Patricia Beninato of I'mNotSorry.net, the Web site for women who wish to "share their positive experiences with abortion," is soliciting feedback on a new public-relations idea:
got an e-mail today from a young woman who was compelled by her "pro-life" parents and her own beliefs to continue a pregnancy caused by date rape. She now deeply regrets the decision. I've gotten a few e-mails like this in the past few months, and I was toying with the idea of creating a section where women could tell such stories to show the reality that "pro-lifers" conveniently choose to ignore. I know it doesn't really jibe with the whole "I'm not sorry" idea, but I think this happens more often than is reported and may give women like this an outlet that isn't normally available. Your thoughts?Dig those scare quotes around "pro-life." Oooh, I'm scared. Those fearsome "pro-lifers" actually want to let people live. Don't let them near your fetus.
Note how Beninato begins her comments with the information that the young woman's pregnancy in question was caused by date rape. The implication is that an abortion would somehow lessen the trauma of the rape—even though the opposite is the case. This is true regardless of whether the child is aborted through surgery or through medication, but is particularly true of surgical abortion. Dr. David C. Reardon observes, "Abortion involves a painful examination of a woman's sexual organs by a masked stranger who is invading her body. Once she is on the operating table, she loses control over her body....And while she lies there tense and helpless, the life hidden within her is literally sucked out of her womb."
As for the idea of inviting women who regret their motherhood to speak out, I agree with Beninato's commenters: It's wonderful—jibes perfectly with "the whole 'I'm not sorry' idea."
You know how members of the post-abortion recovery group Silent No More wear T-shirts declaring, "I Regret My Abortion"? I'mNotSorry could make up shirts announcing, "I Regret My Motherhood." They'd be a big hit with the "I'm With Stupid" set.
Just imagine—once the kids of those regretted pregnancies are old enough to read, they can log on to the Web and read their resentful moms' stories about how those mean old "pro-lifers" allowed the little parasites to see the light of day.
In fact, why stop at a Web page? I'mNotSorry should publish baby books for regretful mothers. They could have a page for the pregnancy-test strip with its ominous pink lines; a page for the mom to draw the abortion-clinic bill that she tragically never got, and a page for a photo of the should've-been-snuffed-out baby with the smug-faced grandparents who forced its existence.
Margaret Sanger's motto for her Planned Parenthood organization was, "Every child a wanted child." It takes legalized abortion to show kids just how unwanted they are.
