which reveals that thousands of abortion complications have gone
unreported.
The front-page article shows that not reporting abortions is
not only illegal but unethical, because it’s the only way that the
state can know what types of complications have occurred, and how many
women actually got abortions. Also, by not reporting abortions, the
state may have allowed abortion providers to operate “off the books.”
Scheidler is not surprised by the findings, and his entire letter to the Tribune is below:
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To those of us in the Pro-Life movement, Tribune reporter Megan Twohey’s
well-done front-page story, “State abortion records full of reporting
gaps,” presents no surprises. But it presents much information the
public needs to know. While we stand outside most Illinois abortion
facilities and hand out literature explaining the hazards of abortion,
it is important that the public be aware of the astounding facts Twohey
presents in her article.
She calls the state’s tracking of abortions so “broken” that it misses
reporting more than 7,000 abortions each year, and consequently has no
report on the complications and even deaths resulting from these
elective terminations.
Twohey contacted the Pro-Life Action League in March while checking on
the condition of abortion clinic inspections after the story broke on
the deplorable condition in Dr. Kermit Gosnell’s Philadelphia abortion
clinic. Our office sent her summaries of multiple complaints we have
found in court files against Illinois abortion clinics, including cases
of hemorrhaging, perforated uteruses, excessive bleeding, hysterectomies
and deaths, all resulting from abortions.
Illinois abortion clinics are rarely inspected, if ever. We know of one
that has not been inspected for 15 years. But we cannot get laws
passed in Illinois to require regular inspections, even though other
medical facilities must meet basic standards of health.
Abortion
advocates, such as the ACLU, campaign against any regulation of abortion
clinics. The League, of course, wishes to see abortion outlawed, but
while it is legal we believe the lives and health of women should be
protected. Yet abortion advocates fight any regulations, fearing they
might restrict abortion.
We at the League are grateful for the Tribune‘s “Watchdog” report. We
believe women contemplating abortion should know facts such as this
story reveals, that although presently legal, abortion is often unsafe.
Yet, as the story reveals, the lack of safety is seldom recorded.
Women contemplating abortion should know the psychological damage
abortion can cause. We at the League will continue to inspect the court
files for complaints of malpractice against abortion clinics, including
deaths, and we will continue to inform women of the fact that every
abortion destroys at least one life, no matter how “safe” a woman may
think it is going to be for her.
