FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 26, 1997
CONTACT: Kristi S. Hamrick, (202)-393-2100,
For Radio: Kristin Hansen
FOR SOUNDBITES: Call the FRC Direct Newsline
(202)-393-NEWS(6397)
THE REST OF THE STORY ... MISREPRESENTING ABORTION
TOOL OF THE PROVIDERS' TRADE, FRC NOTES
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- "The New York Times' story only revealed what
many in the pro-life community have long known -- the abortion industry
repeatedly conceals the true nature of abortion in America," Family
Research Council Director of Communications Kristi S. Hamrick said Wednesday,
in light of revelations from Ron Fitzsimmons. The Times reported that Fitzsimmons,
executive director of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, admitted
he has lied about how partial birth abortion is being used today in the
U.S. "The real story here is how the abortion industry acts as its
own policeman and hides the true nature of abortion. Despite their claims
that they want safe abortions, the abortion industry has fought tooth and
nail every effort to have abortion treated like any other surgical procedure
or to have abortion facilities regulated like other out-patient medical
facilities. The real story of abortion in America is untold.
"We don't allow restaurant owners to run the health boards, but in
America abortion providers typically write their own ticket and set their
own standards. And we see a consistent pattern of blocking efforts to get
accurate reporting on a surgical procedure affecting 1.5 million American
women each year.
"The abortion reporting system developed by the U.S. Public Health
Service (the National Center for Health Statistics and the Centers for
Disease Control) is virtually designed to avoid any accurate identification
of deaths or complications to women resulting from abortion. Consider the
following.
* Abortion partisans, both within government health agencies and abortion
providers outside the government, are largely in charge of the collection
of abortion statistics.
* The limited reporting does not show the true nature or extent of complications
... because the limited information available does not tell us what happens
to women when they leave the clinic. Information is not collected about
the complications of abortion such as the number of women who go to emergency
rooms due to severe bleeding or the number of women experiencing difficult
births or infertility due to cervical or uterine damage in an abortion.
* No state has reporting requirements for partial birth abortions. At least
five states have no reporting requirements at all for abortion.
"Ron Fitzsimmons is reported as saying, "(I) lied through my
teeth," when he told the media that Partial Birth Abortions were used
rarely and only on women whose lives were in danger or whose unborn children
were handicapped. The problem is that because of the way abortion is not
monitored in America, it's impossible to know the whole story.
"We challenge the abortion providers to put their legal status where
their money is. Abortion surgical facilities should have to comply with
the laws that regulate other out-patient surgical facilities. Abortion
should be reported on like other surgical procedures, and women should
be able to know what the complications of these surgeries are. The law
must be extended to protect women in abortion clinics. A woman getting
cosmetic surgery would be safer than a woman entering an abortion clinic,
and she would have the legal assurance that if someone lied to her about
her surgery it would be treated like the serious malpractice issue it is."
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