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A consistent
pro-choice lie is "if abortions are made illegal, then women will
die from 'back-alley' abortions." We now know that this false
notion was started by pro-abortion doctors seeking to legalize abortion
(late 1960's -- see Feminism & Abortion).
In fact, over 90% of abortions performed before 1973 (legalization year)
were done by licensed physicians. The following
article about abortion in Poland illustrates just how flawed the
"back alley" concept really is. |
Family News in
Focus May 10, 2000
Poland Wipes out Abortion
by Lara McGovern, staff writer
When it comes to curbing abortions, Poland stands as a world leader.
Many politicians and judges have long been reluctant to outlaw abortion
because it might result in illegal, back-alley abortions. But one
country has proven that fear is groundless.
For 44 years, Poland was dominated by Russia and abortion was not only
legal, it was paid for by the government. Then in 1993, after the Iron
Curtain fell, the Polish parliament severely restricted abortion.
"Abortions declined precipitously so that this past year, they only
had 250 abortions. So the abortion rate went from 160,000 to 250,"
said Dr. Jack Willke, of the Life Issues Institute.
Willke, who has spent time in Poland, said pro-abortion groups argue
that without legal abortion, women would have illegal, partial abortions
and then go to hospitals to finish the so-called
"miscarriage."
"Right now, what do we see? There are fewer gynecologic admissions
to Polish hospitals today than there were when abortion was legal,"
Willke said. "There are fewer women dying of gynecologic
problems."
Lek Koleski, a Polish member of the board of directors of the
International Right to Life Committee, said abortion restrictions have
helped educate women.
"One year we had abortion on demand again, and only 1,200 women
wanted abortions on demand that year," Koleski said. "That
means that the previous years had educated people not to use this way of
reducing the number of your children."
His conclusion: The law tends to influence opinions.
Poland's experience also shows that fewer women died as a result of
pregnancy and childbirth, neonatal births declined and induced abortions
performed to save the life and health of the mother also became more
rare after abortion laws were passed.
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