Dear Staff,

I just wanted to thank you for all your help and support. I would like to thank Joy for all the phone calls and answering of stupid questions, and also to the two Christina's for basically holding my hand through the procedure.

I can't say I have ever experienced fear like that before, but all of you gave me the support I needed to get it done. Women like me are very lucky to have places like Women's Health.

I can't thank you enough for all the time and energy you've given me. All of you were kind and courteous, honest and direct. You answered all my questions to the best of your ability, and made me feel at ease. I felt very safe.

 

Thank you,

WHS client

 

 

Abortion became legal in 1973 by the US the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court said that a woman’s right to privacy could not be violated by any state. Abortion could no longer be legislated by the states, with the exception of second trimester abortion.The court said that states could make laws regarding second trimester abortion, but only if these laws were designed to protect the woman’s life.

 

Since abortion became legalized, the abortion foes began strategies to outlaw abortion. They have tried through the courts and state legislatures to make abortion illegal and less accessible. Over the years they have attempted to impose parental notification, irrational licensing requirements for clinics, waiting periods, bans on second trimester abortions, imposing “counseling” requirements on abortion providers, and restrictions on the use of federal funds for abortions.

 

In California, there are no restrictions on a woman's right to choose abortion, such as parental consent, age limits, waiting periods, etc.

 

Abortion opponents resorted to picketing clinics, harassing staff and patients, interfering with women’s ability to get into clinics, blockading clinic doors, clinic arson and vandalism, and even murder of physicians, clinic workers, and volunteer escorts. The right-wing of the anti-abortion movement was wise to the fact that if they couldn’t win on making abortion illegal, they could make it less accessible.

Against this backdrop of clinic violence, one of the most vicious and intended outcomes of anti-abortion terrorism has been to make women ashamed about having an abortion. Not only do women feel guilty, and stigmatized, but they are perceived as immoral for choosing an abortion. Abortion providers have been marginalized outside mainstream health care, their work is vilified, and they are called murderers and demons.

 

We at Women’s Health Specialists believe that when women choose an abortion, they are making a moral decision. We remain steadfast against anti-abortion threats, and protect our clients and staff against violence through security measures and legal protections. We are committed to a woman’s right to freely choose abortion, and we have weathered the storm of protests.

One in three American women will have an abortion by the age of 45. Abortion is one of the most common and safest medical procedures provided in the United States today. Approximately 1.3 million women have an abortion per year, and 90% are in the first trimester of pregnancy. Less than 1% of abortions result in serious complications. Anti-abortion extremists have tried to scare women about abortion by declaring that abortion is unsafe.

 

Abortion opponents have promoted many myths about the dangers of abortion to not only frighten women but to make them feel guilty and immoral. Other examples of myths that surround abortion are:

 

Post-abortion syndrome: Groups against abortion and so-called Crisis Pregnancy Centers (fake clinics) have heavily promoted that having an abortion damages women psychologically. The American Psychological Association (APA) has just released a report indicating that there is no solid scientific evidence that abortion causes mental distress in women. The APA study is a timely refutation of the fiction, promoted by anti-abortion activists for several decades, that having an abortion harms women’s mental health. Click here to read more of this text from the National Women’s Health Network’s 2008 fact sheet.

 

Abortion Causes Breast Cancer: Those who have opposed abortion have launched fearful campaigns that assert that women who have had abortions are more prone to cancer. There is no scientific truth that there is a relationship between abortion and breast cancer. Click here to read the National Women’s Health Network fact sheet that dispels this myth from a 2003 study.

Second trimester abortion:
Some of the most crucial battles against a woman’s right to choose abortion has been in the arena of second trimester abortion. Susan Yanow has written an excellent article, Confronting Our Ambivalence: The Need for Second-Trimester Abortion Advocacy. Yanow’s article exposes the reason why the abortion rights movement should fight hard to retain women’s right to abortion regardless of the length of pregnancy. To read her article click here.

 

Debunking the myth of "post abortion syndrome" and the stigma of abortion you can submit your own own story to this website. Read or contribute to other women's stories about having an abortion.

 

The National Abortion Federation has a fact sheet on the Myths of Abortion. Click here to read more.

If you are interested in becoming a client escort volunteer, please click here to sign up.

For information on the political status of abortion and WHS strategy see WHS Call to Action.

 

For more information on facts about abortion go to the National Abortion Federation