Pregnant Cause

Here’s an example of millions of your tax dollars being squandered and the Christian Right is behind it.

1). A recently released report by Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA), found that 87 percent of federally funded “pregnancy resource centers,” commonly known as crisis pregnancy centers, provided which TWO of the following:

A. Misleading information about the physical and mental health effects of abortion
B. Grossly exaggerated the medical risks of abortion
C. A free Bible to women who called for information
D. Vouchers for diapers and infant formula


2). Waxman’s report also found that between 2001 and 2005, more than $30 million in federal dollars went to more than 50 crisis pregnancy centers. Virtually all of the funding for these “pregnancy resource centers” is funneled through the:

A. Federal abstinence-only-until-marriage program
B. Up With People Fund, which supports activities for mentally challenged and physically disabled teenagers
C. The Republican National Committee


3). According to investigators, women who wanted the facts about the effects of having an abortion were told that they would experience WHICH of the following:

A. A drastic increase (up to 80%) in developing breast cancer
B. Potentially permanent infertility
C. The risk of suicide going up 7 times in the year following the abortion
D. A downward spiral causing them to lose friends and family members
E. Eating disorders and sexual problems
F. All of the above
G. None of the above


ANSWERS
1). A & B: Yup, they lied about everything.

2). 2. A: Federal abstinence-only-until marriage program, which has been such a bang-up success so far. Just think, $30 million of your tax dollars at work to spread disinformation and propaganda.

“This report shows the clear connection between the anti- choice movement and the abstinence-only-until-marriage industry,” said William Smith, vice president for public policy at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. “For years, the Bush Administration has claimed that it is simply trying to promote abstinence among teens, when, in fact, it has been using millions of taxpayer dollars to fund groups that hold their right-wing, anti-choice ideology,” Smith said. “Crisis pregnancy centers are using millions of taxpayer dollars to lie and mislead people who are seeking health and medical services, impeding their efforts to make informed and responsible decisions. This report underscores the Bush Administration’s pattern of utter disregard for public health evidence and the lack of any significant oversight of taxpayer dollars. That is the real ‘crisis.’”

3). F: All of the above. Clearly, the goal was to mislead women, not provide them with accurate medical data so they could make an informed decision. For example, there is a medical consensus that induced abortion does NOT cause an increased risk of breast cancer. However, investigators found that centers stated otherwise.

One center said that, “all abortion causes an increased risk of breast cancer in later years.” Another claimed that research shows a “far greater risk” of breast cancer after an abortion, telling the caller that an abortion would “affect the milk developing in her breasts” and that the risk of breast cancer increased by as much as 80 percent following an abortion.

Abortions in the first trimester, using the most common abortion procedure, do not create risks for future fertility. Again, centers provide false information. One center said that damage from abortion could lead to “many miscarriages” or to “permanent damage” so “you wouldn’t be able to carry,” telling the caller that this is “common” and happens “a lot.”

Research shows that significant psychological stress after an abortion is no more common than after birth. However centers told investigators that the psychological effects of abortion are severe, long-lasting, and common. One center said that the suicide rate in the year after an abortion “goes up by seven times.” Another center said that post-abortion stress suffered by women having abortions is “much like” that seen in soldiers returning from Vietnam and “is something that anyone who’s had an abortion is sure to suffer from.” Other centers said that abortion can cause “guilt, ... sexual problems, ... suicidal ideas, ... drug use, eating disorders,” and “a downward spiral where they lose friends and family members.”