August 10, 2022
Guest post by SFLAction Contributing Writer Anna Reynolds
GUEST POST: Senator Roger Marshall (R- Kansas) recently addressed some of the many myths swirling after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Serving as Ranking Member for a U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) hearing on abortion laws on July 13, Senator Marshall had a wealth of personal experience on which to draw. As an OBGYN who has delivered more than 5,000 babies, Senator Marshall could speak with authority.
In his opening remarks, Senator Marshall noted that not only had he delivered a baby almost every day for 25 years, he has also held the hands of women experiencing the grief of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and infertility. Using his professional expertise, Senator Marshall used to the hearing to “set the record straight in the face of non-fact-based, pro-abortion fearmongering.”
Glancing at pro-abortion headlines following the overturning of Roe v. Wade demonstrates how many myths are in circulation. Abortion activists, while encouraging violence, rely on increasingly outlandish claims to try to motivate protesters. Most Americans are not pro-abortion; most Americans want an honest account of the facts. And when they receive that, the majority of Americans support overturning Roe. There never was and there never will be a constitutional right to an abortion. What does that mean for the future?
Senator Marshall broke down seven myths:
Myth #1: Overturning Roe is a federal ban on abortion. As SFLA has explained, the Supreme Court’s overturning Roe does not ban abortion at the federal level but merely returns the legislation of abortion back to the states for legislators to decide. Duly elected representatives in each state can now protect innocent human life without being forced by an unjust Supreme Court mandate to legalize abortion.
Myth #2: Women will not have access to abortion. Some states, like New York and Illinois, have been gearing up to become abortion travel destinations. Unfortunately, preborn lives will not be protected in all states and there is still much for the pro-life movement to do in order to ensure that they are.
Myth #3: Overturning Roe means health care professionals and hospitals can NOT treat women with miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, or when the mom’s life is endangered. As Senator Marshall rightly explains, “This is all scare tactics, preying on the emotions of people.” This is one of the most dangerous myths because it encourages women to live in fear and gives them the totally false idea that their only option is to support abortion. This is not true.
Senator Marshall explains how nothing in pro-life laws prevent doctors from treating miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies. He said, “I remember my time in residency when we were taught to ‘never let the sun set on an ectopic pregnancy.’ Every pro-life physician I know of – including myself – has always and will always care for these clinical conditions, and there are no laws that prevent such. This is a total fabricated myth.”
Myth #4: I quote members across the aisle on this myth, “overturning Roe is devastating to women’s health.” Abortion supporters frequently make the claim that childbirth is more dangerous than an abortion. In what world a procedure that ends a human life is considered “safe,” we have yet to hear. Senator Marshall notes, “Presenting abortion as the ‘life-saving solution’ for women facing challenging pregnancies is a warped view of health care. It denies the modern medical science that can bring both mother and baby safely through even a high risk pregnancy.”
Myth #5: Americans don’t support limits on abortion. Numerous studies, many of them recent, demonstrate how false this claim is. Americans support significant restrictions on abortion. When they know what abortion really is, even more so. How, then, do abortion activists continue to claim that American support upholding Roe? One big reason can be found in this list of myths: when Americans mistakenly believe that women’s lives depend on abortion (which they do not), they may think they have to support abortion.
Myth #6: Many claim the United States fell behind our international peers on abortion access. The reality is that the United States has lagged far behind much of the world in protecting preborn babies. The permissive abortion laws in the United States put our nation in the company of the likes of China and North Korea as one of only seven countries in the world that allows abortion after 20 weeks.
Myth #7: Republicans wants to end contraception and family planning. The Pro-Life Generation is focused on loving both the mother and her child. The only “Handmaids” running around are the abortion activists vandalizing peaceful pregnancy resource centers.
With decades of personal experience treating women and their babies, Senator Marshall offers helpful perspective of myths and facts in the abortion debate.