Putting the Lie to “Safe and Legal.” A Pro-Life Victory in Virginia, and a Reminder in Maryland that the Battle Goes On

Many of you are aware that last week the Virginia Legislature passed historic legislation that calls out the veracity of the Pro-Choice claim that they want abortion “safe and legal” and puts that claim to the test.

Here are excerpts from a Washington Examiner article:

The Virginia legislature on Thursday passed historic legislation that would tighten regulations on abortion clinics in the state — and could make it more difficult for Northern Virginia women to find one.

Facilities in which five or more first-trimester abortions are performed each month would be classified as hospitals, which are subject to stricter rules regarding the width of their hallways, for example, as well as certain staffing and medical requirements…..Gov. Bob McDonnell said Thursday he intends to sign the measure.

Should that happen, Virginia will become the first state to require hospital regulations at facilities that perform first-trimester abortions. The law would take effect July 1, and the state Board of Health, made up of gubernatorial appointments, would issue regulations within 280 days of that date.

Advocates for the long-sought measure, including Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, hailed the outcome as a measure to preserve and protect the health of women in the state.”While I regret the occurrence of abortions, I do want women in all circumstances treated with the dignity and respect that every human being deserves,” Cuccinelli said in a statement.

Opponents, however, argued that the increased regulations would have the opposite effect and restrict access to those seeking abortions, raising potential constitutional issues. “This is a sad, sad day for the women of Virginia and our families,” said Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax.

Clinics in Northern Virginia could be shuttered as a result, said Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. “Right now, believe it or not, the most populated area in Virginia does not have an abortion clinic that would meet hospital standards,” Keene said.

….Abortion clinics in Virginia are currently regulated as outpatient clinics, similar to oral or cosmetic surgery centers.

The Full article is here: Virginia Law Regulates Abortion Clinics

Now, of course, pro-choice advocates, who have long marched under the banner of “safe and legal,” should hail this decision since it goes a long way to ensure one of their two “pillar” positions. As strong advocates for “women’s safety” they, look back in horror to the days of “coat-hanger” abortions and insist that those days must never return. So, surely, they will support measures to further protect women from the often unsafe, unsanitary and under-regulated women’s “clinics.” Many stories have recently surfaced that show just how unsafe these clinics are. For example

  1. http://www.slate.com/id/2285810/
  2. http://bmb.oxfordjournals.org/content/67/1/99.full
  3. http://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/more-abortion-clinics-found-unsafe/
  4. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/legal_ugly_unsafe_igmHR7AIndw0LBZjeBTSqO
  5. http://www.slate.com/id/2285631/
  6. http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/flexicontent/item/14578-abortion-doc-gosnell-associate-in-delaware-is-suspended/
  7. http://www.slate.com/id/2285491/
  8. http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110205/NEWS02/102050352/Delaware-health-officials-clergy-urge-lawmakers-act-abortion
  9. http://www.politicspa.com/gop-dems-on-same-page-in-response-to-abortion-clinic-scandal/21114/

Well, you get the point. There are huge problems in the abortion “industry” regarding safety. The pro-choice advocates claim they want to have safe abortions available. Here  comes Virginia to the rescue with strong legislative protections for women who go to these so-called clinics. But as we can see from the reactions above, the “safe and legal” advocates are well prepared to sacrifice safety in order to keep abortion more legal. Regulating abortion for them is chipping away at its legality and availability. Hence the “Safe” pillar, they claim to be at the foundation of their movement, has to give way for the legal pillar. Never mind that some women are butchered and even die.

It’s really the “legal” of “safe and legal” that matters. Or so it would seem. For all the talk about women’s safety, it would appear that such a concern is quite secondary.

Hence, the Virginia Law puts the lie to the propaganda of the Pro-choice advocates. “Safe” for them appears to be more of an abstraction or a slogan. Real safety doesn’t seem to interest them, or at least, it seems to threaten them.

Without a doubt, the victory in Virginia is a sad and ironic one. Focusing on women’s safety is a fine goal in itself. But, what of the safety of the unborn children? Well, step by step we’ll make this journey to recapture of the hearts of our countrymen. Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli rightly states, While I regret the occurrence of abortions, I do want women in all circumstances treated with the dignity and respect that every human being deserves. Yes, and to this I would only add: unborn babies too. I know Mr. Cuccinelli would agree. Here at least is a step to further exposing the hypocrisy of many who cry “safe and legal.” Here at least is a step in seeing that women who are often pressured to have abortions are not easily subjected to the horrors of an under-regulated “industry.”

Now a river runs through the DC area called the Potomac. And while there is a small bit of good news on the Virginia side of the river, a deep sadness has set up on the Maryland side. Sad and tragic to be sure, but some local heroes have stepped on the scene armed with prayer.

The place is Germantown, Md. The case is that of the notorious late-term abortionist, LeRoy Carhart who arrived in this area after being invited to leave the Midwest. Carhart is at his “clinic” Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Women from all over the country arrive as he performs his three-day abortion procedure. Protestors witness mothers walking in the door clearly advanced in their pregnancies. The babies are killed by lethal injection on Monday morning and a laminaria (to dilate the cervix) is started. On Tuesday they return. Finally on Wednesday the mothers get a “choice”, they can either endure a hard day of labor with no anesthesia and deliver the “contents” intact (a dead baby) or they can deliver the “contents” more easily in pieces. (Pardon the graphics.)

Pro-life advocates are working hard to spread awareness and awaken the community. For over a month now 80 to 200+ people protest and pray before the clinic as the women arrive for the Monday killings. There are people from many local denominations, students coming before classes, pro-life veterans from all over the county, businessmen that are currently in the surrounding offices and businessmen that have moved their businesses because of the presence of the abortion clinic.

A First Rescue – On the second week of the protest was seen the first fruit of the efforts. Here is and excerpt from a press release that describes the rescue:

[As] Over 90 people stood in peaceful, prayerful witness outside of the abortion facility….witnesses described a young woman who arrived to have a scheduled abortion with Carhart, and how the entire group gathered together to pray specific and focused prayers for this particular woman and her child. The woman came back out of facility a short time later and announced, “I knew the love was out here and not in there!” She also said that the facility is “disgusting and the people are mean in there.” The young woman continued to speak with the group for several minutes, and eventually accompanied one of the witnesses to Shady Grove Pregnancy Center. Shady Grove’s purpose is to help and support women who believe that their only option is abortion [1]

The prayer and the advocacy for life continue. God bless those who pray before these “clinics.” As one who does so myself, I want to say it is a very difficult work, often a deep sadness envelopes, and yet also a deep love. Pray for those who make these difficult walks. Pray for results. Pray that more women may come to know that “the love is out here, not in there.” Blessings to Grace and Jamie Morrison who supplied me with info for this post.

The address of the clinic is

Germantown Reproductive “Health Services”
13233 Executive Park Terrace
Germantown, MD. 20874

Here are some additional sources:

  1. http://www.kickoutcarhart.com/
  2. http://ericsammons.com/blog/2011/02/21/join-the-voice/
  3. http://www.catholicvote.org/discuss/index.php?p=13901

Here is a video of the prayers on-going before this awful clinic. Take a few moments and watch. And while you watch, pray. One of those organizing the prayers says with confidence, “Carhart will leave soon.” And surely our prayers will help in not only that, but his conversion as well.

Photo Credit: Flickr (right click for URL)

7 Replies to “Putting the Lie to “Safe and Legal.” A Pro-Life Victory in Virginia, and a Reminder in Maryland that the Battle Goes On”

  1. A self-re-branding as “abolitionist” (rather than “pro-life”), would go a long way toward the polarization this issue needs.

    You really can’t be “pro-choice” without being “pro-abortion”, nor “pro-life” without being “anti-abortion”, and it’s time for this issue, as slavery before it, to be framed as a struggle between those who are ok with murder and those who are not.

      1. I’m sorry, Monsignor; I didn’t mean that as a criticism.

        Thank you for this very informative article.

  2. Lord help us all.

    We can maybe see God’s hand working in little ways though. Apparently when he tried to board his plane recently, 40 Days for Life campaign director Sean Carney was given a complementary upgrade to business class. He sat down to find that his seat buddy was none other than Dr. Carhart himself. Sean is a powerful speaker for the pro-life movement, so who knows what transpired during that trip with a captive audience right next to him!

    We’re seeing victories all the time – Abby Johnson’s conversion and fire for the pro-life movement, small saves at clinics across the nation that I know will one day have a big effect, and more! We need to keep praying and keep working, because God is on our side in this battle, so that means ultimately we’ve won. There’s a great opportunity coming soon – the new 40 Days for Life campaign starts up on Ash Wednesday. If you’ve been looking for a way to get involved, that’s a powerful one!

  3. Another baby was saved from a terrible death this morning at the Germantown Clinic! Praise GOD! Please pray for two other women who were “on the fence.”

  4. As a nurse and prolife activist, I have witnessed horrible emergencies at stand alone abortion mills. We call the police regularly, and the health dept. too, as women would share their horror stories with us. The police would do nothing. The health dept. would do nothing. Counseling women in a cpc I have heard many, many stories of women who almost died due to botched abortions. To bring higher standards of care for women having abortions is “probably” a good thing. I am definitely conflicted on this. Knowing how hard it is to intercept women, wondering about the health care workers perilous option to decline doing abortions(it is constantly hanging in the balance these days), as well as this move seemingly making abortion look safe, which it is not. I appreciate the article. I am not settled regarding abortions being made to seem safe. I hope and pray we never accept or settle for this evil and unsafe “surgery” in our world.

  5. THANK YOU!! I’m going to make vid response to this but I just wanted to say thank you for making this vid because it’s the truth. Woman in general need to hold themselves accountable for the way they carry themselves and also for the way men are going to respond to what they do on here.

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