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“Safe, Legal Abortion” Renders Teen Infertile

Posted on Thursday, May 29, 2008 by Susan Brinkmann

by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Writer (May 29, 2008) The mother of a 13 year old girl who was rendered sterile after a botched abortion is suing Planned Parenthood for $50 million dollars. Shantese Butler was only 13 years old when she became pregnant after being forcibly raped. Her parents decided she should have an abortion and took her to Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC where an abortion was performed. According to the complaint, 24 hours after the procedure, Shantese was rushed to the emergency room at Cevista Medical Center suffering from severe abdominal pain. A CAT scan revealed abdominal bleeding and she was rushed into emergency surgery. Doctors discovered a small bowel tear, severe vaginal and cervical injuries and a significant uterine perforation. Pieces of the aborted baby were also found in her abdomen. Because of these injuries, Shantese will be infertile for the rest of her life. Shantese’s mother, Emma Jean Butler, is now suing Planned Parenthood for $50 million in damages. The suit charges Planned Parenthood with negligence for performing a botched abortion and for failing to notice such extensive injuries before discharging her daughter. Although the public rarely hears about these kinds of complications, they are far more common than most people are aware of. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, “Complications following abortions performed in free-standing clinics is one of the most frequent gynecologic emergencies . . . encountered. Even life-endangering complications rarely come to the attention of the physician who performed the abortion unless the incident entails litigation. The statistics . . .  represent substantial under- reporting and disregard women’s reluctance to return to a clinic, where, in their mind, they received inadequate treatment.” Another study from one of the most prestigious medical centers in the world, John Hopkins University, found that genital tract infection following elective abortion is a well-known complication. The study found infection rates at medical centers to be up to 5.2 percent for first trimester abortions and up to 18.5 percent for mid-trimester procedures. Infection rates at local free-standing clinics where the quality of care is more inferior are believed to be at least twice as high as those encountered in a medical center.   Planned Parenthood’s answer to Butler’s complaint was to deny both the injuries and the infertility of Shantese. In addition, they state in their answer that Butler's claims are barred by the doctrines of informed consent and assumption of risk.   Kristan Hawkins, executive director of Students for Life of America, the organization that discovered the law suit, called the situation horrible. “Our thoughts go out to Shantese and her family as she recovers from her injuries both from the rape and abortion. Further, it is outrageous that Planned Parenthood thinks they are excused from being held liable because Shantese was informed of possible risks associated with abortion. In no other medical profession would this be acceptable. “How ironic is it that the pro-abortion movement claims they want abortions to be 'safe, legal, and rare,' when in this poster case for abortion, Shantese was permanently injured, resulting in infertility for the rest of her life, making abortion harmful and almost deadly to the young girl." © All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly/Women of Grace. http://www.womenofgrace.com In addition to physical scars, abortion leaves many women emotionally and spiritually scarred as well. Listen to experts Theresa Burke, Ph.D, David Reardon, Ph.D. and Maria Steele discuss these hidden wounds in “Healing the Pain of Abortion” available for only $5 in our store.

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Oprah’s Ratings in Decline

Posted on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 by Susan Brinkmann

by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Writer (May 27, 2008)  For the third straight year, the average audience for talk-show maven Oprah Winfrey has shrunk, fueling concerns that her controversial promotion of New Age spirituality and the political backing she lent to Senator Barack Obama may finally be catching up to her. According to Nielsen Media Research, ratings for “The Oprah Winfrey Show” have fallen nearly seven percent this year. “Not too long ago, she was like the pope,” said Janice Peck, an associate professor of mass communication at the University fo Colorado, to The New York Times. Peck, the author of “The Age of Oprah,” a new book on Winfrey’s cultural influence, cited both her political and New Age spiritualism endorsements as potential problems. “She is endorsing a kind of spirituality that can be offensive to traditional Christians,” Peck said. Winfrey’s recent endorsement of  A New Earth by New Age guru Eckhart Tolle caused the book to outsell any of the previous 60 selections of “Oprah’s Book Club,” but it also attracted a storm of criticism from fans who say the book’s spiritual teachings go against Christian doctrine. The Message Board for Tolle’s book on the club’s website is peppered with fans quoting Scripture in defense of Christianity, many of them obviously disturbed by the book’s content. “It does not seem God centered to me,” wrote one fan. “Certainly not the God of the Holy Bible . . .” “I do not understand how Tolle can quote scripture and that scripture is held up as true,” another fan argued about Tolle’s “cherry picking” of the Bible. “Why are the rest of the scriptures thrown out as untrue?” Oprah also alienated fans when she endorsed Senator Barack Obama, particularly middle-aged white women who make up the bulk of her television audience, most of whom support Hillary Clinton. “There are a lot of her fans who are not Democrats or who support Hillary Clinton who feel betrayed,” Peck said. A Gallup poll conducted in October, shortly after Ms. Winfrey announced her support of Mr. Obama, found that her “favorable” rating fell eight percentage points to 66 percent from 74 percent in January 2007. At the same time, her “unfavorable” mark nearly doubled from 17 to 26 percent.  Tim Bennett, the president of Winfrey’s Harpo Productions, told the Times that all aspects of her business are thriving. He said the audience for her daytime talk show remains roughly one-third larger than the next most popular competitor, “Dr. Phil.” Any drop in her television ratings can be traced to general weakness in the overall television audience, he said. © All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly/Women of Grace. http://www.womenofgrace.com The New Age movement has been making inroads into our culture, particularly through the media, education and even medicine. In “The New Age Movement: A Christian Reflection” experts Clare McGrath Merkle and Fr. Edmund Sylvia, CSC discuss these practices from a Christian perspective.

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