A Jan. 26 editorial, “A back-alley reminder,” made the remarkable assertion that “the pro-life movement has focused its efforts on making access to safe abortions as difficult as possible.” As evidence of this, the editorial pointed to such efforts as legally requiring abortionists to offer mothers contemplating an abortion the opportunity to see their babies through the use of ultrasounds as well as 18- to 24-hour waiting periods before having the procedure done.

Such efforts do not make access or safety more difficult, but rather provide women with the time and information they need to make an informed decision.

For example, the Women’s Care Center has three locations in Fort Wayne to help women experiencing an unexpected pregnancy. Each of these locations has ultrasound equipment and individuals trained in their use. What they have found is that about nine out of 10 women who come in leaning toward abortion change their minds based primarily upon what they see and hear through the ultrasound: small human beings with rapidly pulsing heartbeats. This is not just the mass of cells that many are told and believe exists.

The editorial also implied that abortion is currently safe in our country and that the now-infamous Philadelphia abortionist, Kermit Gosnell, represents an aberration. Yet, this is almost certainly not the case. In fact, it has often been said that Roe v. Wade simply took back-alley abortionists and put them on Main Street.

According to that 1973 Supreme Court decision, states were not even permitted to regulate abortion with regard to the health of the mother until the second trimester.

Again, Fort Wayne offers an example of this. The abortionist who performs surgical abortions here has had a weekly circuit across northern Indiana for more than two decades. Thursday has long been abortion day in Fort Wayne.

However, according to testimony before the Indiana General Assembly in 2008 by a Fort Wayne OB/GYN, Geoffrey Cly, he has personally had to attend to three patients following their abortions. All three presented “serious, life-threatening complications,” and one even had pieces of her baby still left in her womb. Unfortunately, Dr. Cly’s OB/GYN colleagues in Fort Wayne have also reported similar occurrences.

Despite the assertions of The Journal Gazette to the contrary, many like myself in the mainstream pro-life movement care about the safety of both the mother and her child. In fact, it is the pro-life movement at the local, state and federal levels that pushes for higher standards of care and safety for women procuring an abortion. We do so not because we in any way condone this practice, but because our love for these mothers moves us to help and encourage them whether before or after their abortions.

Our moral revulsion at the disregard for human life displayed by Dr. Gosnell should not obscure the fact that every abortion kills a live baby – whether with a scissors, a sharp curette or a suction machine. While the procedure may offer a couple an initial sense of relief, there are tens of thousands of women and men who suffer in silence years later from its emotional and spiritual aftermath. We should not be surprised to learn, for example, that in the year following a pregnancy, the suicide rate is three to six times greater among women who aborted compared with women who delivered.

Abortion, whether in the back alley or on Main Street, is never in the best interest of the mother or of her child.