Abortion advocates say pro-life state laws harm women.
They deem abortion bans and restrictions “cruel.” They claim the laws have no exceptions for a mom’s health and that they even prohibit treatments for ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages. The pictures they paint show expecting moms who’re allegedly being “pushed to death’s door.”
But is this true? Do pro-life policies put moms at risk?
The “Life of the Mother” Exception
Abortion supporters are wrong about pro-life laws.
The truth is each state with an abortion ban or strict limit includes an exception for the life of the mother. As an example, Texas – which is one of the most life-affirming states in America – permits abortion in its “Human Life Protection Act” if a mom is “at risk of death” or her condition poses “a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function.”
For these situations, Texas, along with most other pro-life states, instructs doctors to employ “reasonable medical judgment” when making these decisions. Texas doctors are not even legally required to wait until a mom is on the brink of dying before intervening. They are to use their “reasonable medical judgment” and can perform an abortion before her death is imminent.
But abortion advocates ignore these facts and never mention the existence of this exception. What’s more, they also never reveal that induced abortions aren’t even medically necessary in these situations. Their argument is built on sand.
Rather than undergo an abortion procedure, it’s physically safer for moms with life-threatening conditions to deliver their children prematurely. A preterm delivery is not only better for moms, but it also prevents their babies from being directly killed and gives them a chance at life depending on their gestational age.
The good news is this dire scenario is rare. Doctors can usually save both the mom and child when she experiences a health crisis. They can care for her as they wait for her baby to become viable and able to live and thrive outside the womb.
Doctors go to these lifesaving lengths because they understand they have two patients under their supervision during a pregnancy – the mom and the preborn child.
Miscarriages and Ectopic Pregnancies
The abortion lobby is also incorrect when it comes to miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies.
Every life-affirming state allows doctors to help moms experiencing the heartbreak of a miscarriage. Even though a miscarriage is medically termed a “spontaneous abortion,” this unintentional loss of a child is not an induced abortion and should never be confused as one.
Pro-life states affirm this truth. For example, Texas says an act is not an abortion if the intent is to “remove a dead, unborn child whose death was caused by a spontaneous abortion.” Rather, the state defines abortion as acting with the “the intent to cause the death of an unborn child.” This places miscarriages squarely outside the realm of abortion.
Each pro-life state also permits doctors to treat women with ectopic pregnancies, a dangerous condition in which a fertilized egg implants and grows outside the uterus. These are not abortions. Several states, including Texas, even explicitly declare in law that physicians can provide “medical treatment to a pregnant woman in response to an ectopic pregnancy.”
Texas recently enacted a new law detailing their pro-life policies, which among its several provisions, reiterates the legality of treating ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages. The legal explanations in Texas – as well as across the country – are abundantly clear.
Doctors and hospitals have the obligation to know and understand their state’s abortion laws for the good of their patients. Failing to give appropriate care harms women and children and is not the fault of the law.
The Abortion Industry’s Dangerous Rhetoric
The reality is it’s not pro-life laws that are dangerous – it’s the rhetoric of the abortion industry. Their fearmongering has sown confusion as they endanger the most innocent in the womb and their moms.
The Charlotte Lozier Institute reported that only 0.3% of women seeking abortion do so because their life or major bodily function is at risk. Nearly all abortions in America are elective.
Abortion bans and restrictions seek to stop the flood of unfettered abortions that end the lives of so many children. These babies are human beings from the moment of conception and deserve the right to life.
Pro-life states put preborn children back into the legal equation as they affirm their dignity and value. Their laws have rescued babies from violent deaths and their mothers from the devastation and regret that often follow.
But the abortion industry does not see these preborn children’s immense worth or care about the hurt they cause women. They want unrestricted access to abortion in every state – and they’re lying about the danger to women’s health to achieve it.
