2008 Woodie Awards
Guest Column: Tough choices
Terps for Life
Issue date: 3/14/08 Section: Opinion
If you have ever had an unplanned pregnancy, you know that it can be very confusing and difficult, to say the least. Supposing you want to find more information and support in an effort to continue with your pregnancy, Crisis Pregnancy Centers, which offer free services such as financial assistance for baby clothes and supplies, parenting classes and adoption information, can be extremely valuable and supportive. The state's house bill 1146 and senate bill 690 will possibly limit the help and aid Maryland CPCs give to pregnant women. These bills would require CPCs to give a disclaimer to potential clients saying their information is not factually accurate. If you or someone you know needed help with an unplanned pregnancy, would you even consider going to a clinic that says it does not give accurate information to clients?
These bills are based off of an investigation conducted by NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland, in which the group's investigators went to CPCs in Maryland posing as clients. NARAL published a report on this investigation claiming that CPCs provide women with "misleading information to deter women from considering an abortion." The report uses sources mainly within the abortion industry to back up its claims (which is a bit like quoting research from a tobacco industry to say that smoking causes no health problems). This makes the report far from objective. Ultimately, the report and bills are based off of claims that are unsound.
Contrary to what the report asserts, CPCs do not provide factually inaccurate information to clients. The centers have certified medical staff to assist. Moreover, much research has been conducted showing abortion can be physically and emotionally harmful to women. The NARAL report documents that abortion is a "very safe procedure," but it fails to mention other complications women may have such as "infections, bleeding, fever, ... chronic abdominal pain, vomiting [and] gastro-intestinal disturbances" from the Elliot Institute, a non-profit that performs research on the effects of abortion. According to the Elliot Institute, legal abortion is reported as the fifth-leading cause of maternal death in the United States. If a procedure leads to these types of complications, we cannot call it safe and definitely not "very safe."
One of the investigators identifies sonograms, pictures of happy babies and plastic models of developing fetuses as being biased information. This information only shows the truth of pregnancy. At any rate, no effort is going to be completely unbiased, just as Planned Parenthood has posters in its waiting rooms that read, "A baby costs $756 a month, how much is your allowance?"
Yes, the bills hurt CPCs, but most of all they unjustly punish pregnant women, many of who are in a state of panic or denial, who seek help. If this bill is passed, it will be harder for pregnant women to obtain the free services they need to continue a pregnancy. The truth of the matter is that very often CPCs save lives. An abortion involves the killing of a human being: the unborn child. As an alternative to facilities that provide abortions, CPCs give information to women that shows the truth about pregnancy and abortion - that abortion kills the unborn child and can also be physically and emotionally detrimental to a woman's health.
It was our assumption that those who support legalized abortion wish for abortion numbers to decline, implying that abortion is not always the best decision. But this bill is counterproductive to the common goal of reducing the number of abortions that occur. If pregnant women feel CPCs cannot provide them with adequate services and information, they will choose abortion. That will only perpetuate, if not increase, abortion numbers. Also, hindering women's access to CPCs most certainly does not allow women to make an informed choice. The "right to choose" is lost if women feel compelled to have abortions. Certainly, some CPCs may not be perfect, but this bill does not even attempt to solve that problem. Instead, it maintains another problem by directing pregnant women in need toward abortion.
Women should be able to make an informed decision about abortion, and CPCs allow pregnant women to do so. Women should also know about the resources available to them. This is the purpose of the upcoming Pregnancy Resource Forum (Tuesday April 1, 7-9 p.m., 0119 Armory), which is a neutral panel discussion that presents the pregnancy resources at the university and how resources can be made more available to pregnant students. All are welcome. If this is an issue that interests you, I urge you to attend the Pregnancy Resource Forum. More information can be found at our website: www.terpsforlife.org.
The Students for Life are a university-recognized student group. They can be reached at umdsfl@yahoo.com.
These bills are based off of an investigation conducted by NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland, in which the group's investigators went to CPCs in Maryland posing as clients. NARAL published a report on this investigation claiming that CPCs provide women with "misleading information to deter women from considering an abortion." The report uses sources mainly within the abortion industry to back up its claims (which is a bit like quoting research from a tobacco industry to say that smoking causes no health problems). This makes the report far from objective. Ultimately, the report and bills are based off of claims that are unsound.
Contrary to what the report asserts, CPCs do not provide factually inaccurate information to clients. The centers have certified medical staff to assist. Moreover, much research has been conducted showing abortion can be physically and emotionally harmful to women. The NARAL report documents that abortion is a "very safe procedure," but it fails to mention other complications women may have such as "infections, bleeding, fever, ... chronic abdominal pain, vomiting [and] gastro-intestinal disturbances" from the Elliot Institute, a non-profit that performs research on the effects of abortion. According to the Elliot Institute, legal abortion is reported as the fifth-leading cause of maternal death in the United States. If a procedure leads to these types of complications, we cannot call it safe and definitely not "very safe."
One of the investigators identifies sonograms, pictures of happy babies and plastic models of developing fetuses as being biased information. This information only shows the truth of pregnancy. At any rate, no effort is going to be completely unbiased, just as Planned Parenthood has posters in its waiting rooms that read, "A baby costs $756 a month, how much is your allowance?"
Yes, the bills hurt CPCs, but most of all they unjustly punish pregnant women, many of who are in a state of panic or denial, who seek help. If this bill is passed, it will be harder for pregnant women to obtain the free services they need to continue a pregnancy. The truth of the matter is that very often CPCs save lives. An abortion involves the killing of a human being: the unborn child. As an alternative to facilities that provide abortions, CPCs give information to women that shows the truth about pregnancy and abortion - that abortion kills the unborn child and can also be physically and emotionally detrimental to a woman's health.
It was our assumption that those who support legalized abortion wish for abortion numbers to decline, implying that abortion is not always the best decision. But this bill is counterproductive to the common goal of reducing the number of abortions that occur. If pregnant women feel CPCs cannot provide them with adequate services and information, they will choose abortion. That will only perpetuate, if not increase, abortion numbers. Also, hindering women's access to CPCs most certainly does not allow women to make an informed choice. The "right to choose" is lost if women feel compelled to have abortions. Certainly, some CPCs may not be perfect, but this bill does not even attempt to solve that problem. Instead, it maintains another problem by directing pregnant women in need toward abortion.
Women should be able to make an informed decision about abortion, and CPCs allow pregnant women to do so. Women should also know about the resources available to them. This is the purpose of the upcoming Pregnancy Resource Forum (Tuesday April 1, 7-9 p.m., 0119 Armory), which is a neutral panel discussion that presents the pregnancy resources at the university and how resources can be made more available to pregnant students. All are welcome. If this is an issue that interests you, I urge you to attend the Pregnancy Resource Forum. More information can be found at our website: www.terpsforlife.org.
The Students for Life are a university-recognized student group. They can be reached at umdsfl@yahoo.com.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
wow
posted 3/14/08 @ 11:38 AM EST
you countered the NARAL pro choice information with information from the Elliot Institute, a pro-life group. How is that any better than using pro-choice information?
i second that "wow"
posted 3/14/08 @ 2:22 PM EST
you lost me when you cited the Elliot Institute as a source. just like your tobacco industry example, you make your case citing sources from the pro-lifers. (Continued…)
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