| Abortion and Womens' Health
Letter to Montgomery County Council regarding attack on Pregnancy Centers
Dear Montgomery County Council Members,
At the December 1 hearing flowing from the attack on pregnancy centers you heard testimony that abortion is risk free. For example, Elisabeth Sowecke, an employee of the Potomac Family Planning Center, said, "Furthermore, comprehensive review for (sic) the data have concluded that a vacuum aspiration procedure in the first trimester poses virtually no risk to future reproductive health. In addition, I offer my personal testimony due to witnessing safe abortion procedures for over four years, and patients trust me on my word as a health care professional."
But that is not what medical experts say. Below are thumbnail reports and references for risks -- such as preterm birth, spontaneous abortions and ectopic pregnancy -- discovered by medical researchers. Note: the repeat first trimester vacuum aspiration abortion rate in Maryland is extremely high at 71.5% (1), and these risks have been known for decades.
So here in Montgomery County at the Potomac Family Planning Center there is a health care professional who is misinformed about abortion risks and is misleading women. This is what the abortion industry falsely accused pregnancy centers of doing, and several council members joined in those false accusations. Now we see an abortuary employee misleading women. You have a duty to correct this situation and ensure women are told about the risks of abortion. You should disassociate yourself from the misinformation provided by NARAL.
Further, you should commend pregnancy centers for providing women with the truth about abortion.
John Naughton
1. Repeat Abortion in the United States , Rachel K. Jones, Susheela Singh, Lawrence B. Finer and Lori F. Frohwirth, Occasional Report No. 29, November 2006 http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/2006/11/21/or29.pdf
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