It seems that the presidential election this past Tuesday hung on one issue: abortion. One side invested heavily in the issue, and the other chose to ignore it or fumble.  The heart-wrenching stories on both sides leave most Americans uncomfortable and conflicted. As a nation, we are split, with smaller groups at each extreme and a vast majority detached between them.

The big question that needs answering is, “What is the unborn?”

If you were to take a few minutes and go on any pro-/anti-abortion website/blog/Facebook page and scroll down to the comments, you would read the following: “It’s NOT human; it’s just a clump of cells. The government shouldn’t force me to grow something in by body against my will. ” And to quote Nancy Pelosi, “[w]omen will die on the floor” from tubal or ectopic pregnancies if abortion is regulated.

According to embryology textbooks and pro-lifers, “human life begins at conception,” therefore abortion ends that innocent life. Using logic, ending the life of an innocent is murder, therefore abortion is murder. As Americans, we have a duty to protect “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Without life, what other rights matter?

When it comes to rights, are we a nation that gives one human the right to take all the rights from another? Does the temporary inconvenience of pregnancy justify ending the life of another innocent human?

These are questions our media should be asking us, our politicians, and the abortion industry (aka Planned Parenthood, women’s health specialists, private abortion clinics, and NARAL). Medically inaccurate statements from politicians supporting the abortion industry should get as much negative airtime as the single sentences of Akin and Mourdock.

When it comes to protecting the life of the mother, we are actually in agreement. Every effort must be made to save the life of the mother; if the child dies in the process, it is sad, but it is sometimes unavoidable. The media has failed to inform the public, and Nancy Pelosi,  that in cases like tubal or ectopic pregnancies, the surgery of abortion is not even used. To quote WebMD, “the surgery will be laparoscopy[.] … This type of surgery is done through one or more small cuts (incisions) in your belly.” Even in the few cases where methotrexate is administered early in the tubal pregnancy, abortion consent forms clearly state that the abortion surgery will not remove an ectopic pregnancy.

When Jackie Speiers bravely stated that she had had a D&E abortion because her child had “moved from the vagina into the cervix,” the media never questioned the medical inaccuracy of that statement. Pro-lifers never stated that a “baby” moves through the cervix out of the vagina when it is delivered. No one mentioned that she chose to have her child ripped apart while alive rather than allowing her child to continue being delivered and die in the loving arms of his/her parents. That is the choice she made. She never stated that her life or even health was in danger – just that her child was not going to survive.

This type of questioning seems rude and insensitive, but as a post-abortive woman, I believe that it is necessary and fair. When I express my abortion regret, I am attacked viciously by self-professed pro-woman pro-choicers. If I can be attacked, why can’t Jackie Speiers be politely questioned, or at least be given an opportunity to make her abortion story sound medically accurate?

As a former customer of Planned Parenthood, I can say with certainty that the misinformation that abortion supporters spew was given to them directly from the abortion industry. Abortion choicers do not come up with their medically inaccurate, illogical analogies individually. The media should be exposing abortion-industry misinformation, not parroting medically inaccurate propaganda. With public pressure and falling ratings, I am hopeful that the media will get back to work doing what it does best.

Our media stepped up during our nation’s civil rights battle, World War II, and Vietnam. The media showed the pictures and video of peaceful protesters being beaten by white racists, the mountains of dead Jews, wounded Vietnamese running for their lives during the Vietnam War. Our media showed us the clear line between good and evil, and as a nation, we fought for good. Today’s media (from Media Matters to FOX News) has failed regarding abortion.

At a minimum, the miracle of fetal development should be celebrated. What child would believe that “it’s just a clump of cells” after seeing a 9-week-old fetus move her arms and legs and watch her heart beat? Why isn’t the media holding up these medically accurate truths to the abortion industry and demanding that they publicly acknowledge that abortion ends the life of “whole, unique human”?

The media needs to show America the medically accurate facts of abortion. Yes, it’s painful, just like all the other images of historic human atrocities, but until we acknowledge the truth, we will remain detached, indifferent, and quite frankly ignorant. Abortion is not a “women’s issue,” and it certainly is not a “health care issue”; it is a social justice issue. One day we will be asked, “What did you do to end the worst human injustice in history?”

Note: The spelling of Jackie Speiers’ name has been corrected from a previous version that read Jackie Spears.

It seems that the presidential election this past Tuesday hung on one issue: abortion. One side invested heavily in the issue, and the other chose to ignore it or fumble.  The heart-wrenching stories on both sides leave most Americans uncomfortable and conflicted. As a nation, we are split, with smaller groups at each extreme and a vast majority detached between them.

The big question that needs answering is, “What is the unborn?”

If you were to take a few minutes and go on any pro-/anti-abortion website/blog/Facebook page and scroll down to the comments, you would read the following: “It’s NOT human; it’s just a clump of cells. The government shouldn’t force me to grow something in by body against my will. ” And to quote Nancy Pelosi, “[w]omen will die on the floor” from tubal or ectopic pregnancies if abortion is regulated.