The Elliot Institute News
From the Leader in Post-Abortion Research
Vol.5, No. 5 -- July 27, 2006
Visit us online: http://www.AfterAbortion.Info
IN THIS ISSUE
Note from the Editor
With this issue of the Elliot Institute News, we are going back on our "regular" publishing schedule. Thank you very much for your patience and support. We are still trying to restore "lost" subscribers to our list, so please continue to remind others who might have been subscribers that they need to sign up again in order to continue receiving the Elliot Institute News. They can do so by going to www.afterabortion.info and clicking on the "Join List" button. (New subscribers can sign up the same way.) Thank you!
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Becoming "Silent No More," Part II
Nancyjo Mann, Founder of Women Exploited by Abortion
Editor's Note: This is part II of Nancyjo's testimony. The first part appeared in the previous issue of the Elliot Institute News.
The second lie [the abortionist told me] came during my "counseling session," when I asked, "What are you going to do to me if I have this abortion?" All he did was look at my stomach and say, "I'm going to take a little fluid out, put a little fluid in, you'll have severe cramps and expel the fetus." "Is that all?" I asked. "That's it." "O.K.," I said. It was only later, after the abortion had begun, that I was to learn that what he described as "cramps" was actually the labor process. These "severe cramps" were not just going to make my pregnancy magically disappear. Instead, I was going to go through all the motions of normal childbirth--water breaking, labor pains, etc. The only difference was that the baby I would deliver would be dead.
After telling me I had to have the abortion within the next 24-hours, Dr. Fong scheduled me for a saline abortion in the hospital that same afternoon. Ironically, a little while after my abortion a nurse who worked at the hospital told me that Fong always scheduled his abortions for the same day that the patient contacted him. At one time he had admitted patients to the hospital the night before the surgery so that they could be observed and their food intake limited. But when some of his patients had changed their minds during the night, sometimes after questioning nurses about what actually would happen, he began to insist on doing the abortions immediately. Too many patients, and profits, were slipping out the front door.
The third lie in my "counseling" was a lie of omission. He never told me any of the risks involved. Only later did I find out that if he had hit a vein, the saline solution could have made me violently ill or caused any number of other complications, including death. He told me none of this. Instead he made it sound like a simple and relatively painless procedure.
I was so naive. I trusted him. After all, he was a doctor. A respected and educated man. And like everyone else, I had always heard that legal abortion was "safe and easy." It wasn't until he had me on the table that I began to question these illusions. It wasn't until he pulled out an enormous syringe that I became scared. The needle alone was four inches long. Suddenly I realized that this was not going to be as easy as he had implied.
The first thing he did was withdraw 60 cc's of amniotic fluid. At that point I started to feel afraid for my baby. I could feel her thrashing about, scared by this intrusion. I wanted to scream out, "Please, stop. Don't do this to me!" But I just couldn't get it out. I was petrified with fear.
After the fluid was withdrawn, he injected 200 cc's of the saline solution--half a pint of concentrated salt solution. From then on, it was terrible. My baby began thrashing about--it was like a regular boxing match in there. She was in pain. The saline was burning her skin, her eyes, her throat. It was choking her, making her sick. She was in agony, trying to escape. She was scared and confused at how her wonderful little home had suddenly been turned into a death trap.
For some reason it had never entered my mind that with an abortion she would have to die. I had never wanted my baby to die; I only wanted to get rid of my "problem." But it was too late to turn back now. There was no way to save her. So instead I talked to her. I tried to comfort her. I tried to ease her pain. I told her I didn't want to do this to her, but it was too late to stop it. I didn't want her to die. I begged her not to die. I told her I was sorry, to forgive me, that I was wrong, that I didn't want to kill her.
For two hours I could feel her struggling inside me. But then, as suddenly as it began, she stopped. Even today, I remember her very last kick on my left side. She had no strength left. She gave up and died. Despite my grief and guilt, I was relieved that her pain was finally over. But I was never the same again. The abortion killed not only my daughter; it killed a part of me.
Before that needle had entered my abdomen I had liked myself. Though I may have had my share of problems, I had seen myself as basically a good person. I wasn't into any wild scenes. I was a good housewife and a loving mother. I was happy to be me. But when that needle entered my womb, when it pulled out the nurturing fluid of motherhood and replaced it with that venom of death, when the child I had abandoned suddenly began its struggle within me, I hated myself. It was that fast.
Every bit of self-esteem, every value I held dear, every hope of which I had ever dreamed--all were stripped away by the poison of that one vain act. Every memory of joy was now tainted by the stench of death. That moment of desperation which had led me to this "healer's table" had now positioned itself as ruler of my life. I had abandoned myself to despair and despair was my future. There was no way to stop it. There was no way to put everything back the way it had been. I no longer had any control, any choice. I was powerless. I was weak. I was a murderer.
A little while after my baby stopped moving they gave me an intravenous injection to help stimulate labor. I was in hard labor for 12 hours, all through the night. When finally I delivered, the nurses didn't make it to my room in time. I delivered my daughter myself at 5:30 the next morning, October 31st. After I delivered her, I held her in my hands. I looked her over from top to bottom. She had a head of hair, and her eyes were opening. I looked at her little tiny feet and hands. Her fingers and toes even had little fingernails and swirls of fingerprints.
Everything was perfect. She was not a "fetus." She was not a "product of conception." She was a tiny human being. The pathology report listed her as more than seven inches from head to rump. With her legs extended, she was over a foot long. She weighed a pound-and-a-half, more than many of the premature babies being saved in incubators in every hospital in the country. But these vital statistics did not mention her most striking trait: She was my daughter. Twisted with agony. Silent and still. Dead.
It seemed like I held her for ten minutes or more, but it was probably only 30 seconds because as soon as the nurses came rushing in, they grabbed her from my hands and threw her--literally threw her--into a bedpan and carried her away.
To add insult to injury, after my daughter was taken away, they brought another woman into the room to finish the last hour of her labor. But this woman wasn't having an abortion. No, she had a beautiful, healthy baby boy. No words can describe how rough that was on me.
I was released from the hospital eight hours after the delivery. The official report filled out by my abortionist stated that the procedure had been completed with "no complications." Three days later I went back into what felt like labor again, and I passed a piece of placenta about the size of my hand. It had been an incomplete abortion, a fact which had been missed by the pathology lab which had reported that the placenta had been delivered "intact."
Soon afterwards I began to withdraw from those who loved me, especially from my family since they had supported and encouraged me to have the abortion. There was a part of me that didn't want to be loved, especially by those who had known me before. I was filled with guilt and sorrow. I felt empty, and I lived under a constant feeling of dread. Newborn infants caught my eye and filled me with longing, but I was afraid to touch them. Whenever a friend would offer to let me hold her baby, I would always refuse. I was too afraid of my own destructiveness. I was terrified that I might somehow hurt another child.
See the next issue of the Elliot Institute News for Part III of Nancyjo's testimony.
~~~
Reprinted from the book Aborted Women, Silent No More, by David C. Reardon (originally published 1987, reprinted in 2002 by Acorn Books). For ordering information, visit www.afterabortion.info/awsnm.html.
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Download Updated Coerced Abortion Flyer, Research Booklet and Forced Abortion Report
"They said I made the right decision ... but I was never given a choice."
Nothing shatters the illusion of choice as fast as clear evidence that most abortions are unwanted, coerced or even forced, and that the aftermath of this counterfeit "choice" is literally traumatizing and killing women.
The Elliot Institute is incorporating important new research findings into some of our collateral materials, which are part of our Un-Choice communications-outreach campaign.
Although many of these materials are designed to be quick-reference, user-friendly research summaries, fact sheets and informational brochures, the Coerced Abortion Flyer and the Forced Abortion Special Report present an especially compelling, to-the-point and easy-to-distribute portrayal of just what we mean by "Un-Choice."
Quotes from women who've been there, substantiated by published research, paint a clear picture of coercion, misinformation, inadequate counseling, non-support, trauma, humiliation, pain, suffering and unbearable grief but not "choice."
We believe that this information can simultaneously obliterate the misleading presumption of "choice" and the myth that abortion is ever a quick, easy, safe, non-traumatic or effective solution.
Please help us to promote these urgent, life-saving materials and to open the door to healing for more than 50 million women and men who've lost a child to abortion.
Free Materials for Fair Booths or Back-to-School, Etc.
The Coerced Abortion Flyer can be downloaded onto standard legal-size paper, printed front-and-back. It is a simple, effective way to distribute this message to church or civic groups as a leave-behind at presentations in offices and schools or even on parking-lot windshields where approved and appropriate.
The 21-page Forced Abortion Report -- which includes the latest research findings -- may also be used free of charge. For a more professional presentation, the pdf file can be downloaded and printed front and back on 11x17 paper or taken to a quick-service printer.
Other materials include the Research and Key Facts booklet, which summarizes some of our key studies, the Teen Abortion Risks fact sheet, and the Hard Cases: New Facts, New Answers booklet, plus persuasive posters that can be displayed at offices, churches, fair booths, etc. Go to www.unfairchoice.info/resources.htm to download these and other free, user-friendly resources.
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News Briefs
Abortion Advocates Report Using Courts, Hard Cases to Force Abortion on Latin America
The pro-abortion Center for Reproductive Rights outlined a strategy during a Capitol Hill briefing for using the courts to force abortion on Latin American countries, despite laws banning abortion and widespread opposition to the procedure in the largely Catholic region.
The Catholic News Agency reported that speakers at the briefing highlighted the important role that the courts played in "widening the availability of abortion" and said that cases involving sexual assault pregnancy were particularly effective in opening the door to abortion on demand -- a tactic that was successfully used in the U.S. and the U.K. to get the courts to overturn laws banning abortion. In recent years, Latin America has become a particular target for abortion advocates as it is one of the few places in the world where abortion is largely outlawed. Pro-life advocates argue that abortion will lead to the deaths of millions of unborn children and horrific physical and emotional repercussions for women and their families.
Chinese Woman Dies While Attempting to Escape Forced Abortion, Human Rights Group Reports
A human rights monitoring group has reported that a pregnant woman in China fell to her death as she was attempting to flee from population control officials who were forcing her into abortion.
The Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy reported that Li Shimei, who already had one child, was seven months pregnant with twins when local authorities forced her to go to a hospital in the eastern city of Hefei for an abortion. According to unnamed sources, Li fell from the second floor while attempting to escape. One newspaper reported that a hospital employee confirmed that a pregnant woman died in a fall there on June 22, but that employees who answered the phone at the local police station said they knew nothing about the cases, despite reports that the police were investigating.
Unborn Victims Law Goes Into Effect in Alabama
A new law in Alabama now allows prosecutors to charge perpetrators with two crimes if they kill or injure an unborn child during an attack on the mother.
The bill was signed into law into law in April and took effect in July. According to LifeNews.com, 34 states now have such laws on the books during all or part of pregnancy, with 24 states, including Alabama, protecting women and unborn children from violence during all nine months of pregnancy. Advocates hope the law will provide greater protection for unborn children and their mothers and deter those who might use violence to force a woman into an unwanted abortion. Studies have shown that homicide is the leading cause of death among pregnant women, and in many cases women have been assaulted or killed for refusing to have abortions.
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SELECTED RESOURCES
VICTIMS AND VICTORS: SPEAKING OUT ABOUT THEIR PREGNANCIES, ABORTIONS, AND CHILDREN INVOLVED IN SEXUAL ASSAULT
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With the debate over abortion bans in South Dakota and elsewhere heating up, this book is a must-read for pro-life advocates. Based on the largest survey of ever done of women who've experienced sexual assault pregnancy, this book allows women to tell their stories and show why they don't want abortions.
Learn the truth about how abortion advocates used the "hard cases" to open the door to abortion on demand-- and how to answer the question, "How can you oppose abortion for a woman who becomes pregnant through sexual assault?" Order now and receive a 25 percent discount!
Find out more about this and other resources at www.afterabortion.info/Resrc1.html.
To place an order, call Acorn Books at 1-888-412-2676 or email amy@afterabortion.info.
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