The Abortion Lie that Just Won't Die

Abortion advocates will always have one major weapon on its side: our eagerness to accept lies.

We accept the lie that women want abortion while men want to deny them access. In fact, men are more likely than women to favor abortion on demand.  

We accept the lie that unborn babies, who jump and dance away from a playful, prodding finger, somehow can't feel a scalpel in their flesh until the law says they can.  

We accept the lies that abortion is good for women, that it is generally safe, that it frees women, that it's necessary in order for women to have full liberty and self determination.The truth is, some women have abortions and continue to be happy. What does this prove? It proves that women are resilient, and can continue to function after suffering horrible degradations of body and soul. The truth is that women deserve better than mere survival. 

Here's another lie that just won't die: the lie that Texas bill HB2, now up for appeal in the circuit court, is shutting down abortion clinics. 

Here's the truth: Texas abortion clinics are shutting themselves down.

The clinics that are closing are doing so voluntarily, because they would rather go out of business than follow the law.

 The law requires that a clinic that performs abortions should be an ambulatory surgical center--meaning, for instance, that it should have wide enough doorways for a gurney, should a woman require emergency transport to a hospital. The law would also require abortionists to have admitting privileges to a hospital within thirty miles, so that when the woman's uterus is perforated, she suffers infection, or she hemorrhages, the emergency room that treats her can talk to the person who did it to her. It means that hospital that tries to help her will have access to her medical records, rather than just treating her blindly. These are minimum standards required of any facility that performs surgery or other invasive procedures. 

Are these things expensive? Yes, they are. It's expensive to run a medical facility, and reasonably so, because when people's lives are at stake, you should be willing to spend a little money. If you want to perform surgery, then you should be ready to perform surgery. If you think women's lives are not worth an upgrade or two on your facility,  then maybe you're in the wrong business. 

In the words of physician and State Senator Donna Campbell in 2013

“There’s nothing in this legislation that will close a clinic. That’s up to the clinic. If they want to put profit over a person, that’s up to them.”