One stark, inescapable conclusion of life as a doctor is that abortion hurts. It may not be a widely publicised conclusion – after all, even pro-lifers grant that abortion is intensely personal. But that is no reason to stay quiet. If anything, the intensity and emotional involvement of a decision to terminate a pregnancy calls for urgent attention towards those hurting from it.
It has long been known by those in the pro-life movement – and, all too painfully, by those who have had terminated pregnancies – that abortion hurts not only the unborn but also the mothers involved. The facts of foetal life are now well known, and many mothers terminate pregnancies only out of desperation, or because of cultural or domestic pressure. The significance of the decision is well known to those women suffering from it: it is hidden only by an industry and ideology dependent on keeping it obscure.
