October 2011 Newsletter
Posted By cmbuuck on November 20, 2011
Indiana Right To Life—Lafayette becomes site of Planned Parenhood’s fourth Indiana abortion clinic—Lafayette, Indiana, best known for its proximity to Purdue University, is now touted by Planned Parenthood as the location for its fourth abortion clinic in Indiana. According to Planned Parenthood, the Lafayette clinic is offering chemical abortions only, unlike its other abortion clinics in Merrillville,, Indianapolis, and Bloomington that offer surgical abortions as well.
The expansion of chemical abortions in Lafayette highlights the rising threat of RU-486 abortions in Indiana as evidenced by the new Indiana State Department of Health statistics showing an increase of over 16% in chemical abortions done in Indiana from 2007-2008. Notably, Planned Parenthood of Indiana did not separate out surgical and chemical abortions in its 2010 annual report, unlike previous years in which numbers were offered for both. The combination of numbers is likely an attempt to shield from public view just how rapidly its chemical abortion operations are expanding.
The Lafayette abortion clinic appears to be taking advantage of a serious loophole in Indiana law regarding the licensure and regulation of abortion clinics. According to current law, a business is only considered an “abortion clinic” if it is engaged in surgical abortions. The omission of chemical abortifacients in the definition opens the door for Planned Parenthood to expand chemical abortions to virtually any Indiana community with little or no regulation, Indiana Right To Life is committed to closing this loophole in the 2012 legislative session.
A chemical abortion using the RU-486 abortion method is a horrific process. After taking three RU-486 tablets, a pregnant woman waits as the drug starves the baby to death by blocking progesterone. Thirty-six to 48 hours later, a hormone-like prostaglandin is injected into the woman, causing her body to expel the dead baby. If she does not abort at this time, she must go home and wait. Seven days later, the woman returns for an exam to make sure the baby has expelled and to monitor her bleeding. If the procedure has failed, the woman must then undergo a surgical abortion. The procedure requires four clinical visits and access to emergency medical facilities in the event of complications.
The 2008 Indiana statistics also reveal abortion’s devastating impact on Indiana’s black community with a disproportionately high percentage of abortions, 29.8%, done on black women.
“The trends are clear to see. Abortions are rising in the areas where Planned Parenthood dominates the market, chemical abortions are expanding, and the black community remains a target of Indiana’s abortion business,” notes Mike Fichter, Indiana right to Life president.
In spite of the negative trends, there is a silver lining: abortion rates in Fort Wayne dropped by over 7% with slight reductions in Lake and St. Joseph counties as well. Lifeline Report Oct. 2011 irtl@protectinglife.com
You can help—There are many ways you can help to block the dangerous expansion of chemical abortions in Indiana. Visit the “Take Action – Stay Informed” section at irtl.org to learn more about RU-486 abortions and what can be done to stop them in Indiana.
Congratulations to Dr. Dean O. Wenthe, retired President of Concordia Theological Seminary, who received the Telemachus Award at the Allen County Right to Life Banquet on October 10th, for his outstanding prolife involvement. Telemachus was a fourth century monk, who while sitting in an amphitheater in Rome began to witness gladiators killing one another. He thought to himself, “Here we are, four centuries after Christ, in a civilized nation, and people are killing one another for the entertainment of the crowd. This isn’t Christian!” He ran down to the center of the amphitheater and cried out three times before a gladiator’s sword pierced his body “In the name of Christ, stop.” He died, and the crowd grew silent and left. History records that, thanks to Telemachus, was the last gladiatorial contest in the history of the Roman Empire.