I have learned sometime over a year or so ago that it is never a good idea to talk about political or controversial topics on any social network. No one ever changes his or her mind because of a political status update, blog, or ongoing Facebook argument about (fill in controversial topic here).
However, abortion is something I keep hearing about lately. Both sides are being presented left and right the past few days, on facebook, radio, the news.
I’m Pro-life. At the same time, I also recognize that it is no ones place to tell a woman what she should or shouldn’t do with her body. With that said….
…..It’s just….there was this one bit of information that I heard on Talk Radio the other day that….yeah….I just can’t get over. 103.3 (Christian talk radio) was interviewing a woman, Abby Johnson, who, at one time, had worked her way up to the Head Director position of both the abortion side and the planning side of Planned Parenthood. She basically over saw and ran one particular Planned Parenthood in Texas and was a strong pro-choice advocate.
She shared many eye opening facts about this one Planned Parenthood that she worked at. Here are a few that stood out to me:
- Taken from a poll PP conducted, the majority of women who get abortions are actually Pro-life Christians.
- There is no “stereotypical” woman who comes to the Clinic. Johnson saw women as young as 11 and as old as 50, poor and rich, educated and uneducated, and all different races.
-She shared that PP has to perform a certain amount of abortions each month to keep funding. Each year, that quota increases (according to the books, not what PP is communicating).
-Along with reaching that abortion number, they also have to hit a $ amount each month to keep funding.
-PP has allowed women to bleed for hours before calling an ambulance. The last thing they need is an ambulance puling up to a clinic.
- How much an abortion costs is directly related to how far along her pregnancy is. The further along, the more it costs. Johnson made it clear that there is no reason why a later term abortion costs more. The same amount of drugs are used, the doctor gets paid the same, and it takes the same amount of time.
-One of the main questions women ask is if their baby will feel the abortion. PP is told to inform women that a fetus does not develop any senses or sensory anything until 28 weeks and that the abortion will not be felt
Meet Grace and Ellie
It was that last “fact” that almost cause me to get in a car accident as I was listening.
Meet Grace and Ellie if you haven’t yet. Grace and Ellie were born at 19 weeks gestation. Grace measured 18 weeks and Ellie measured 19+ weeks. Just moments after I birthed them, I placed my finger in Grace and Ellie’s hand not thinking anything would happened. But, both little girls, when I placed my finger in their little hands, wrapped their hand around my finger and squeezed.
No senses developed by 28 weeks? I don’t think so. It seems the sense that is very developed is in fact, touch.
What made Johnson leave PP? Her particular PP decided to perform an abortion via ultrasound. They were short one nurse and asked her to step in just this one time and place the ultrasound wand on the mothers uterus as a guide. This particular fetus was 13 weeks along. As the abortion started, she saw what looked like the fetus fighting for its life, squirming from left to right and eventually pressing itself up against the back of the womb until it had no where else to go. She is now a Pro-life advocate and has written a book called Unplanned.
I love her story because it is one of grace, forgiveness and redemption. There is nothing to yucky or ugly that is unforgivable. We serve a God with a big heart of compassion, love, who lavishes an abundant amount of grace. Women, there is nothing you can do that will cause our God to shun you or block you from His love. Walk in freedom.