Late-Term Abortion: The Cries He Won’t Have to Hear
“ Is it gas or did I just feel her kick?” I said to my husband at the fourteenth week of my first pregnancy. “I think she likes the protein and banana smoothie I had for breakfast! Put your hand here and feel her move,” but he said he did not feel anything. I was frustrated because I wanted him to experience this milestone of her life with me. It was not just an idea of a human he would one day hold, it was a child developing in my womb before birth in the same way a child develops in preschool to become a kindergartner. Just like we don’t sit in the classroom with our children, but still know they are learning and growing to step into the next phase, the life of a fetus is prevalent and growing into the next stage of life. “I promise it isn’t just gas. She is stretching her arms and legs, and it even tickles!” I responded to his wonder if it was a kick I had felt. He believed me but had to continue connecting with her through other ways longing for the moment he felt what I had felt. Several weeks later, he felt his first child kick his hand. At that moment, I saw an emotion I’ve never seen before from him: the daughter he has been talking about had become more real to him, even though she had always been real in this world.
If only the governor of New York could feel every kick, squirm, flip and jab of the children that would lose their lives to the signing and passing of BILL NO S00240, which legalized abortions after twenty-four weeks in the case the fetus is not viable or the mother’s health needs to be protected, would the life lost become more real to him as well? It may be that there are cases in which the fetus is no longer surviving; however, where was the law preventing this in the first place? When the fetal heart rate stops, labor is induced and performed either vaginally or c-section.
In cases of the mother’s health at risk, if she is to keep the fetus, the same procedure is applied. HELLP Syndrome is an example of a case in which labor would need to be induced to save the mother’s life. A woman in South Dakota was diagnosed with HELLP Syndrom in the 33rd week of pregnancy; so she was induced and delivered her child early. Eighteen months later, she has heard her child’s cries in the night and celebrated every milestone that was made and achieved on time in spite of being born pre-term. In New York, had her mother chosen otherwise, she wouldn’t have had to chance to cry to be comforted in her first days of life, take her first bite of peas (that she most likely would have spit out. Who likes pureed peas?), nor take her first steps seeing her mom, dad and sister clap and cheer for her even when she fell after step number four because they a strong-willed and joy-filled girl like her, could achieve anything she put her mind to. She wouldn’t have the opportunity to experience the pride in her parent’s eyes seeing her overcome the stereotyped premature baby that can’t achieve milestones and struggles with their health. Her choice as taken from her. The same baby that was felt kicking in the womb prior to the doctor report the woman received about health syndrome, was soon kicking during diaper changes to show she was happy, would have instead had her last kicks in the womb and never experience life if the mother had been given the opportunity to abort her child’s life in New York.
“BILL NO S00240.” Assembly to Pass New York State Liberty Act & DREAM Act, KRUEGER, 9 Jan. 2019, nyassembly.gov/leg/?leg_video=&bn=S00240&term=2019&Text=Y.
In questionnaire research done on the Psychological Consequences of either medical or criminal abortions, it was found the woman experienced depression, the worry of carrying another child in the future, guilt, nightmares, abnormal eating behaviors, and even regret with a range of 33%-43.7% of those questioned and observed. The conclusion of the research study page states, “Psychological consequences of abortion have considerably been neglected.” Does the New York Governor consider that the mental health of women receiving abortion can lead to her overall health being at risk as well? Along with feeling the kicks before signing the bill, I ask he would have sat with the mother who didn’t know how strongly she and her unborn, now deceased, child were attached.
With New York passing this bill, we can only expect other states to follow. Those in favor of the bill often claim it is for the woman and her best interest and health in mind, but according to Psychological Consequences of Abortion among the Post Abortion Care Seeking Women in Tehran we are able to see the woman may be the overlooked victim of this, now legal, case of murder. Don’t turn a blind eye to the neglect of the women and children of this crime recently legalized in the state of New York. Speak up to your state legislators, advocate for human rights, and research the true risks of abortion for both the mother and fetus.
References:
- “BILL NO S00240.” Assembly to Pass New York State Liberty Act & DREAM Act, KRUEGER, 9 Jan. 2019, nyassembly.gov/leg/?leg_video=&bn=S00240&term=2019&Text=Y.
- Pourreza, Abolghasem and Aziz, Batebi. “Psychological Consequences of Abortion among the Post Abortion Care Seeking Women in Tehran” Iranian Journal of Psychiatry vol. 6,1 (2011): 31–6.
