Over 3,000 women tell Supreme Court: Abortion facilities lied to us

“I was told that my baby was not really a live baby, but that it was only a blob of flesh, and since it really wasn’t alive, I wouldn’t be killing anything. Later, when I saw the sonogram of my second living child, I saw that he was VERY ALIVE…and the guilt overwhelmed me.”

Recently, pro-abortion activists have been attacking life-affirming pregnancy centers, claiming that the centers lie to women. At the same time, pro-choicers argue that abortion facilities give thorough and unbiased counseling.

In “The Abortion Handbook,” pro-choice author K. Kaufmann argues against informed consent laws, claiming that abortion facilities already tell women everything they need to know about abortion:

Virginia pastor Beth McLemore, coordinator of pastoral education and counseling at Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge, testified before Congress against informed consent law. She claims Planned Parenthood provides excellent counseling:

Yet former Planned Parenthood employees and other abortion industry workers have claimed otherwise (as can be seen in one of Live Action’s undercover videos below):

Indiana Planned Parenthood Caught On Tape Giving Fabricated Medical Information

And 3,348 post-abortive women who told their stories in an Amicus Curiae Brief submitted to the Supreme Court have also claimed otherwise.

The amicus brief was filed by the Justice Foundation in the case Whole Woman’s Health vs. Hellerstedt. The more than 3,000 women claim that the abortion workers either withheld information or outright lied to them about abortion’s risks and the development of their preborn babies. Kathryn Bretz tells of terrible physical and traumatic emotional consequences in the amicus brief:

A woman named Mary describes the “counseling” (or lack thereof) she received at the abortion facility:

The abortion workers didn’t warn her about the physical pain the abortion would cause, nor of any possible aftereffects. Had Mary been given the chance to see her baby on the ultrasound screen, she may have changed her mind about having the abortion.

Jennifer said, “I was told my baby ‘was just tissue the size of a peanut.’ It was easy and slight pain like menstrual cramping. No, I had no idea I would be depressed for six years.”

A number of women who gave their testimonies in the amicus brief answered the question, “Did the abortion counselor give you accurate information about abortion and its aftereffects?” R.V. replied:

The abortion workers refused to let R.V. see the ultrasound, even though she asked to see it. The workers may have feared that if she saw the baby on the ultrasound screen, she would change her mind and leave – causing the abortion facility to lose money.

Mavis Buckley Jones answered the question, “No. There was no ultrasound performed and I was told that the baby was at that point only “tissue.” I was not informed of the mental trauma that manifests in addition to the physical trauma.”

Sarah Allen may have been directly lied to by the abortion facility about her baby’s development. She says:

A preborn baby’s heart is beating by 22 days after conception; recent research suggests the heartbeat starts even earlier – at 16 days.  It is very unlikely that Sarah’s pregnancy had not progressed further than 16 days. In all likelihood, her baby did have a beating heart.

Nona Ellington was told her baby was “only a blob of tissue.” She adds:

Because the abortion facility separated Nona from her mother and took her into the counseling room alone, her mother was unable to ask questions or give guidance to her daughter, leaving the young teen with no advocate to help her make an informed decision without manipulation.

Karen was lied to and discovered the truth years later when it was too late:

Baby Development Week by Week

K.M. was not given accurate information in the abortion facility, and may have been a victim of malpractice. She is lucky to have survived:

Mary K. Seals experienced serious complications after her abortion at the age of 13:

Now she has to live with that horrible question for the rest of her life.

Leella Cherry was only a minor when she had her abortion, but her parents were never notified:

Sue Lassiter says her abortion “was minimized to mask the murder of the baby. It was only tissue mass and we were only scraping my uterus. I had no idea of the pain I would endure both physically and mentally.”

Irene says the abortion facility didn’t give her enough information:

Tina was told something similar:

Theresa was lied to as well:

And K.R. was lied to by her Planned Parenthood counselor, who “told me my baby was only the size of the head of a pin. Later research showed that my baby was developed enough to suck its thumb.”

Christina Singletary-Nkounkou suffered a great deal of emotional trauma after being lied to about her preborn baby:

The abortion facility also withheld information from Gail Bersch:

Jo Lisa Blossom remembers the lie the workers at the abortion facility told her:

Lianne was never warned about the potential consequences of an abortion:

Wendy Beutel was also lied to about her baby and was not warned about the complications she would endure:

Shadia, who was only 15 when she had her abortion, describes the abortion worker as an “abortion saleswoman”:

These are just some of the stories from the 3,348 women who signed the affidavit. All of these women were victims of the abortion industry. They were not told the truth about their pregnancies or their preborn children.

It is deeply ironic that pro-choicers accuse pregnancy centers of lying to women when so many women have been lied to in abortion facilities. Women who go to these facilities are not told about abortion’s ramifications and aftereffects.

There are many, many women who have stories like these.

1. K Kaufmann The Abortion Resource Handbook (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997) 20-21

2. Tom Davis Sacred Work: Planned Parenthood and Its Clergy Alliances (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2005) 181