatives to Abortion program, showed that Texas was not concerned with being pro-birth but pro-woman.
Nearly 80% of abortions occur at or before nine weeks, and there are 22 states that protect life from conception to six weeks with certain exceptions, and seven of these states have courts challenging the will of the people. The billion-dollar abortion industry is losing money, so Planned Parenthood and two-time failed gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who receive their campaign donations, gaslight, saying a heartbeat is “manufactured,” but science proves otherwise.
First, we were told, “it’s just a clump of cells,” only to find that they were selling baby body parts. We survived all this gaslighting around abortion as a society not just because of scientific advancements, but because those who believed in the humanity of the unborn refused to be manipulated out of having a conscience.
So, cheers to you as we close 2022, leave Roe behind us, and aim for a future that actually loves women.
• Patrina Mosley is a member of the Project 21 Black leadership network and the founder of PPM Consulting.
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