The abortion lobby continues to be extreme in pushing for unlimited access to abortion, with no true regard for women’s mental or physical well-being. This is evident in the World Health Organizations new guidelines regarding how women can self-manage abortions in illegal settings. The World Health Organization has reach and influence across the globe as an offshoot of the United Nations and is seen as an authoritative entity on policy, especially as it relates to human rights.
According to these guidelines, “Self-care for SRHR [sexual and reproductive health and rights] has perhaps the greatest potential to address unmet needs or demands in marginalized populations or in contexts of limited access to healthcare, including, for instance, self-managed medical abortion in countries where abortion is illegal or restricted.”
The WHO recommends that women self-manage abortion via the abortion pill, aka RU-486. First, the woman takes mifepristone to kill the baby, followed by misprostol to induce labor. This process can last hours. Not only is it physically painful, but it is also emotionally traumatic. This whole process is self-administered and happens in one’s home. The bathroom (or wherever it happens) will often become a trigger for the emotional and physical pain caused by the abortion.
The WHO also recommends: self-assessment for the eligibility for abortion, self-administration of the abortion pill, and self-assessment for the completion of the abortion. It is completely irresponsible for a “health organization” to recommend that uninformed women perform a major procedure on themselves with no supervising physician. What if their pregnancy is ectopic, and the abortion pill does not work? Or if they do have a normal pregnancy, and it still doesn’t work? The women are left alone and without the necessary information to carry their pregnancies to term.
Also consider that since the drug was approved for use in September of 2000 in the US, there have been 124 reported deaths related to the abortion pill and nearly 600 women who required blood transfusions, because they lost so much during the abortion. What about that is safe? And what happens to those “self-managing” women in these situations?
In addition, the use of this drug currently accounts for 31% of abortions in the US, up from 17% in 2008. It is being increasingly administered to women and being advertised by Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers as private and safe, but the research shows it is anything but that.
New research from scientists at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio shows women who have taken the abortion pill exhibit depression and anxiety-like behaviors. They conducted a study using rats that were pregnant and ingested the drugs, and rats that were pregnant and did not take the drugs. It is important to note that rats are used for their close resemblance to human physiology and neurophysiology.
The results are incredibly telling and clearly demonstrate the effect that this drug has on women’s bodies. Some of the negative effects listed are: depression, anxiety, loss of appetite, and decreased self-care. This is not healthy behavior or minor side effects. These are potentially life-threatening, life-changing behaviors that can last for years if gone untreated. When this drug is recommended as safe and simple, that is a lie. This is not a safe drug, but a dangerous poison.
Beyond that, the fact that it is being recommended by an offshoot of the UN to women in countries where abortion is illegal is a disgrace to the organization. They are not fighting for the empowerment of women. For unimaginable reasons, they are prioritizing the availability of unrestricted abortion over women, under the guise of providing “what is best for women,” to the point of endangering women for the sake of their agenda. They call themselves “pro-choice,” but in reality, there is very little choice involved for these women who are being “cared for” by the UN’s WHO.
The World Health Organization is selectively picking the information it uses and relies upon, and unfortunately they are often pro-abortion sources like the Guttmacher Institute or Planned Parenthood itself. The study from Franciscan University was done by scientists with no ties to the abortion lobby, and thus the results can be trusted as objective and not tainted by an agenda.
Another example of this disregard for women’s choice or safety is Planned Parenthood’s insistence on incorrectly labeling the abortion reversal pill as dangerous. While the website decries it as an ineffective, dangerous method of reversing abortion, the abortion reversal pill in reality has a 64-68% success rate and no negative side effects. If Planned Parenthood and the WHO really cared about a woman’s right to choose, and the heath of her and her baby, they would make this option widely known to women who walk into their buildings and who they reach around the world.
Women who are unexpectedly pregnant or feel like they cannot take care of a child are being taken advantage of by the World health Organization. They look to the WHO as an authority figure for their health and well-being, and in return they are suggesting destructive measures for both the mom and her child. It is not in the mother’s best interest to abort her child, and especially not by the self-administered abortion pill. We must continue to pray for these women and their children and fight for the truth, especially in developing countries.
By: Amy Nardozzi, intern with Anglicans for Life
