By Judie Brown
Over the years, many pundits have argued that if the pro-life movement succeeds in shutting down Planned Parenthood it would effectively take away the option of seeking an abortion from many poor women, consequently making them poorer. This liberal, progressive argument is based on the inaccurate assumption that the way to solve poverty is to kill the children of the poor. Such thinking is classic Margaret Sanger-speak.
In recent years, gender gap politics has renewed this old argument and given it a fresh twist, thanks to the Progressive Congress’ recent attention to abortion and the poor. The Progressive Congress cosponsored an event with the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the subject of which was the alleged “undeniable piece of the gender-wage-gap problem: the rarely discussed link between reproductive-health-care access and a woman’s wealth.”
In other words, without access to abortion, poor women will just get poorer.
According to a recent report, “Abortion access and a woman’s potential wealth are inextricably linked: A recent study of 1,000 women seeking abortions found a ‘profound’ connection between lack of abortion access and the effects on a woman’s life. Forty percent of respondents wanted an abortion for financial reasons, and women who ended up keeping unwanted pregnancies were more likely to live in poverty.”
In 2012 when this study was underway, one reporter wrote:
A year after the event, the women who were turned away from an abortion were more likely to rely on government assistance, more likely to be living beneath the poverty line, and less likely to have a full-time job than the women in the study who had obtained abortions. They also registered more anxiety a week after they were denied an abortion and reported more stress a year out. They were no more or less likely to be depressed. And women who gave birth suffered from more serious health complications—from hemorrhaging to a fractured pelvis—than the women who aborted, even later in their pregnancies.
Already, four years ago, the fix was in and the goal of the study—to prove a need for abortion in order to reduce poverty—was well entrenched due to media hyperbole such as the above.
In addition, among the interesting statements from researchers studying the “effects of unintended pregnancy on women’s lives” is this: “The Turnaway Study was an effort to capture women’s stories, understand the role of abortion and childbearing in their lives, and contribute to the ongoing public policy debate on the mental health and life-course consequences of abortion and unwanted childbearing for women and families.”
And there you have it! While pro-life Americans are busily engaged in reaching out to expectant mothers, affirming their ability to bring a baby into the world, and witnessing to the devastating truth that every abortion results in a dead child and a maimed mother, those who advocate for the killing continue to weave their sordid tales. While these messengers of death create reasons for a public policy based on cruelty and killing, we must be the voice of reason and love.
The fact of the matter is that killing a person never makes anyone richer, either materially or spiritually. It has quite the opposite effect.
So take heart! We can rejoice in the fact that, at least according to some experts, only five percent or less of women who, for whatever reason, decided not to have an abortion look back with regret about not having their child killed. The rest adjust, welcome their babies, and move on with their lives.
Please understand that killing your flesh and blood is really not what abortion supporters would have you believe. Such a get rich quick scheme has deadly consequences.
Celebrating the gift of life, on the other hand, brings joy and a wealth of blessings that no amount of money could ever buy.
___________________________________________________
Combat the evil with truth! Join American Life League in defiance of the culture of our day—this culture of death. Through your actions and words, become a part of our movement to build a culture of life. Pray, be informed, and educate others.
For pro-life information, go to all.org.
For pro-life educational tools designed for classrooms and home schooling, RCIA, and more, visit cultureoflifestudies.com.
To see documented proof of Planned Parenthood’s debauchery and to learn ways to stop its spread, go to stopp.org.
To join with youth outreach for a pro-life generation, go to lifedefender.org.
For information on America’s only pro-life high school, Saint Michael the Archangel, visit saintmichaelhs.org.