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Waxman Report Falsely Accuses Pregnancy Centers 7/26/2006 Ignores facts that disagree with pro-abortion ideology. Commentary
A report spearheaded by pro-abortion Rep. Henry Waxman (D-California) states that 20 of 23 crisis pregnancy centers gave "false or misleading information about the potential risks of an abortion" to staff investigators who posed as pregnant 17-year-olds, The Washington Post said.
The congressional report claims that this information "denies the teenagers and women vital health information, prevents them from making an informed decision, and is not an accepted public health practice."
In December 2004, Waxman issued a "study" lambasting abstinence education programs, claiming that 11 out of 13 programs taught "false, misleading, or distorted information."
But in fact it was Waxman's report that was misleading, according to a study by the Heritage Foundation. Abstinence programs have been shown to be effective, according to scholars cited in a CWA report. So, in his current venture, what facts do crisis pregnancy centers relate to pregnant girls that Waxman wishes to keep from them?
Thirteen of the crisis pregnancy centers said that abortion commonly causes severe psychological effects. Seven told investigators that abortion increases risks in future pregnancies, such as infertility and miscarriages. Eight told callers that abortion also increases the risk of developing breast cancer.
However, despite the claims of abortion advocates who are behind Waxman's report, the pregnancy centers based their responses on sound research.
"The abortion industry views CPCs as competition and fears that they will take away their customers," says Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America. "They know that if women are properly educated on the physical and emotional dangers of abortion, many times they will opt out of the dangerous procedure. CPCs take the time to inform women about the consequences of their decision to either continue or end their pregnancy."
An Elliot Institute study reveals that women who have had abortions clearly have more mental health claims than those who carried their babies to term. Multiple studies reveal that women with a history of abortions are twice as likely to have psychological disorders or to contact a social service system than those seeking abortion for the first time.
Psychologist Wanda Franz, Ph.D., testified before the House Human Resources and Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations on March 16, 1989 about the psychological impact of abortion. "Women who report negative after-effects from abortion know exactly what their problem is…they report horrible nightmares…terrible psychological pain."
Abortion can, in fact, cause problems such as damage to the lining of the uterus and result in infertility. Research shows that women who have had an abortion have a higher risk of fetal loss, ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, hypertensive disorders, and intrauterine infections in future pregnancies.
Over the last 30 years, after Roe v. Wade, breast cancer among women in America has risen 40 percent, according to breast surgeon and member of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute Dr. Angela Lanfranchi. All other major cancers have remained fairly constant throughout this time. Studies reveal the majority of this increase in breast cancer occurs in women who were of reproductive age when the Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973.
Biology also points to the abortion-breast cancer (ABC) link. Breast cancer develops after increased exposure to estrogen, the hormone made in the ovaries that causes breasts to develop and enables a woman to become pregnant. During a pregnancy, estrogen increases by 2,000 percent, causing lobules in the breasts to grow. In the third term of pregnancy, these lobules mature into Type 3 and 4 cancer-preventing lobules. An abortion before 32 weeks leaves a woman with high levels of estrogen, large lobules and no developed protection against cancer.
Dr. Janet Daling of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (who says she is pro-choice) brings dramatic evidence to the table: "I resent people messing with scientific data to further their own agenda, be they pro-choice or pro-life. I would have loved to have found no association between breast cancer and abortion, but our research is rock solid and our data is accurate."
Dr. Daling's research found overall a 50 percent risk increase in women who had undergone an abortion.
Despite these facts, it remains clear that abortion advocates will continue to point to statistics that support the conclusion they wish to see-that abortion does not harm women.
"Dismissing women's real experiences and ignoring facts that conflict with their ideology in order to accuse pro-life groups of being 'deceptive' blatantly reveals that the abortion lobby's obsession for abortion trumps any concern they ever felt for women's well-being," Wright says.
Waxman and his allies claim in the report that pregnancy centers have received $30 million in federal funds in the past five years to spread this "deceptive" information. However, pregnancy centers use federal funds primarily for abstinence education.
Planned Parenthood, the nation's leading abortion provider, received $272.7 million of taxpayers' money in 2005 alone. It seems our tax money is in fact spreading misinformation to women and young girls-the fabrications and distortions of Waxman, Planned Parenthood and other members of the abortion fan club.
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