Friday, November 7, 1997
Killing fetuses inhumane
ABORTION: Termination of any being’s life, inside or outside a
woman, still consitutes murder without exception
By Andres ChangBefore formulating a valid opinion on any issue,
it is absolutely necessary to find out as much as you can about it.
So I had to research it first. I needed to find out how a pregnancy
is terminated, how a fetus is aborted and what an abortion is. I
discovered that there are actually several methods.
Suction aspiration ("vacuum curettage") is a first-trimester
technique. A powerful suction tube with a sharp cutting edge is
inserted into the womb through the dilated cervix. The suction
dismembers the body of the fetus and tears the placenta from the
wall of the uterus, sucking blood, amniotic fluid, placental tissue
and fetal parts into a bottle. The fetus is then reassembled to
make sure that all of it has been collected. Otherwise, an
infection can develop.
Dilation and Curettage (D&C) involves dilating the cervix
and inserting a loop-shaped steel knife into the uterus. The fetus
is cut into pieces and removed. The placenta is then scraped away
from the uterine wall.
RU 486 consists of two synthetic hormones that block the action
of progesterone, the natural hormone vital to maintaining nutrients
for the fetus. As a result, the fetus starves to death. From 36 to
48 hours later, the woman is given artificial prostaglandins that
initiate uterine contraction. These contractions expel the fetus
from the uterus, and two weeks later the woman returns to the
clinic to make sure the fetus has been entirely expelled.
Ethotrexate is a chemical injected into the muscles.
Methotrexate disintegrates trophoblast, the tissue which gives rise
to the placenta. The fetus, lacking food, oxygen and necessary
fluids, dies. Like the RU 486 method, the woman must return to the
clinic to expel the fetus by taking prostaglandins. She then must
return a third time to make sure the entire fetus has been
ejected.
Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) is a second-trimester
technique involving the insertion of forceps with sharp metal jaws.
The forceps clasp parts of the fetus which are then torn and
twisted off. The fetus’ skull has often hardened to bone by this
time, which is why the forceps are used; the forceps have the power
to crush bone, unlike the knife used in the D&C method.
Instillation methods are second- and third-trimester techniques
which terminate the fetus and then expel it from the uterus. Salt
poisoning (saline amniocentesis, slating out, hypertonic saline
abortion) involves inserting a needle, either through the cervix or
the abdomen, which removes a cup of amniotic fluid. The fluid is
replaced by a solution of concentrated salt. The fetus breathes in
the solution and is poisoned. The solution burns the fetus’ skin,
and in about 35 hours, the woman is given urea or prostaglandin to
induce labor. The woman delivers the dead and shriveled fetus.
D&E and D&C are basically the same: a foreign instrument
is introduced into the womb, cutting the unborn baby into pieces.
The chemical abortion procedures also share a basic function:
poisoning a living thing whose heart starts beating 31 days after
the mother’s last menstrual period and measurable brain waves 45
days after the last menstrual period. The unborn child bleeds,
breathes, moves, grows and in some cases can recognize her or his
mother’s voice. Unborn babies are just as alive as you and me!
Partial birth abortion is used on women four to eight months
pregnant. Using forceps and guided by ultrasound, the abortionist
reaches into the uterus and clamps onto the fetus’ leg. The fetus
is then twisted around and pulled out, feet first, until only the
head remain inside the uterus. The abortionist then stabs into the
base of the fetus’ skull with scissors. The wound is opened by
widening the scissors. The scissors are then removed and a suction
catheter is inserted into the skull. The fetus’ brain is sucked out
and the head collapses. The fetus is removed completely from the
uterus.
Partial birth abortion can be done in eight-month pregnancies –
a month before the baby is born, less if she or he is premature!
The baby is outside of the womb except for his or her head; that
person is born! How can we delude ourselves into thinking it’s a
part of a woman’s body when we see developed toes, feet, legs, arms
and hands?
Hysterotomy involves making incisions into the abdomen and the
uterus. The fetus, placenta and amniotic sac are removed. This
process is frighteningly similar to the caesarean section. The
fetus is wholly removed from the mother’s body. What happens to
this baby? How is she or he killed? When is she or he killed? Who
kills her or him?
The fundamental question in the abortion debate is the humanity
of the fetus. If the fetus is part of the woman’s body, then the
woman has every right to abort it. If, however, the fetus is a
living, breathing human. No one has the right to harm it. What I am
about to say is very difficult for me to say, but I feel that it
must be said: The fetus is a living, breathing human that embodies
the right to live, to have shelter, clothing, food and an
education. By learning about abortion procedures and the fetal
development, I cannot still believe that a fetus is just a part of
a woman’s body.
I have often heard the argument that abortion must be legal
especially if the mother’s health is in danger. First of all,
according to an article in Family Planning Perspectives (volume 20,
No. 4, 1988), approximately 93 percent of all abortions are done
for non-medical reasons. Second, what if a doctor tells an
expectant mother that she will die if she gives birth to her child?
Should the mother kill her child? Who’s to say that the mother’s
life is more important the child’s, or that any life is more
important than another? Every person is just as important as the
next one.
It is this same conviction that compels me to oppose the death
penalty. It is this same conviction which compels me to oppose
abortion for every circumstance. I only see abortion as murder, and
murder is wrong. If I do nothing to stop abortion, then I too take
part in the deaths of thousands of unborn martyrs. I cannot be a
part of that. I must speak for those who would otherwise have no
voice. I must advocate for the rights of those who do not have the
same choices as I do. I must defend those who are defenseless.
We often use terms to desensitize us to what we really mean. We
say "partial birth" when in fact there is no such thing as "partial
birth." Is there such a thing as "partial slavery" or "partial
pregnancy?" Birth is birth, and life is life. We say "terminating a
pregnancy" or "aborting a fetus" when what we truly mean is
murdering an innocent child. Abortion is not about a woman’s right
to chose. It’s about a baby’s right to life.
According to the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
and the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (Centers for Disease
Control), over 250 women have died from legal abortions since 1973.
Abortion is not the answer. If you, or someone you know, is facing
an unplanned or untimely pregnancy, please call 1 (800) 848-LOVE 24
hours a day, seven days a week. There will be someone there who
genuinely cares about you and your baby.