"I Am Destroying Life"

...so says an abortionist (yes, he really calls himself that) in today's LA Times.(http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-abortion29nov29,1,2971330.story?coll=la-headlines-nation, if you want to read it yourself) There's really just no comment for people like this, or women like this, who think more about tax policy when they vote than abortion. But here are some choice parts:

There's a reference in the article about a nurse at the clinic:

For the few women who arrive ambivalent or beset by guilt, Harrison's nurse has posted statistics on the exam-room mirror: One out of every four pregnant women in the U.S. chooses abortion. A third of all women in this country will have at least one abortion by the time they're 45. (emphasis mine)

"You think there's room in hell for all those women?" the nurse will ask.

OK, not that we as Catholics believe that if you have an abortion you are automatically going to Hell. You are only going to Hell if you have an abortion if you refuse to confess your sin. If you go through the rest of your life thinking you did the right thing and you have no remorse for it, then don't be surprised if God is less than happy with you upon Judgement Day. But I'm not in a position to tell you that you're automatically going to Hell. That's not my call. But it's a lot more likely. And I get a ironic chuckle at the idea that Hell has a limit on how many people it can hold.

From the women themselves:

--A high school volleyball player says she doesn't want to give up her body for nine months. "I realize just from the first three months how it changes everything," she says.

--Kim, a single mother of three, says she couldn't bear to give away a child and have to wonder every day if he were loved. Ending the pregnancy seemed easier, she says — as long as she doesn't let herself think about "what could have been." Funny how she never considers "what could have been" for her child could have been a loving home with great parents who loved that child.

--The 17-year-old in for a consultation this morning assures the nurse that she does not consider the embryo inside her a baby.

"Not until it's developed," she says. "That would be about three months?"

"It's completely formed about nine weeks," the nurse tells her. "Yours is more like a chicken yolk."

The girl, who is five weeks pregnant, looks relieved. "Then no," she says, "it's not a baby." Her mother sits in the corner wiping her tears. This just shows how far we as a pro-life movement have to go in this country. We must begin to convince people that even at the "chicken yolk" stage, it is still a child with all the components of human life that the mother has. This is a girl who's aborting her baby. There must be a way to reach her before she makes this decision, and we have to find it.

--Amanda, a 20-year-old administrative assistant, says it's not the obstacles that surprise her — it's how normal and unashamed she feels as she prepares to end her first pregnancy.

"It's an everyday occurrence," she says as she waits for her 2:30 p.m. abortion. "It's not like this is a rare thing."She regrets having to pay $750 for the abortion, but Amanda says she does not doubt her decision. "It's not like it's illegal. It's not like I'm doing anything wrong," she says. I love it when people equate legality with morality. Say what you want about how abortions still occurred pre-Roe, but people like this might have been (and probably were!) deterred because it was illegal. Illegality has the tint of immorality with it, and that's a good thing to deter crime.

"I've been praying a lot and that's been a real source of strength for me. I really believe God has a plan for us all. I have a choice, and that's part of my plan." Yeah, and God had a plan for that baby, too. Too bad we won't get to see it. I wonder what religion it is that teaches the idea that killing your babies is part of God's plan for you? I am reminded of Jesus speaking to the women in Jerusalem: "Weep not for me, but weep for yourself and for your children. For the time is coming when men will say, 'blessed is the womb that never bore and the breast that never nursed.'" I think we're there.

-- When she became pregnant this fall, Sarah, who works in real estate, was in the midst of planning her wedding. "I don't think my dress would have fit with a baby in there," she says. Well then, by all means!

--The last patient of the day, a 32-year-old college student named Stephanie, has had four abortions in the last 12 years. She keeps forgetting to take her birth control pills. Abortion "is a bummer," she says, "but no big stress." Yes, well, I imagine once you've done anything four times, it becomes "no big stress". Except for the baby.

Lest you think I'm being too hard on these women--OK, maybe I am,on the more blase among them--but I just find it incredible their thought processes. I know that some of them--maybe even most of them--will regret what they did. If someone came to me and said they had an abortion and it was tearing them up inside, I wouldn't resort to haranging them on why it serves them right because they did an awful thing, etc. etc. I'd listen as best I can and try to help her as best I can. But we as a pro-life movement must do more to stop abortion by changing the debate, by making it more personal, by helping women to see other options. We must convince them that while it may not be illegal, it is still wrong and they can do better for their children. We as a nation must do better for them.