Women deserve to know the truth before, not after an abortion.

  Chris
Kentucky,  United States
 
  At 18 years old, I aborted my first child.  That decision had a profound effect on me.  
 
At nine weeks pregnant, I was ignorant of the facts.  I didn’t know that my baby’s heart was beating; that the baby already had fingerprints and could move.  I didn’t know that there was anything that even looked human.  I was shown an illustration of a uterus which contained a formless, gelatinous lump.  Years later, when I saw what a nine–week fetus really looked like, I nearly fainted.
 
Would I have paused and taken more time to consider what I was about to do if I had the opportunity to see a real-time ultrasound image of that child?  Would seeing a beating heart cause me to better understand the gravity of the decision I was making?  I believe it would have.
 
The very least a woman deserves as she is about to undergo a life-changing procedure that will have life-long consequences is the truth.  An ultrasound simply speaks medical truth.  I believe, that when it comes to abortion there is no such thing as too much information.  All risks and possible consequences of any other surgical procedure are disclosed to the patient.  I was shown an ultrasound of my diseased gallbladder before it was removed from my body.  Shouldn’t women receive the same courtesy before undergoing an abortion?
 
I have been involved with Pregnancy Help Center in Richmond for 17 years.  During that time, I have met hundreds of women who made the decision to abort while they were confused, afraid, under pressure and ill-informed.  Most regret their abortions; some immediately, some years later.  
 
The child I aborted 30 years ago would have been 29 years old this month.  There is not a single day in the month of February that I celebrate.  A woman’s life goes on after her abortion, but her heart and her mind are never the same.  Women deserve to know the truth before, not after an abortion.
 
   
   
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