When politicians explain their “pro-choice” position, it makes sense. If women are pregnant and have few options, why shackle them further by limiting their choices? 

But talk to real people instead of politicians, and the picture changes.

This week, we will compare what politicians say to what actually happens in the lives of women who carry out the logic of the “pro-choice” position.  This is one in a series of editorials in the wake of the Carhart v. Gonzales decision upholding a federal ban on partial-birth abortion. In his majority opinion in that case, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that the Supreme Court was motivated by two principles: respect for life and concern for women.

 “Respect for human life finds an ultimate expression in the bond of love the mother has for her child,” he wrote. “It is self-evident that a mother who comes to regret her choice to abort must struggle with grief more anguished and sorrow more profound when she learns, only after the event, what she once did not know: that she allowed a doctor to pierce the skull and vacuum the fast-developing brain of her unborn child.”

Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama was swift to denounce that decision. Obama wants partial-birth abortion to be legal.

“I strongly disagree with today’s Supreme Court ruling,” he said in a statement. “I am extremely concerned that this ruling will embolden state legislatures to enact further measures to restrict a woman’s right to choose, and that the conservative Supreme Court justices will look for other opportunities to erode Roe v. Wade, which is established federal law and a matter of equal rights for women.”

He should listen to Dr. Alveda King, daughter of slain civil rights leader A.D. King, and niece of Martin Luther King. She’s the national spokeswoman of Silent No More’s campaign in which women are telling the world exactly what the court’s opinion said: Their abortions deeply hurt them.

 “I and my deceased children are victims of abortion,” she said, “The Roe v. Wade decision has adversely affected the lives of my entire family. I pray often for deliverance from the pain caused by my decision to abort my baby.”

Presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton also wants partial-birth abortion to remain legal. She ignored the after-effects of abortion when she denounced the Supreme Court’s decision.

“As the Supreme Court recognized in Roe v. Wade in 1973, this issue is complex and highly personal,” she said. “The rights and lives of women must be taken into account.”

Actress and one-time covergirl Jennifer O’Neill also wants women to be taken into account. When she had an abortion, “I was told a lie from the pit of hell — that my baby was just a blob of tissue,” she said. “The aftermath of abortion can be equally deadly for both mother and unborn child. [A woman who has an abortion] is sentenced to bear that for the rest of her life.”

Speaker of the U.S. House Nancy Pelosi wants partial-birth abortion to remain legal. “The federal ban on abortion procedures is extreme, it violates a woman’s right to make private medical decisions, and it endangers women’s health,” she said, using language taken verbatim from the pro-abortion groups which fund her.

Pelosi should read the website of Father Frank Pavone. He works with women who have had abortions — including Norma McCorvey. She was the “Roe” of Roe v. Wade but is now a pro-life activist. His site quotes women’s words about their abortions:

“I was afraid of being abandoned by my boyfriend,” said one woman who, like so many, was coerced into abortion by the man who impregnated her. “Our engagement ended violently after the abortion.”

“I have been a feminist for 18 years,” said another woman. “The abortion, I feel, was the singularly most evil thing I have ever done. Yet I feel duped. I am enraged at Planned Parenthood and NOW, etc. I bought the pro-choice rhetoric. … I am angry now that I had that choice.”

“I didn’t want to lose my boyfriend,” said another. “He left two months later. Planned Parenthood didn’t tell me it was a baby. ‘It’s a mass of tissue,’ they said.”

“I was pro-choice until the abortion,” said another. “That changed my mind.”

“The day I killed my baby nine years ago is something I think of every day,” said another woman. “I will always regret it and long for my baby.”

We have a prediction: In our lifetime will come a time when people will be as ashamed of their support for pro-abortion politicians as others have been for supporting slavery or segregation. Suddenly, it will be impossible to find anyone who will admit to voting for politicians like Obama, Clinton and Pelosi.

Pro-lifers should spare as many people as possible that shame. Share with others the rebuttals real people give to the politicians.

Go to “SilentNoMoreAwareness.org” and click on “Testimonies.”