About Abortion

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are about 73 million induced abortions each year, which is roughly 200,000 abortions per day. This is about 61% of all unintended pregnancies and 29% of all pregnancies.

yet despite the high number of abortions... there is a significant lack of knowledge about abortion.

What is Abortion?

An abortion is... the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the uterus, resulting in or caused by its death. An abortion can occur spontaneously due to complications during pregnancy or can be induced.

The following 4 videos explain the most common Abortion procedures used today.

WARNING - CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES THAT SOME VIEWERS MAY FIND DISTRESSING

1st Trimester Medical Abortion Abortion Pills

1st Trimester Surgical Abortion Suction (Aspiration) D & C

2nd Trimester Surgical Abortion Dilation and Evacuation (D & E)

3rd Trimester Induction Abortion Injection and Stillbirth

Roe vs Wade

It began in Texas in 1970 when a pregnant Texas woman, Norma McCorvey (alias Jane Roe), brought a lawsuit against Henry Wade, Dallas County District Attorney, in a Texas federal court.

Alleging she was a single woman and pregnant, McCorvey wanted to terminate her pregnancy. She wanted it done safely by a doctor but said she could not afford to travel outside of Texas. She could not get a legal abortion in Texas because her life was not in danger. The law prohibited any kind of abortion unless the mother's life was in danger.

Her lawsuit claimed that the Texas law violated her right to privacy, protected by the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Roe added she sued "on behalf of herself and all other women" in the same situation.

1973 - Roe vs Wade

Argued December 13, 1971, re-argued October 11, 1972, and decided on January 22, 1973.

Roe v. Wade was a 1973 landmark decision by the US Supreme Court. The court ruled that a state law that banned abortions (except to save the life of the mother) was unconstitutional. The ruling made abortion legal in many circumstances. The decision said that a woman's right to privacy extended to the fetus/unborn child she was carrying. In the view of the court, during the first trimester, abortion was no more dangerous than carrying the fetus/child full term. The decision was 7-2.

Later, Norma McCorvey's views on abortion changed substantially; she became a Roman Catholic activist in the pro-life movement. Norma stated that her involvement in Roe was "the biggest mistake of her life." Repeated challenges since 1973 narrowed the scope of Roe v. Wade but did not overturn it.

"The philosophy behind abortion is a misunderstanding of freedom and a misunderstanding of love".

Ven Fulton J Sheen - Abortion: The Approach of Midnight (1976)

1981 - Arthur Shostak

In the study by Arthur Shostak of 1000 males at U.S. abortion clinics, many of the respondents thought their male role had been initially shaped by an extraordinary shock (We’re pregnant) and an almost immediate secondary shock (And I’m going to have an abortion).

Many men who have been involved in an abortion experience believe that human life is being destroyed. Arthur Shostak, in his 1981 study of 1000 men at abortion clinics, found that 20% of the men believed that life began at conception or when the nervous system began to function (19%), 26% felt that abortion was the killing of a child and 32% said they did not know whether or not abortion was the killing of a child.

A study of 60 men at a Connecticut abortion clinic (66% of whom said they were Catholic) found that many were confused and depressed. When asked “When do you feel like life actually begins in a pregnancy?" the men gave a wide range of responses: 22% said at the moment of conception, 12% said from 1-12 weeks gestation, 25% said from 13-36 weeks gestation, 20% said life begins at birth and 22% did not want to respond. The men ranged from being mildly in favor to adamantly in favor of the woman making the decision.

While a majority of men in Shostak’s studies believed in a woman's right to abortion, nearly half of the men felt moral conflict about it, and 56 percent subsequently had dreams about the child they might have fathered. 81 percent of his respondents favored some kind of abortion counseling for men.

"Psychopathological effects of voluntary termination of pregnancy on the father called up for military service"

Several case studies are presented of 18-22-year-old males who came from disadvantaged backgrounds and were recent military recruits. All had extreme depression and/or attempted suicide brought on by the news of their wives or girlfriends having had a voluntarily induced abortion. The men believed that becoming a father would make them more mature or respectable and the abortion brought on feelings of self-recrimination and self-punishment.

1982 - DuBouis-Bonneford

1988 - John Paul II

In Mulieris Dignitatem John Paul II made it clear that "by leaving her alone to face the problems of pregnancy, he indirectly encourages such a decision on her part (to abort)" (14:80). He goes on to say in Evangelium Vitae that "in this way the family is thus mortally wounded and profaned in its nature as a community of love and in its vocation to be the “sanctuary of life" (no. 59).

Abortion Survey cites many who had Guilt Feelings

By GEORGE SKELTON | MARCH 19, 1989 | TIMES STAFF WRITER

One-fourth said that someone else in their immediate family also has had an abortion--a sister, a mother, or a daughter. Yet, despite this, there is a significant lack of knowledge about abortion.

Eight percent of the 2,533 women interviewed by telephone acknowledged having had at least one abortion. But Times Poll

Director I. A. Lewis estimated that this 8% represents only a minimum figure for actual abortions, theorizing that many women are reluctant to admit having had one.

In fact, one-fifth of the women in this survey who admitted having had an abortion said that they never had told anybody about it before talking to the Times interviewer. But over half said they had informed their spouse or their parents, or both.

A “sense of guilt about having had an abortion” was felt by 56% of the women. And 26% said they now “mostly regret the abortion.”

Among the 1,050 men interviewed in the survey, 7% acknowledged having been the father of an aborted child. Guilt was felt by almost two-thirds and regret by more than a third.

Only 39% of women believed that abortion is “morally right.” About as many, 37%, considered it to be “morally wrong” and 24% were not sure. Roughly a third agreed that “abortion is murder.”

But, in answer to another question, roughly three-fourths declared that although “abortion is morally wrong,” the decision about whether to have one “has to be made by every woman for herself.” A “woman has the right to control her own body,” they said.

For most of these women who have had abortions, the issues came down to matters of “human rights” and “a realistic solution--a necessary evil for a personal dilemma.” is that “motherhood must always be a woman’s most important and satisfying role.” Only 32% agreed with the latter statement.

Before reaching the agonizing decision to have an abortion, the person whom the woman most commonly talked it over with was the father (43% of the time). Parents were consulted less than half as often (20%).

Nearly two-thirds of the women oppose the idea of requiring the natural father’s consent before an abortion can be performed. But two-thirds agree that “minors should have to get their parent's permission before they can get an abortion.”

More than two-thirds felt that even if abortions were outlawed, it would not reduce the number now being performed in the United States. They apparently felt that women with unwanted pregnancies merely would turn to back-alley abortions.

Asked whether it would be harder for an unmarried woman to rear a child out of wedlock, or give up the baby for adoption, or have an abortion, a majority (52%) said the “hardest” thing would be to hand over the infant to adoption. The easiest was abortion (18%).

A majority indicated they considered motherhood a burden, with 53% agreeing it “can sometimes keep a woman from fulfilling her true potential in life.” These women rejected the thesis that “motherhood must always be a woman’s most important and satisfying role.” Only 32% agreed with the latter statement.

Two-thirds said they would “help” their own daughter obtain an abortion, but more than a fifth declared they would “oppose it.”

One-third said that “abortions have encouraged people to become sexually promiscuous.”

About half said they were not using any contraceptive when they got pregnant. And in the majority of cases (57%), both sexual partners were single.

The survey was conducted March 3-10. The margin of error was 3 percentage points in either direction.

Jack Nicholson

'The Joker 1989'

The legendary actor said in an interview about abortion,

“I’m positively against it. I don’t have the right to any other view.” Nicholson’s stance is a deeply personal one: his mother who had him when she was a teenager was pressured to have an abortion and didn’t. It was the moral character of his mother and grandmother that stopped the abortion from happening."

When asked about the abortion in a previous Rolling Stone interview, he said his only emotion was one of gratitude.

“[If June and Ethel had been] of less character, I never would have gotten to live. These women gave me the gift of life.”

1992 - Planned Parenthood v. Casey

Attorneys made oral arguments in the case of Planned Parenthood of Southeast Pennsylvania v. Casey. Robert P. Casey was the governor of Pennsylvania. Ernest Preate argued the cause for the respondents. Kathryn Kolbert argued the cause for the petitioners. Kenneth Starr argued the cause for the United States as amicus curiae.

The Pennsylvania legislature amended its abortion control law in 1988 and 1989. Among the new provisions, the law required informed consent and a 24-hour waiting period prior to the procedure. A minor seeking an abortion required the consent of one parent (the law allows for a judicial bypass procedure). A married woman seeking an abortion had to indicate that she notified her husband of her intention to abort the fetus. These provisions were challenged by several abortion clinics and physicians. A federal appeals court upheld all the provisions except for the husband notification requirement.

The question being argued was if a state can require women who want an abortion to obtain informed consent, wait 24 hours, and, if minors, obtain parental consent, without violating their right to abortions as guaranteed by Roe v. Wade.

1992 - I Didn't Want To Be Daddy - Jeffery Gaines

Sometimes the topical and personal come together, as in the 1992 song "Didn't Want To Be Daddy," in which Gaines puts a biographical spin on the abortion question.

"I was in a situation that, well me and the other party, we're in a situation that probably we shouldn't have been in. And one day I was told how the end result had been dealt with," Gaines said. "I hung up the phone and I just thought about what had been done, and how I don't know that this person may be the person to come up with a cure for cancer. Now we won't know it all, and who are we to tamper? And I was just kind of confused," Gaines said.

"I guess that song, the tone that I addressed it is - I know I'm really simplifying this - but you want to get the lead in a play and you don't get the part, you go back to your friends and you go, I didn't want it anyway," Gaines said. "It's kind of a song to my conscience and a little sick satisfaction...and just going how can I get through this day. Well, because I didn't want that anyway, just telling yourself it's nothing."

"I often try to communicate to people that it's not a pro-abortion song. It's just pro-choice, whether we choose to go to term or we choose not to," Gaines said. "just leave it to the individual. I really just don't think anyone group can cast a decision on many, many people."

1994 - Thomas W. Strahan

Detrimental Effects of Abortion: Strahan, Thomas W Thomas W. Strahan laid the foundation for the largest detailed bibliography of literature related to abortion's effects on women, men, their children, and society.

1996 - The Effects of Abortion on Men: it's Emotional, Psychological, and Relational Impact

Vincent M. Rue, a psychologist who has long experience with abortion’s effects on men, along with Cynthia Tellefsen wrote an article that explained the emotional, psychological, and relational effects abortion has on the fathers of the unborn. The Effects of Abortion on Men: its Emotional, Psychological, and Relational Impact.

They write "while the evidence is mounting that induced abortion carries serious and significant emotional harm for some women, how abortion affects men remains largely a story unexamined and untold."

Some men never know that they have been fathers. Some come to psychotherapy with vague complaints and generally feel puzzlement about their life and why there is so little meaning in it. For others, their relationship with their wife or girlfriend simply ends abruptly or in a slow death. For those that manage to stay together, their relationship limps on with a conspiracy of silence. The manifold negative consequences of secrecy become apparent in the losses of intimacy, trust, and mutual sharing. When the relationship ends, these men feel hurt and confused, never understanding what they can never know. Their hurt is likely to turn to feelings of anxiety and hostility which can manifest in subsequent relationships in the form of communication impairment and over or under control.

One sad reality of abortion is those sensitive men who try not to hurt the women they love in fact hurt them by saying nothing when the word "abortion" is first uttered in the decision-making process. These men most likely will be swept aside post-abortion by an undercurrent of resentment stemming from their partner's feelings of abandonment.

Desperately wanting to please, these men are rejected because they are judged deficient in their true love for their partners: "How could you say nothing during this crisis and let me just go out and kill our child? Is this all I mean to you?"

According to one such father: "Things are pretty screwed up when the way you show a woman you love her is by agreeing to abort rather than having a child." These "forgotten fathers" must not only deal with their grief and sadness over the irrevocable loss of their children and their guilt about not protecting their offspring. They must also deal with the loss of their relationships with their children's mothers.

For men who pressure or encourage the women they care about to have an abortion, the test of true feelings emerges later on. Typically, having encouraged abortion for selfish reasons or out of fear, these men can pay a great emotional price once the reality of what an abortion sinks in.

Legally removing men from having any decision-making power over the life and death of his unborn child, has promoted men to shirk their role and responsibilities, leaving many women with an overwhelming burden, that they were never meant to carry alone.

2000 - Kid Rock "Abortion"

In his song “Abortion,” released in 2000, Kid Rock talks about the grief of a father after an abortion.

My veins are poppin' from this love inside
I just can't let it out
This pipe and these needles are my only guide
They've got me on the wrong route

What is my life about
Living in the shadows of a man I've never seen
Dreamin' like a lonely child
I know your brothers and your sister and your mother too

Man I wish you could see them too
Oh Lord
Oh Lord
Man I wish that you could see them too
Man I wish that you could see them too

So can I come to see you sometime
'Cause I have been missin' you
I've never heard you cry I've never seen you whine
I'm feeling oh so young
But still, I must die to get to you

And if I do I wonder how just you will see me
And implicate the things I've done
I'm dyin' in the shadows of this man I've never seen
I'll see you soon
Now where's my gun, Oh...

2002-2003

A 2002 United States Gallup special report mentions only 38% of the population being opposed to notifying the husband of a married woman of an abortion.

In a 2003 Gallup poll, 72% of respondents were in favor of notification to the husband, with 26% opposed; of those polled, 79% of males and 67% of females responded in favor of notification inside married couples.

2006 - Kenny Rogers

Country legend Kenny Rogers addresses the sorrow felt by many men after they lose a child to abortion, in the title track of his new album, Water and Bridges.

The pain of losing a baby to abortion is rarely acknowledged as an issue for men - abortion is usually considered a woman’s affair. But in fact, men are involved more often and more deeply than is generally believed, both with the decision-making and with the pain and regret after the child’s death. In particular, experts say, men who encouraged or coerced women to get an abortion may experience intense guilt over their role in the child’s death.

The song Water and Bridges tells the story of a man who took his girlfriend to get an abortion as a young man and now regrets the decision, looking back later in life.

“She called, said she was late. So we took a little drive upstate and took care of that…just took care of that,” the story goes. “But now I’m longin’ back at some of my decisions…it’s much too late to change…a father could have held his son,” the father says with regret. “If I could undo what’s been done.”

The song is not about Rogers, he told CMT News, but “it’s really about choices you make. You make a lot of choices when you’re young, and you pay for them when you’re older.”

2011 - Justin Bieber

In a 2011 interview, when asked about abortion, Bieber said, “I really don’t believe in abortion. I think [an embryo] is human. It’s like killing a baby.”

Here's a little-known fact about him: When Justin Bieber’s mother got pregnant, she was encouraged by many to go through with an abortion. Before her pregnancy, she had suffered sexual abuse and thought this might be the best decision.

If it were not for his mother's sudden conversion to Christianity, Bieber would have been aborted.

Young men whose partners aborted were twice as likely to use substances and suffer depression compared with men who had not had that experience.

In 2011, an Australian researcher, Dr. Kaeleen Dingle from the University of Queensland, presented a study at the World Congress of Asian Psychiatry in Melbourne showing the connection between young men and depression.

In 2016, Trump ran on the promise that he would appoint Supreme Court judges that would overturn Roe v. Wade, a promise he kept.

2016 - John Stamos

Shock Jock Howard Stern asked Full House star John Stamos "if he’d ever gotten someone pregnant, he revealed he had in his late 20s, but the woman had an abortion.

In speaking of the abortion, Stamos claims that, while the decision to abort, “really wasn’t my choice,” it still remained, “sort of a mutual decision.”

Since the abortion, Stamos’ fame hasn’t shielded him from hard times. In 2005, his marriage to actress Rebecca Romijn ended in divorce. The 52-year-old actor was recently arrested for driving under the influence, prompting a stint in a residential alcohol rehab center.

In the interview, Stamos admits his addiction to alcohol was not the only obstacle he has had to overcome. He has also battled an addiction to the prescription sleep aid Ambien, calling the drug, “super dangerous … [It was] difficult to memorize scripts, I couldn’t remember names and faces and things.”

In 2018 John Stamos and his wife Caitlyn McHugh had baby boy "Billy" (pictured).

'My first Father’s Day means that from this day forward— I will start to look my age (and older) Most importantly, it means that for the rest of my life, I'll always be known as someone’s dad. And that's all I ever wanted. Happy Father's day.'

2017 - Eminem

In his song “River,” released Dec. 15, 2017, Eminem tells the story of a man who had an affair with a woman and got her pregnant.

'Cause now with her in the womb

We can't bring her in this world, shoulda knew

To use protection 'fore I bit into your forbidden fruit (Fuck!)

And the couple’s choice to end a pregnancy through abortion.

But I made you terminate my baby

This love triangle left us in a wreck, tangled

What else can I say? It was fun for a while

Bet I really woulda loved your smile

Didn't really wanna abort, but fuck it

What's one more lie, to tell our unborn child?

With the chorus of the song being his Admission and Grief

I've been a liar, been a thief, Been a lover, been a cheat

All my sins need holy water, feel it washing over me

Well, little one (I'm sorry)

I don't want to admit to something (I fucked up)

If all it's gonna cause is pain

The truth and my lies now are falling like the rain

So let the river run

March 2020

On March 11th, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the state of a pandemic for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), with Europe considered the epicenter of the outbreak.

By April 3rd, 2020, more than 3.9 billion people (half of the world's population) were placed in some manner of lockdown or quarantine, as governments in more than 90 countries called on their citizens to stay at home to prevent the spread of the virus.

Over 5.633 static and mobile clinics, and community-based care outlets across 64 countries were closed because of COVID-19 restrictions, directly affecting access to abortion. Similar events have led the United Nations Population Fund to raise concern over a global surge of up to 7 million unwanted pregnancies as a consequence of lockdowns and lack of access to contraceptives. Read more

24 June 2022 - Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending right to abortion upheld for decades

Biden Harris 2024

Vice President Harris has been the leading voice for the Biden/Harris Administration on reproductive health and has said she supports restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade and eliminating the filibuster to do so. In the wake of the Dobbs ruling, the Biden-Harris administration has tried to limit the impact of the bans through executive actions as well as in the courts. This includes reiterating federal protections for abortion care under EMTALA in cases of pregnancy-related emergencies, reinforcing requirements for pharmacies to fulfill their obligation to provide access to reproductive health pharmaceuticals, enforcement of non-discrimination policies for health care providers, promulgating policies to strengthen data privacy to protect those seeking reproductive health care, and defending the FDA decision to approve mifepristone (one of the drugs used in the medication abortion regimen) and changes in how the drug can be dispensed. Vice President Harris opposes the Hyde Amendment, which limits federal spending on abortions to cases of rape, incest, or life of the pregnant person.

The Great Unborn Wall

A Timeless Memorial Journey to the Unborn and Unforgotten