NC Pro-Abortion roundtable: Addressing misinformation in healthcare access | Eastern North Carolina Now

By L.A. Williams
Christian Action League
April 19, 2024

“Unless abortion is legal without restrictions, pregnant women cannot get quality healthcare.” Though a blatantly false statement, this seems to be the theme of President Joe Biden’s recent campaign efforts, including a series of pro-abortion roundtables, one of which was hosted earlier this month by North Carolina Sen. Natalie Murdock (D-Chatham).  

According to the UNC-Wilmington news site The Seahawk, two women who experienced crisis pregnancies in 2022 (Amanda Zurawski from Austin, Texas, and Kaitlyn Joshua from Baton Rouge, Louisiana) addressed student journalists at the event, both blaming abortion restrictions for their healthcare struggles. Zurawski says medical staff delayed intervention when her cervix dilated prematurely leading to septic shock and a stay in intensive care. Joshua says doctors would not confirm her miscarriage when she began bleeding at about 11 weeks.

“While I sympathize with the difficulties experienced by women like Zurawski and Joshua, we cannot overlook the sanctity of life and the inherent value of every human being, including the unborn,” said the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League. “Abortion is not merely a matter of healthcare access; it is a moral issue that demands careful consideration and respect for the rights of an innocent baby.”

He said the stories shared during Biden campaign events paint a one-sided picture that overlooks the “profound moral and ethical implications involved with destroying a human life.”

The popular narrative that abortion regulations enacted in the wake of the Dobbs decision prevent obstetrician/gynecologists from providing needed prenatal care is truly not the case, according to Dr. Susan Bane, a 25-year veteran of the field who practices in North Carolina and has testified before the Supreme Court of the United States on abortion-related issues.

Dr. Bane says too often there is confusion over medical terminology since doctors use the umbrella term “abortion” to represent any pregnancy that ends prior to 20 weeks gestation. She said cramping or bleeding with a normal exam and ultrasound is considered a “threatened abortion” or a pregnancy at risk of not surviving, while a “spontaneous abortion” is a miscarriage that a woman passes on her own after the baby has died. A “missed abortion” occurs when the woman has no symptoms and has not yet miscarried, but the baby has no heartbeat. An “incomplete abortion” is when the woman is in the process of miscarrying.

“These types of abortion described above are completely different from an induced abortion, which is defined by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) as ‘an intervention performed by a licensed clinician within the limits of state regulations, that is intended to terminate a suspected or ongoing intrauterine pregnancy and does not result in a live birth,’” Dr. Bane explains. “An induced abortion is performed by a health care practitioner with the intention of producing a dead baby. This is not the case with other types of ‘non-induced’ abortions such as threatened, spontaneous, missed, incomplete, or complete abortions. Caring for patients experiencing these clinical situations is not impacted by the Dobbs decision, whatsoever.”

“There is not a law that does not allow proper pre-natal care,” she says, adding that political campaigns to enshrine the so-called “right to abortion” into law are often based on fear and disinformation.

“The more you can make a state bill look bad, the more people are afraid. And people vote out of fear,” Bane told a group of pregnancy resource center directors at a recent conference on medical and social issues. She was not addressing the Biden abortion roundtables but instead describing similar campaigns in states such as Ohio where voters approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing access to abortion.

Creech said it’s important to understand what’s at stake at this juncture with Biden pushing to enshrine abortion into federal law, while former President Trump is advocating for leaving the matter up to individual states.

“Such a course of action would result in a disparate array of abortion policies nationwide, ranging from liberal to highly restrictive. It is imperative that Congress fulfills its duty by safeguarding human life—abortion must die and not the nation’s future children,” Creech said.

He said that as pro-life lawmakers continue their efforts to halt the loss of innocent lives, it is crucial to bolster alternatives that prioritize the dignity of both women and unborn children.

“This entails the provision of comprehensive prenatal care, the facilitation of support services for expectant mothers navigating challenging situations, and the cultivation of a culture that cherishes every human life from its earliest beginnings to its natural conclusion,” Creech said. “Our endeavors should aim to broaden the availability of these life-affirming alternatives, ultimately contributing to the preservation of precious lives.”

Bane said states that have passed abortion regulations in the wake of the defeat of Roe v. Wade will likely look to pass medical education bills similar to one recently approved in South Dakota to ensure that everyone in the medical community understands the regulations. That bill, signed by Gov. Kristi Noem last month, tasks the Department of Health with creating a video explaining the state’s abortion regulations for health care professionals and the general public.

Kelsey Pritchard, state public affairs director for SBA Pro-Life America, endorsed the bill.

“Though every state with a pro-life law allows pregnant women to receive emergency care, the abortion industry has sown confusion on this fact to justify their position of abortion without limits,” she told the Catholic news agency OSV. “With many in the media refusing to fact-check this obvious lie, other states should look to South Dakota in combatting dangerous abortion misinformation.”