When discussing the topic of abortion, one question invariably arises—why do women decide to have abortions?
In answer to this important question, pro-abortion groups have, at best, redefined words and ignored statistics. At worst, groups, such as Planned Parenthood, have purposefully misled women, and others, in order to continue to profit from the deaths of countless children.
An egregious example of such distortion has been committed by the National Abortion Federation (NAF) with their article, “Women Who Have Abortions.” Like most pro-abortion groups, NAF leads readers to believe that most abortions occur because a large number of women having abortions are the victims of rape or incest by noting, “About 13,000 women each year have abortions because they have become pregnant as a result of rape or incest.”
NAF is also careful to lead readers to understand that women having abortions for reasons other than rape and incest are usually doing so out of compassion—not selfishness. In fact, NAF argues that women rarely, if ever, “have abortions for selfish or frivolous reasons.” To back up such an argument, issues such as a “lack of money,” “abnormalities,” “an unreadiness to start or expand their families due to existing responsibilities,” and/or not being “in a supportive relationship.”
The truth is that both quantitative and qualitative perspectives completely expose these arguments to be utter distortions of the truth. Qualitatively speaking, the carefully crafted pro-abortion arguments have considered everyone except those whose lives are directly at stake—the unborn children. While every situation is imperfect, the child will certainly be better off alive than dead. As LifeNews.com notes, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has made this point through a recently released e-mail discussing the preciousness of the, then, upcoming birth of her son Trig, who has Down’s Syndrome.
Even worse is the fact that polling data provided by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, originally the research arm of Planned Parenthood, completely demolishes the arguments that a large portion of abortions each year are due to rape and incest and that most women have abortions for non-selfish reasons.
The truth lies in a 2004 Guttmacher Institute study, “Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives.” Over 1,200 women who recently had an abortion were asked the “most important reason for having the abortion,” and the most popular answer (25% of all responses) was the “timing is wrong.” The next most given reason (23%) was that they couldn’t “afford a baby now.”
The answers that groups like NAF and Planned Parenthood have told us are the main reasons for abortion, mother’s health, fetus abnormalities, and/or victim of rape, all came in at 4%, 3%, and .5% respectfully. Added to such damning statistics is the fact that, when asked to cite all reasons for having an abortion, 14% mentioned that they felt pressure from parents or significant others.
Ultimately, pro-abortion groups have redefined words and blatantly distorted statistics in order to perpetuate the myth that women, and the world at large, need abortion. The only people benefitting from abortion is abortion providers—not women, children, or fathers!
The SBA Pro-Life America National Pro-life Scorecard is a tool that helps hold members of Congress accountable for their legislative records on life and that highlights leadership in the fight to serve women and save babies.
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