THIS SATURDAY denotes the 32nd anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. While we've all heard the overplayed mantra from the left about women's constitutional rights with respect to the practice of abortion, few stop to consider the actual effects of abortion on women. Conversely, the pro-life side has primarily focused on the rights of the unborn child, occasionally mentioning the consequences of abortion that women face as another talking point. This tide is changing, however, as pro-life activists collaborate with and support post-abortive women who are sharing their stories after years of silence. It's time for advocates from all sides to consider abortion from an obvious but often overlooked perspective.
First Right hosted a speaker last November who facilitated this endeavor. Georgette Forney, executive director of the National Organization of Episcopalians for Life, co-founded the National Silent No More Awareness Campaign to inform the public of the effects of abortion on women and provide a forum for post-abortive women, as well as counseling. Forney became pregnant at the age of 16 and decided to have an abortion.
Forney's quest for her Silent No More campaign can be summed up in this question she posed to the audience: "Is abortion the best we can do for women?"
She posited that abortion has caused more problems than it has solved. She stated, "It may be a legal right, but it's not right for women." Speaking from a woman's perspective, Forney went on to detail countless stories of women who have regretted their abortions -- narratives of guilt, depression, suicide attempts, drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders and physical health complications, to name a few.
Forney's mission is a noble one. She does not have a political agenda; she wants to help women who have gone through the same thing she has experienced and examine the pros and cons of abortion on an individual level.
First Right Vice President Christy Elliott stated in an e-mail response, "As Georgette Forney explained, abortion in America has been an unregulated 32-year experiment on women, one which has left us with the deaths of 45 million unborn human beings and the continued suffering of at least 20 million post-abortive women."
Raising questions about the practice of abortion is not stripping women of their rights; rather, it is evoking a thoughtful discussion about the reality of abortion. As Forney pointed out, abortion is the only surgical procedure that has not been studied in great depth. Patient satisfaction and health after any type of surgery is typically measured and observed to ensure the safety and validity of the procedure, especially for a common surgical operation. According to the pro-choice Alan Guttmacher Institute, "abortion is one of the most common surgical procedures in the United States." Some smaller-scale studies indicate that an abortion in a woman's life does lead to an aftermath of physical and emotional devastation described earlier in a significant number of cases. Further study is necessary to determine how widespread these effects are.
Campaigns like Forney's come on the heels of a surprising action by the woman whose case legalized the procedure. This past Tuesday, Jan. 18, Norma McCorvey, the "Roe" in Roe v. Wade, filed a motion with the Supreme Court to vacate the 1973 ruling. Allan Parker, McCorvey's attorney, presented an argument for his client on the basis of women's health on "Hannity and Colmes" on Monday. He stated, "We now know that abortion hurts women, and we didn't know that [32 years ago]... The women, as we quoted to the Supreme Court in our petition, they feel like they have murdered someone." He also cited about 300 articles from medical journals about foreign studies on the effects of abortion in his petition. Unfortunately, valuable but limited data exists for domestic abortions.
The pro-life movement's embrace of campaigns like Silent No More strikes at the heart of the motive of the pro-life movement. While some view pro-lifers as self-righteous fundamentalists, their actions demonstrate they are interested in advancing a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle for women.
Pro-choice activists should also welcome Forney's efforts to assist women and investigate an issue to uncover the real benefits to women.
People view abortion as a matter of choice, without considering the possible ramifications for a woman. Regardless of political persuasion, if people are genuinely concerned about the well-being of women, they should advocate for a comprehensive study of post-abortive women's mental and physical health.
Whitney Blake is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. She can be reached at wblake@cavalierdaily.com.
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