Getting It All Wrong on Second-Trimester Abortions

Salon.com, an online magazine, recently published an article “Why Women Have Second Trimester Abortions” by Irin Carmon. As a woman who had a second trimester abortion I found it inaccurate and, to be frank, downright offensive.

Ms. Carmon begins with the line, “Despite thumb sucking fetuses you see waved around protests …”, implying that the images are not accurate. I saw my aborted son, and a thumb sucking fetus is exactly what you may see in a second trimester abortion. My baby boy (yes, a baby) was lying in the bed next to me after I gave birth to his dead body as a result of a saline abortion.

As a 17-year-old kid pressured to abort (like countless others), I had no clue what was going to happen to me when I consented to the abortion, and no one told me or explained a thing, from fetal development to the procedure. I can still shudder when I think of it. How can it be possible we allow this to happen? How can it be possible that as a society we actually have given this the protection of the law?

Ms. Carmon then goes on to tell us in her article, “Later abortions are no one’s ideal situation, since the price is nothing compared to the emotional / psychological price that is paid by countless women who undergo late term abortions.” Not once in the article does she (like the medical personnel I encountered) mention the development of the unborn baby or the fact that its life is being taken.

What she does admit is that these abortions are more likely to be had by teenagers. Teenagers who most likely, as in my case, do not have a clue what they are subjecting themselves to. “They are often in denial, lacking education about their own bodies or terrified of telling anyone.” How true, and yet  these teenage girls are subjected to second trimester abortions which will most likely impact them for the rest of their lives.

I think it is probably a safe bet to assume that Ms. Carmon, along with the National Network of Abortion Funds (a group that helps women pay for abortions), are not advocates of parental notification, yet they willingly admit these teens lack education “about their own bodies,” never mind that of their unborn child.

One segment missing from her article is that many late term abortions occur as a result of an adverse diagnosis. Countless couples are pressured by the medical community to abort, and with the new testing for Down Syndrome set to begin in April 2012, more and more parents will be pressured to terminate.

Ms. Carmon, I saw my son. Your article is both cold and offensive to all of us who, for whatever reason, felt that we were not able to have our children. It disgusts me to read it and I am sure it disgusts any other woman who had a second trimester abortion. Compassion? I don’t think so; this article was beyond a disgrace.

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Theresa Bonopartis is the founder of Lumina post-abortion ministry and works with the Sisters of Life on their “Entering Cannan” healing ministry. She also conducts training seminars for clergy and mental health professionals. This piece originally appeared on Lumina’s blog, and is reprinted with permission of the author.

Learn More:
Study Finds Later Abortions More Likely to Be Unwanted, Linked to Psychological Problems
Abortion After Prenatal Testing: The Impact on Parents and Families
Special Report on Teens and Abortion
Former Workers Say Abortion Industry’s “Mission Is To Pressure Women”

Find Help:
Find help, information and resources for yourself or a loved one who is pregnant or struggling after abortion in our downloadable Help & Healing Guide. Legal resources for women and girls who are being coerced or forced to abort can be found at the Center Against Forced Abortions.