LIFE DIGEST: ‘Abortion addict’ has 15 in 16 years
- Sep 22, 2009 - comment
Irene Vilar’s “abortion addiction,” as she describes it, resulted in 15 of the lethal procedures in 16 years.
Her new book – Impossible Motherhood: Testimony of an Abortion Addict – will be released Oct. 6, and she says she has already perceived “an inkling of hatred,” Vilar told ABCNews.com in a telephone interview.
Also in this edition: Psalm 139 Project helps save unborn babies, Assisted death nearly doubles in region of Belgium, Abortion increases risks for subsequent babies, and Couple sues fertility clinic for destroying embryos.
“I am worried about my safety and the hate mail,” said Vilar, 40.
“No book like this has ever been written,” she said. “I just imagine the ‘baby killer’ and I could be a poster child for that kind of fundamentalism.”
Although Vilar, a literary agent and editor, aborted 15 of her unborn children, she has two daughters, 5 and 3, who are home schooled, ABCNews.com reported Sept. 21. Many of her abortions came during a tumultuous marriage to a man about 30 years older than her.
If Vilar “is sensing ‘hatred,’ I doubt it is coming from anyone in the pro-life movement,” wrote Tom McClusky, vice president of Family Research Council Action, on the organization’s blog (www.thecloakroomblog.com). “After reading the article I am sure many would have the same reaction as me, one of pity for this poor woman who has had a troubled life, compounded by her multiple abortions.”
Pro-life blogger Jill Stanek wrote at www.jillstanek.com:
“Vilar may say she does not intend her book to become one big pro-life talking point, but pro-lifers are really the only ones who can talk about it. I’ve checked the blogs, and although it’s still early, only pro-lifers are writing about Impossible Motherhood.
“It will indeed be impossible for pro-aborts to really say anything other than ‘Atta girl’ when writing about Vilar at risk of indicting abortion altogether. There can be no difference between 1 abortion and 16, or there is something wrong with it.
“To pro-aborts, abortion can only be another form of birth control. If it is anything more, they open a door they don’t want to open.
Nearly half (48 percent) of all abortions in the United States are performed on women who have had at least one previous abortion, according to a 2006 report by the Guttmacher Institute.
Psalm 139 Project helps save unborn babies
People who want to reduce abortions and aid pregnant women may do so in an effective way by giving to the Psalm 139 Project.
The project, which is a ministry of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), provides ultrasound machines for pregnancy centers across the country. Contributions to the Psalm 139 Project go totally for the purchase and placement of such machines, training for the nurses who perform the tests and minimal expenses for promotion of the fund.
Ultrasound machines have proven to be overwhelmingly successful in helping women choose life for their unborn babies. An ultrasound machine acts as a “window into the womb,” says ERLC President Richard Land.
“If wombs had windows, people would be much more reticent to abort babies because they would be forced to confront the evident humanity of the baby from very early gestation onward,” he says.
“Pregnant mothers who see their babies on sonograms are going to be far more likely to carry their baby to term,” Land continues. “These ultrasound machines will save babies’ lives.”
Gifts to the fund may be sent to the Psalm 139 Project, c/o ERLC, 901 Commerce St., Suite 550, Nashville, TN 37203. Contributions also may be made online by going to a link at www.psalm139project.org.
Assisted death nearly doubles in region of Belgium
Cases of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in a region of Belgium have nearly doubled in a decade, according to a new study.
The report released Sept. 17 in the New England Journal of Medicine showed such deaths in Belgium’s Flanders region went from 1.1 percent of all deaths to 1.9 percent, primarily because of the 2002 law permitting euthanasia, the Associated Press reported.
“We are very concerned about the increase,” said Alistair Thompson, a spokesman for the British anti-euthanasia organization Care Not Killing. “We are facing a concerted effort across Europe to have euthanasia legalized . . .”
Johan Bilsen, who helped conduct the study, expressed hope, however, the rate in Belgium would fall, as it did in a neighboring country, The Netherlands.
Flanders is a Dutch-speaking region of Belgium in which six million of the country’s 10 million people live.
Three European countries – The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg – permit euthanasia. Switzerland allows physician-assisted suicide, which involves a doctor prescribing lethal drugs for a patient to use in taking his own life. In assisted suicide, the physician may not administer the drugs.
Abortion increases risks for subsequent babies
A new analysis of 37 different studies shows abortion is related to a “significantly increased risk” of premature birth and low birth weight in a woman’s subsequent babies. The report found a greater risk of such results with multiple abortions.
The examination revealed a woman who had an abortion in the first six months of a pregnancy later had a 35 percent greater risk of a baby with low birth weight and a 36 percent increased risk of a premature baby, The Guardian reported.
The analysis showed a woman with more than one abortion had a 72 percent greater risk for a low-birth weight child and a 93 percent increased risk for a premature baby.
Prakesh Shah, a pediatrician at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, wrote the analysis, which was published Sept. 16 in the BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Couple sues fertility clinic for destroying embryos
A California couple has sued a San Francisco fertility clinic for destroying embryos after it inseminated the wife’s eggs with the wrong man’s sperm.
Robert and Katie Aschero sued Laurel Fertility Care, claiming the clinic implanted the wrong sperm in creating seven embryos, The San Francisco Chronicle reported Sept. 16. Clinic personnel destroyed those embryos, violating the contact the Ascheros had with Laurel, the suit said.
Three of the remaining six embryos, which were created with Robert Aschero’s sperm, were implanted in his wife’s womb, but they did not survive, according to the newspaper.
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission works to protect the sanctity of human life. If you would like to learn more about this issue, additional resources are available here. If your church is interested in purchasing bulletin inserts or other materials on the sanctity of human life, please visit our online bookstore and erlc.com.
Further Learning
Learn more about: Life, Abortion, End-of-Life Issues, Infertility, Science, Bioethics