Refuting the Myths

Why all the debate? Most Americans favor legalized abortion.

The majority of the public is neither adamantly pro-choice or pro-life. When asked whether abortion should be legal in any and all circumstances, fewer than 25% have consistently responded in favor of abortion on demand. Similarly, less than 25% of the public supports a total ban on abortion.

Abortion is just another religious issue, and no one can force their beliefs on anyone else.

Religion did not discover when life begins; biologists did. Religion did not establish that at the moment of conception a unique and separate individual exists; geneticists did.

Because some who oppose abortion do so on religious grounds does not make abortion a religious issue anymore than opposition of religious people to driving drunk makes drunk-driving a religious issue.

The government shouldn't interfere in this highly personal issue.

Thomas Jefferson said: "The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government." It is naive to suggest that government can be absent from debate on human life. Government acts through law to regulate areas much less fundamental than the right to life. The issue is whether government will protect and preserve life, or continue to allow this most fundamental human right to be denied.


I personally oppose abortion but feel that a woman must have the right to make her own decision.

There is no middle ground when human life is at stake. Law is a powerful teacher; many believe that when something is legal, it is morally allowable. Politicians who say, "Personally opposed but..." fail to act out their stated view that abortion destroys human life.

But, you can't legislate morality! Women will still get abortions even if they are illegal.

All law reflects society's desire to set standards for the safety of its members. That we cannot expect all to submit to these standards does not stop us from legislating them. All laws about murder, theft, battery, arson, even traffic violations, are moral judgments that these things should not happen. It is indeed the legislation of morals. It is behavior that we cannot legislate. Clear standards, with consequences for violation, usually reduce unacceptable behavior.

Yes, there always will be abortions, but without legal sanction there would not be as many. Just because an activity happens frequently does not mean that activity should be legalized. Should we make rape and murder legal just because we can't stop them from happening?

Every woman has the right to control her own body.

This statement covers two fallacies. The first is the assumption that the unborn baby is not a separate person from the mother. The unborn child is an individual, separate and distinct from the mother. From the time of conception, the baby's genetic code is unique to itself, different from the mother's and father's. The baby has its own blood type, heart, brain, and other organs, and may have differently colored eyes, hair, and complexion. The second fallacy is that we all have unlimited rights. True, we all have rights which must be protected. Further, a woman has a right to protect her body. But, her child, too, has rights, beginning with the right to continued life. Being dependent on others should not deprive a helpless human being of this fundamental right.

If abortions were made illegal hundreds of women would die from unsafe illegal abortions.

The numbers reported by abortion advocates are greatly exaggerated. You have to look to the years prior to the use of penicillin to find more than 100 abortion-related deaths per year. The death rate was declining steadily because of improved medical procedures well before abortion was legalized. But death is just one of many health concerns.

We must remember that every abortion is a surgical procedure, and even though it is legal, it puts many women at serious mental and emotional risk. Abortion creates multiple long and short term problems. Immediate medical complications that can arise are hemorrhaging resulting in blood transfusions, lacerations of the cervix resulting in later miscarriages, perforation of the uterus resulting in peritonitis, mild to fatal infection, hepatitis, blood clots, emboli and anesthetic deaths.

Thirty-five percent of women who have had abortions experience miscarriage of later wanted babies. There is a twenty to fifty percent higher incidence of premature births and low birth weights in subsequent pregnancies. Congenital birth defects were shown to increase significantly; and newborn death, fifty to four hundred percent. There is also a higher incidence of sterility, tubal pregnancy and psychological disturbances in women that have had abortions. Seventy percent of relationships fail within one month after an abortion.

What about the "hard cases" like rape, incest, and handicapped babies?

Statistically, pregnancy resulting from rape or incest is extremely rare. If pregnancy does occur, the woman's trauma and guilt should not be compounded by the taking of innocent human life. Abortion does not solve the problem of violence or abuse. We should punish the criminal, not the victim.

When there is an incest victim, that victim deserves the full measure of society's help and concern. When there is incestuous pregnancy, there are two victims who deserve society's help and concern. Abortion destroys the most compelling evidence of the incestuous relationship, the child, therefore permitting it to continue unknown.

In the case of handicapped babies, there are constructive alternatives. Private and government assistance is available. Handicapped persons can and often do lead fulfilled and happy lives. Besides, more babies are born retarded or handicapped because of their mother's previous abortion than those destroyed by it for reason of potential retardation or disabilities. Abortion can cause a large number of prematurities in later pregnancies. Prematurity is a major cause of mental retardation and birth defects.

It's not fair to bring an unwanted child into this world - every child should be wanted.

This argument underrates the ability of mothers to accept their children. An unplanned pregnancy should not be equated with an unwanted child. Many women faced with an unplanned pregnancy later report they became satisfied mothers.

It is said it is unfair to bring an unwanted child into this world, a child doomed to a life of poverty, disease and delinquency. It is a mark of the degradation of the abortion mentality that the destruction of life can be described as a humane service to the victim. Millions of Americans have overcome economic hardship and even physical handicap to lead happy and fulfilling lives.

It is argued that unwanted children grow up to be victims of child abuse. Studies show, however, that most abused children are from wanted, or planned pregnancies. Even with the elimination of close to a million and a half unwanted children each year, the incidence of child abuse has risen dramatically since the legalization of abortion. Abortion weakens the social taboo against hurting the helpless and diminishes the value of life.

There is no such thing as an unwanted child. Millions of couples are waiting to adopt children. There are more than enough loving parents for all the "unwanted" children in the world.

A woman may need an abortion because of personal circumstances that make it impossible for her to care for a young child.

A woman has many choices for life. If she wishes to raise her child, there are countless programs across the country that can provide her with counseling, housing, medical care, job training, food, clothing, and other needed services to help her make a good life for herself and her child. If a woman feels that she cannot provide for her baby, adoption can be a good choice for both mother and child. Children's lives should not be sacrificed as a means of solving the problems of others.