{"id":79527,"date":"2015-11-09T12:10:38","date_gmt":"2015-11-09T17:10:38","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=79527"},"modified":"2015-11-09T12:11:07","modified_gmt":"2015-11-09T17:11:07","slug":"why-abortion-survivors-stories-should-be-heard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/why-abortion-survivors-stories-should-be-heard\/","title":{"rendered":"Why abortion survivors’ stories should be heard"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

(The Daily Signal<\/a>)\u00a0The national frenzy over Planned Parenthood has died down somewhat since the House Oversight Committee\u00a0hearing<\/a>\u00a0that occurred more than a month ago.<\/p>\n

News headlines have shifted from the testimony of Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards to the latest developments in the race for president. However, as the media spotlight has shifted, I am still amazed at what the intense media coverage missed in the public debate on abortion.<\/p>\n

Richards wasn\u2019t the only individual who testified before the congressional committee on the Planned Parenthood issue.<\/p>\n

Gianna Jessen and Melissa Ohden also testified. These two women share one remarkable thing in common: they are abortion survivors. That\u2019s right,\u00a0survivors<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Both of these women survived a saline abortion. This procedure involves injecting a toxic salt solution into the amniotic fluid surrounding the unborn child, burning it to death from the outside in. The gruesome\u00a0photo<\/a>\u00a0accompanying Gianna\u2019s testimony indicates the intense trauma this normally fatal procedure inflicts on an unborn child.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

I tried to reconcile these women\u2019s testimonies with how we think of abortion today. We are told that abortion is about \u201ca woman\u2019s right to choose\u201d and that we should not tell women \u201cwhat to do with their own bodies.\u201d I struggled to reconcile these catch-phrases with Gianna\u2019s impassioned\u00a0question<\/a>\u00a0to the House Judiciary Committee\u2014 \u201cIf abortion is about women\u2019s rights, then what were mine?\u201d The answer to her question is simple: she had no rights. As the law stands, the unborn have no rights which we who are born are bound to respect.<\/p>\n

Later, Melissa Ohden\u00a0testified<\/a>. As part of her\u00a0Abortion Survivors Network<\/a>, she has reached out to 203 fellow abortion survivors, and is still looking for others. At what point did these abortion survivors gain their humanity? Does the fact they survived death in the womb imply they were alive in the womb? And if they were alive, when do they gain the natural rights of human beings?<\/p>\n

In America, many abortion proponents laud countries overseas for their healthcare systems. They praise universal healthcare and paid family leave. Yet in Europe, the only country to allow abortion after 20 weeks is the Netherlands, and their limit is 24 weeks. The United States is one of only\u00a0seven countries<\/a>\u00a0in the world to allow abortion after 20 weeks, countries that include the likes of China and North Korea.<\/p>\n

Perhaps, in the midst of America\u2019s pursuit of happiness, it is time to consider the right to life of embryos like Gianna and Melissa. To use\u00a0Melissa\u2019s own words<\/a>, \u201cI deserved the same right to life, the same equal protection under the law as each and every one of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: Article was originally published November 5, 2015 at The Daily Signal<\/a> and is reprinted here with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(The Daily Signal)\u00a0The national frenzy over Planned Parenthood has died down somewhat since the House Oversight Committee\u00a0hearing\u00a0that occurred more than a month ago. News headlines have shifted from the testimony of Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards to the latest developments in the race for president. However, as the media spotlight has shifted, I am still […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":389,"featured_media":79532,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[4807,1868,2287,6089,246,422,403,4713,409,4240,1725,2864,2154,6088,1707,1402],"yoast_head":"\nWhy abortion survivors' stories should be heard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At what point did these abortion survivors gain their humanity? 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