Abortion
Poland – High Court effectively bans abortion on babies with disabilities
A ruling by Poland’s highest court has effectively banned most abortions in a country where there are only about 2,000 a year. In an 11 to 2 decision, the Constitutional Tribunal declared that abortion due to foetal defects is unconstitutional. 1,074 of 1,100 abortions performed in 2019 were mostly Down syndrome babies. After nationwide protests in 2016, The governing Law and Justice party (PiS) legislators asked the Constitutional Court to rule on the legality of abortion for birth defects. Few media reports looked into the Court’s reasoning. In a nutshell the court condemned eugenics and contended that terminating pregnancy due to defects of the foetus amounted to eugenics – a sensitive issue in a country which suffered so much under Nazi occupation. Read more
UK – Media misleads public into believing abortion is ‘safe’
The Economist, probably the world’s most influential magazine, has come out strongly in support of at-home abortions. During the Covid-19 pandemic, women struggled getting rid of their unwanted babies and as a result, a number of countries have relaxed restrictions on mail-order drugs. This means that women can now have abortions without ever consulting a doctor face-to-face. The Economist welcomed the changes and claimed that “There is no evidence that at-home terminations are dangerous, and plenty to suggest that they are not”. However, there is evidence that two women have died recently in the UK after taking abortion pills. A midwife for the National Health Service wrote that 13 incidents were being investigated. One case where a woman was found at home the morning after starting the process and the second where a woman presented with sepsis and died very quickly. Read more
UK – Nurse considers legal action against Marie Stopes
A nurse, who feared for her life and needed emergency surgery after taking ‘DIY’ home abortion pills, is considering legal action against Marie Stopes UK for medical negligence. Having never been pregnant before, Sophie – a pseudonym – found herself with nowhere to turn to following the breakdown of her relationship with the father of the baby. Sophie contacted Marie Stopes seeking help and unsure of whether or not she wanted to proceed with her pregnancy. During her interactions with the abortion giant, the professional nurse said she was denied proper counselling, was rushed through the abortion process, and told that king the pills would be “just like bad period cramps” and that pain relief could be obtained from a pharmacy. However, Sophie experienced “excruciating pain”, was bleeding for ten days and still felt pregnant. After having an internal scan at the hospital to find out why she still felt pregnant she was told that she still had ‘products of conception’ inside of her that had a blood supply.
Now recovering after surgery, Sophie is receiving support from the Pregnancy Crisis Helpline, which supports women who are going through or have experienced crisis pregnancies. She is now keen to start a support group connecting women who have had similar experiences. Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: “Those running abortion services in England have elevated ideology over women’s safety, and we are seeing the tragic consequences of that. “We are concerned about how many more of the tens of thousands of women who have accessed this service have had similar traumatic experiences. Sadly, Sophie is not alone in her ordeal. A number of women have come forward to share the serious problems they’ve experienced after taking ‘DIY’ home abortion pills. Read more
Kenya – Marie Stopes abortion facility closes and fake doctors arrested
A police search of Marie Stopes abortion facility in Nairobi Pangani estate found ten aborted bodies of babies discarded and decomposing in a bin at the facility. Two ‘fake doctors’ who were not registered with The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council were also arrested for illegally committing abortions. The medical body has now ordered the closure of the facility and suspended its registration certificate and operating license with immediate effect. While Marie Stopes International claims to offer “exceptional quality” and “excellent healthcare”, the reality appears to be the opposite. A damning report from the UK’s Care Quality Commission (CQC) accused Marie Stopes International of paying staff bonuses for coercing women into abortions. Read more
USA – Trump admin joins five countries seeking to prohibit abortion
The Trump administration joins five other countries this week in signing a declaration which seeks to prohibit abortion. The Geneva Consensus is a coalition of states who oppose the United Nations’ (UN) Declaration of Human Rights, which are enshrined in international law. In particular, Geneva Consensus members disagree with the UN’s stance on abortion. The Geneva Consensus has no basis in international law and will not mean abortion or same-sex marriage is restricted in the US. Instead, the declaration is an attempt by the US and other members to change the conversation about what constitutes a human right. Read more
USA – New study finds mothers under increased pressure to abort babies with down syndrome
A new study highlighted in Scientific American found evidence of discrimination against unborn babies with disabilities. Authors Cindi May, a professor of psychology at the College of Charleston, and Jaclyn Hennessey Ford, a research assistant professor in the department of psychology and neuroscience at Boston College, surveyed more than 300 mothers of children diagnosed with Down syndrome. According to the researchers While some of the mothers described positive experiences with doctors and medical workers, many told the researchers that they had negative experiences, the mothers reported negative experiences with medical staff, including a lack of compassion, pressure to terminate their pregnancy, and pessimistic expectations about outcomes for their child and family. Many received limited or no additional resources or support systems.
According to a CBS News report that shocked the nation by exposing this discriminatory trend, nearly 100 percent of unborn babies who test positive for Down syndrome are aborted in Iceland. The rate in France was 77% in 2015, 90% in the UK and 67% in the United States. In England, new data shows the number of late-term abortions on unborn babies with Down syndrome has doubled in the past 10 years. A number of American states have passed laws to ban discrimination against unborn babies with Down syndrome and other disabilities, but many of the laws are blocked by legal challenges from the abortion industry. States also have been passing laws to provide better education and support for families of children diagnosed with Down syndrome. Because of this growing support, many families are being empowered to choose life for children with Down syndrome. Read more