Editor's Note: This piece was coauthored by Cynthia Collins, a Global Advisor to Operation Outcry.
“It is 2020 and women can speak for themselves” is a common theme in the mainstream media of today.
Nearly every time we turn on a television or scroll through social media, we are bombarded with this pro-feminist messaging. This year alone, there will be millions of dollars in political advertisement promoting this concept. Yet, the very same people are trying to say they speak for women in the Louisiana Unsafe Abortion Act case currently before the Supreme Court. Our answer is no, you do not.
Furthermore, this corrupt industry should not be pretending to advocate for the thousands of women it has so brutally hurt. How have we been hurt by the abortion industry? Bluntly, we had an abortion. We listened to the lies about how it was the best choice and not an infant life. We experienced the physical, emotional and spiritual consequences of our ‘choice.’
Today, we lead organizations that are dedicated to helping women who have experienced the devastation of abortion. One of our groups – Operation Outcry – collected more than 4,000 testimonies from women injured by abortion. The testimonies of these women are included in the organization’s recent Supreme Court amicus brief, which contains the world’s largest collection of sworn testimonies from women injured by abortion. The brief argues that the Louisiana Unsafe Abortion Act should be upheld.
Why should we allow any industry the right to sue on behalf of the parties it injures?
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In 2007, the Supreme Court admitted that "some women come to regret aborting the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow." The abortion industry does not tell women that abortion terminates not just a pregnancy, but a human life. Instead, it deceives and exploits women by saying it is a blob of tissue or a mass of cells. If one sought a professional's advice on the most controversial issue in America today, one would expect a professional to explain both sides of that issue. Sadly, the abortion industry does not.
Abortionists do not have relationships with their patients. The lie of the abortion industry is the decision is made “between a woman and her doctor.” Yet, the Louisiana case evidence showed the vast majority of women never see their abortionist until the abortion is being performed. Additionally, there is no regular aftercare. Injured women are simply offloaded to emergency rooms with no continuity of care.
These truths – which we sadly learned firsthand – are not disclosed to women. Instead, the abortion industry deceived us by minimizing the procedure and the life it ends. This illustrates the inherent conflict of interest between the abortion industry and the women it preys on.
But there is an alternative. Louisiana, as well as all 50 states, have new Safe Haven laws. Under these laws, any mother can transfer the care of her baby to the state – at no cost, with no obligation and no legal procedure. If a mother cannot take care of her child or does not want to, she can drop her baby off at the nearest hospital or fire station. This creates a compassionate and loving choice for women.
With problems such as infertility on the rise, sources estimate there are more than a million people waiting to adopt newborn infants. It is time to stop injuring women and killing our children. We can transfer the burden of care from mothers who may not be ready to those who are desperately waiting to adopt.
Throughout the legal proceedings for the Louisiana Unsafe Abortion Act case before the Court, the abortion industry has tried to claim it is speaking on behalf of women. We are but two women of thousands in the Operation Outcry and pro-life movements rising up to say at the top of our lungs, “the abortion industry does not speak for me!”
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