Friday, November 14, 2008

Responding to Jenn's complaints about Teen Abortion Stories

Jenn took great umbrage at my post, Teen Abortion Stories, in which I gave 13 examples of fatal abortions and 2 examples of non-fatal abortions that nevertheless were devastating to the teens and their families.

I will give you Jenn's response in its entirety, then respond point by point.

I'm sorry but these stories are absurd. You do realize that there is a risk in terms of EVERYTHING you do right? And that when you don't follow the recommended procedures, like so many of these cases didn't, chances of something going wrong increases immensely? All you also know that anesthesia in itself has a lot of risks, especially for those who have never used it. So before posting stories about girls who stopped breathing or choked, etc, make sure it's because of the actual abortion and not the anesthesia. These girls could have just as easily died having their tonsils out because of the anesthesia. Also, there is obviously an increased risk for those that are 6MONTHS pregnant! If you are 7-8weeks along and use all of the necessary precautions, your risk of complications is extremely rare, just be smart! And, obviously people who have extreme mental health issues and mental retardation SHOULD NOT be going through such a procedure. They do not have the mental capacity to fathom the results of this procedure. However, someone who goes in with a set mind with no guilt, will come out emotionally fine after the procedure. It's all about precautions!

These kinds of websites are uninformative, wrong, and COMPLETELY BIASED. Check the facts, abortion is very safe, one of the safest procedures in the country! Many girls survive this and move on with their lives just fine!


Jenn,

I'm sorry but these stories are absurd.

I'd like to see you say that to the families and friends of these girls.

You do realize that there is a risk in terms of EVERYTHING you do right?

I never said there wasn't.

So before posting stories about girls who stopped breathing or choked, etc, make sure it's because of the actual abortion and not the anesthesia.

It's not as if they'd have gratiutiously undergone the anesthesia just for kicks had they not been having the abortions, Jenn. It is the responsiblity of the abortionist to get the patient through all aspects of the procedure safely, is it not?

These girls could have just as easily died having their tonsils out because of the anesthesia.

But they weren't having their tonsils out, were they? They're not tonsillectomy deaths, they're abortion deaths.

If you are 7-8weeks along and use all of the necessary precautions, your risk of complications is extremely rare, just be smart!

Sounds like you're saying that these girls were stupid and therefore it's somehow okay that they died. I'm thinking that's not what you meant. Can you clarify?

And, obviously people who have extreme mental health issues and mental retardation SHOULD NOT be going through such a procedure. They do not have the mental capacity to fathom the results of this procedure.

It's nice to find some agreement!

However, someone who goes in with a set mind with no guilt, will come out emotionally fine after the procedure. It's all about precautions!

First of all, how are we supposed to measure the emotional well-being of the DEAD, Jenn? Second of all, what precautions is the girl supposed to take so that she doesn't end up injured or dead? Third, pretty much everybody who approaches any act "with a set mind of no guilt" sails through emotionally unscathed, and yes that includes some pretty drastic acts. We have a word for people with no capacity for guilt. It's psychopath. And I sincerely doubt that most girls climbing on the abortion table are psychopaths who can kill without guilt. Though I've had a lot of people argue with me about that.

These kinds of websites are uninformative, wrong, and COMPLETELY BIASED.

Uninformative? Did you know about these deaths before you came here? If not, then it turns out this site was very informative indeed.

Wrong? Do you mean wrong as in factually wrong? If so, please correct me. I have had people point out errors and I have gratefully corrected them. Or do you mean morally wrong, as in you believe it's evil to give people facts? Please clarify.

Biased? I've never denied that. I think that women and girls deserve better than to have some masked stranger stick sharp things inside them to kill their babies, sometimes injuring or killing the mother in the process. You're allowed to have a beef with that bias if you like.

Check the facts, abortion is very safe, one of the safest procedures in the country!

I have spent over a quarter of a century checking my facts. How much time and effort have you put into this? Did you read and abstract thousands of court records, medical board documents, health inspections, medical journal articles, and so forth? Did you spend six months contacting every state health department and vital records office to learn how abortion morbidity and mortality data are or aren't collected? Please compare your qualifications with mine.

Having put all this effort into it, I can tell you that we do not know the real risks of injury or death from abortion. If you are willing to listen, I can go into quite a bit of detail about what I have learned in 25 years of studying this subject.

Many girls survive this and move on with their lives just fine!

I never said they didn't. But likewise many teenagers survive and move on with their lives just fine after car surfing, playing chicken with trains, driving carelessly, experimenting with drugs, and so on. Do we then just look at those that survive and thrive, and write off those who suffer the negative consequences as being irrelevant?

7 comments:

Tonal Bliss said...

As always, you elequently illustrate your point Christina. I especially appreciate all of the hard-work that you have put into this research. Most people believe the lie that abortions prior to legalizations were done largely by those that were not doctors.

Let the facts be known! Thanks for your work.

Anonymous said...

I thank you too and realize that this must not be very "fun" for you. Nor easy....

Anonymous said...

Wow, you do lots of work to document these horrible tragedies. Thanks for that. I hope you have some impact on people who continue to delude themselves that this thing is acceptable.

Anonymous said...

i agree with jenn 100%.
all this stuff you post, its just the same as other procedures that people go to and there are same risks of something going wrong.

Ladybug said...

Anon #2,
Only the standards for abortion care are lower and pro-choice advocates fight tooth and nail against health and safety regulations which would protect women, in the name of abortion rights and access.

Christina Dunigan said...

rachael, I did a piece here about how abortion advocacy organizations sacrifice the safety of real, live women in order to protect the potential choices of hypothetical women of the future.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful pages! Keep up the great work.