Alarm bells are ringing on the plans pro-abortion advocates are creating for the country if Roe v Wade is overturned. Fearing that medical abortions will be restricted or even eliminated in some states, Planned Parenthood and other abortion advocates have changed gears to push for more chemical abortions – what supporters call “self-managed abortions.” Planned Parenthood has even advocated mailing the necessary drugs to women without a medical professional ever seeing the patient in person. The dangers of these drugs and this plan are staggering.

Commonly referred to as either the abortion pill or RU-486, the chemical abortion consists of two drugs, mifepristone, and misoprostol. The first medication, mifepristone, disrupts production of progesterone, a hormone necessary for pregnancy. A few days later, the woman takes the second drug, misoprostol, causing contractions which expel the baby. Medical professionals, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, agree that using a chemical abortion past ten weeks of pregnancy is potentially dangerous to the mother and can cause significant side effects.

Obviously, the impact on the baby is designed to be devastating, but many women are unaware that they are also risking their own lives as well. The typical symptoms a woman might experience when terminating a pregnancy through a chemical abortion are heavy bleeding (similar to that of a natural miscarriage), severe pain lasting a few hours, cramping, nausea, weakness, fever, chills, vomiting, headache, diarrhea, and dizziness. These symptoms may last anywhere from two days to a few weeks and are not considered unusual following a “normal” chemical abortion. However, symptoms can become significantly worse when women unexpectedly suffer severe side effects from one or both of the drugs in the abortion pill.

Severe side effects can include prolonged heavy bleeding lasting weeks, incomplete abortions that require surgical intervention, infections, sepsis, and death. To say that these outcomes are serious is an understatement. According to the FDA, in 2018 there were 24 deaths of women who had taken mifepristone and misoprostol. Additionally, there were 274 hospitalizations and 100 reported infections. These are only the reported problems; how many other women faced severe issues, but their doctors or clinics did not report the problem? Now, Planned Parenthood wants to blindly distribute this poison to women without clearly determining how far along they are in their pregnancy or what underlying health conditions may exist. This plan is not healthcare; it is genocide.

There is, however, some good news. First, for women who have taken mifepristone to start a chemical abortion, a process called abortion pill reversal is successful in some cases. Some doctors will prescribe high doses of progesterone to stop the chemical abortion process. Abortion Pill Rescue Network, in affiliation with Heartbeat International, is a group that connects women to doctors who will prescribe lifesaving medication. The group claims that they have saved over 2,500 babies from chemical abortion.

Second, more life-affirming crisis pregnancy centers are being opened every day across the country. The largest groups operating life-affirming centers are Birthright International, Care Net, and Heartbeat International. Additionally, there are numerous smaller and independent groups operating lifesaving clinics. Not only do these clinics assist expectant mothers, but they also provide STD testing and post-abortive counseling.

Finally, we have hope in the Dodds v Jackson case which is being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. If the Court reverses Roe v Wade, it will not end abortion, but instead will send the discussion back to the individual states. At that point, each state will have to create laws to regulate abortion, and we can ask our representatives to consider banning, or at least limiting access to, chemical abortions. States are divided, but it is likely that several states will significantly limit abortion.

Take ACTION: Regardless of the outcome, we must continue to fight to prevent abortion and help women and families facing a crisis pregnancy. If you are facing a crisis pregnancy and need help, please get in touch with one of the following hotlines:

Birthright International: 1-800-550-4900

Care Net: 1-877-791-5475 or click HERE.

Heartbeat International: 1-800-712-HELP or click HERE.

You can also search “abortion alternatives and clinics near me” to find a clinic within your region. Please note that many search engines will list abortion clinics first. Please ensure that the clinic you choose will support abortion alternatives.

If you have started the chemical abortion process and have changed your mind and want help to possibly reverse the effects, contact the following:

Abortion Pill Rescue Network/Heartbeat International: 877.558.0333 or click HERE.

If you have experienced the pain of abortion and need counseling, regardless of how long ago the abortion occurred, please call one of the hotlines or go to your nearest life-affirming crisis pregnancy center.

Pregnancy care comes at a cost and these lifesaving centers need our help and our financial support! As we begin a new year, please consider making a donation. Also, contact your representatives and ask them to restrict chemical abortions in the state and prevent abortion drugs from being distributed without a physical exam. Lastly, let us all pray that the Supreme Court makes a wise decision in the Dodds v Jackson case and that we can overturn Roe.

All life is precious to the LORD! He declares in His Word:

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you.”
~Jeremiah 1:5a

By Leigh Jones, World Magazine

Sexual activity and pregnancy among teens is declining

Two reports recently released by the Centers for Disease Control show teens are embracing abstinence, despite the prevalence of promiscuity portrayed in music, movies and on television.

Abstinence advocates say the new statistics on sexual activity and birth rates among teens are an encouraging sign that young people understand the risks associated with having sex, even though most of them have been taught that taking the right precautions makes it safe. The new numbers also disprove one of the main arguments used by advocates of sex education, said Cindy Hopkins, vice president for center services at Care Net, which operates pro-life pregnancy centers across the country.

“The message we hear from the other side is that teenagers cannot control their hormones, so they need to be taught about safe or safer sex,” she said. “It’s encouraging to know they can control themselves. When they hear the truth, they can assess it and make wise decisions.”

The increasing rates of abstinence also show teens are capable of making wise decisions even though many of the adults around them are sending them messages that normalize teen sex, said Valerie Huber, president of the National Abstinence Education Association.

According to a report on teen sexual activity released in October, the number of girls having sex between the ages of 15 and 19 dropped 8 percent between 1988 and 2010, from 51 percent to 43 percent. The number of boys having sex dropped 18 percent, from 60 percent to 42 percent.

The rates of abstinence were highest among 15- to 17-year-olds, with only 27 percent of girls and 28 percent of boys reporting sexual activity. In 1988, 37 percent of girls and 50 percent of boys in the same age range told researchers they already had started having sex.

Huber called the declines good news, especially for parents and mentors who encourage teens to wait.

“Abstinence is a life choice that is resonating with teens,” she said. “They are not ashamed of it. They are embracing it.”

Another report released earlier this month showed birth rates for teens also are declining. In 2010, the number of babies born to mothers between 15 and 19 years old dropped to the lowest level ever recorded in the United States, a 9 percent decrease from the previous year. Births to teens younger than 20 declined 10 percent, reaching the lowest level recorded since 1946.

Statistics released by the liberal Guttmacher Institute show a corresponding decline in abortions.

According to a report released last year, the number of teens who chose to terminate their pregnancies dropped 55 percent between 1988 and 2006, from 45 to 20 abortions per 1,000 women. But Hopkins warned those numbers might not show the full picture. More women are choosing medical abortions in the early stages of pregnancy, taking a pill to induce an abortion instead of going to a clinic for a surgical procedure, she said. Because medical abortions are universally acknowledged to be underreported, it’s hard to know for sure how many pregnancies are being terminated, she said.

Huber, who will spend Friday briefing lawmakers on a bill that would bring renewed emphasis and funding to abstinence education efforts, said the government’s own research proves that the current messaging about safe sex isn’t working. And the choices teens are making prove the message isn’t even relevant, Huber said.

“The current messaging, culturally and in sex ed classes, is one that normalizes teen sex,” she said. “It’s communicating that if everyone isn’t doing it, everyone will soon. But that’s not necessarily the case.”