The Web of Deception: How Good People Have Been Misled by the Pro-Choice Movement

This article was originally written for You, Me and NFP but has been modified.

“In every single case where people cooperated with evil, they used eloquent lies to assure themselves that what they were doing was actually good.” - Jennifer Fulwiler, Something Other than God

This may be an unpopular stance to take as a Catholic in today's world, but I believe the pro-choice movement is full of many good people who are fighting for what they truly believe is right and just. Unfortunately, these people have been tragically deceived by an intricate web of eloquent lies.

Where did it all start? 

I would argue that our country’s moral erosion first began with the lies of contraception.

People were told the birth control pill would “liberate” women. They could be “free” to act like a man and no longer be left with the “burden” of children.

(And people certainly were not told about the harmful side effects of contraception or that some forms can even act as an abortifacient.)

But the reality is that as soon as we separated the procreative and unitive aspects of intimacy, members of the opposite sex could be treated as objects, or “mere instruments” to fulfill someone’s lustful desires.

I believe once people were “free” to use other people for sex, that’s when we, as a culture, began to lose sight of the dignity of human life. Which led us to the issue of abortion...

What if the contraception method failed and a woman found herself pregnant? If women were to be truly liberated, then abortion had to be legalized. But to convince people of this, more eloquent lies were needed...

In Sue Ellen Browder’s book, Subverted, she shares details of how abortion activists intentionally lied to sway public opinion in America.

In fact, this group of activists published a book that provided “poisonous half-truths, limited truth and truth out of context” about the history of abortion. For example: 

• They fabricated results of fictional polls to claim that 60 percent of Americans were in favor of abortion.
• They falsified the number of illegal abortions that were taking place in America (they said one million when it was really more like one hundred thousand).
• And they lied about the number of women dying each year from illegal abortions (they said ten-thousand when the real number was about 250).

To make matters worse, many of these deceptive statistics were actually cited in the decision of Roe v. Wade.

And so, the deception was successful. And abortion became legal in our country.

However, many abortion clinic workers realized more lies were needed in order to convince mothers to follow through with their abortion appointments.

In Abby Johnson’s book, The Walls are Talking, abortion clinic workers share how they were trained to tell women that the infant in their womb was just a “blob of tissue.”

Abby Johnson has repeatedly shared her own experience of witnessing a 13-week old baby fight for its life at the hands of an abortionist. And in The Walls are Talking, a former abortion clinic worker shares what she saw during a late-term abortion:

“I saw the perfect outline of her baby. I witnessed it kick its legs and shift in an attempt to avoid the needle."

If the fetus is not a human life - if it’s just a “blob of tissue” - how could it possibly struggle and fight for its life?

And today, as the pro-choice war rages on, there is another important question that is often overlooked, which is: 

Will abortion, which claims to be pro-woman, really bring more peace into a person’s life? And into our relationships? In other words, is this really as good for us as the pro-choice movement claims?

Several studies show that it's absolutely not good for women, as many women will suffer feelings of self-hatred, depression and anxiety after having an abortion. Here are just few statistics cited from Project Rachel:

• Women who have had an abortion have an 81% higher risk of subsequent mental health problems compared to women who have not had an abortion.
• Women who aborted have a 138% higher risk of mental health problems compared to women who have given birth.
• Women who aborted have a 55% higher risk of mental health problems compared to women with an “unplanned” pregnancy who gave birth.
• Women with a history of abortion have higher rates of anxiety (34% higher), depression (37%), alcohol use/misuse (110%), marijuana use (230%), and suicidal behavior (155%), compared to those who have not had an abortion.

In essence, women will be forever scarred by their decision.

It’s time to put an end to the lies.

Now, more than ever, we must be courageous in sharing the truth. As St. Catherine of Siena profoundly said, “It is silence that kills.”

And yet, I also believe we must share this truth with love, compassion and mercy. I think many in the pro-life movement are blinded by righteous anger and unintentionally neglect mercy.

We must remember: It’s not baby vs. mother. It’s both.

Women who find themselves in a crisis pregnancy should never be shamed or condemned. Never. They need our love and support, not our judgment and self-righteousness.

The same goes for the women and men who have suffered an abortion. God desires to immerse them in an ocean of mercy. We too must offer them healing and forgiveness, not hatred or condemnation.

But our love cannot stop there. We have to extend this same merciful love to those who are currently working in the abortion industry or advocating for abortion, because they too have been blinded by the lies they have been fed.

If we are truly Christians, we are called to follow Christ’s example.

While hanging on the cross, Jesus did not say to his persecutors, “You’re all going to hell.”

No, he said, “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.”