There is a popular misconception that penalizing abortion, which is the intentional murder of an unborn child in the womb, would criminalize a woman seeking care due to a miscarriage.
A huge thing to understand surrounding this conversation is that an abortion and a miscarriage are, at their core, two vastly different things, and both are absolutely devastating.
Before we go on to talk about the misconceptions I want to discuss on banning abortion, we need to acknowledge that any loss of a child, especially an unborn child, is a very heavy topic, especially for the mother who has carried their child in their womb. And that is exactly the reason we need to discuss it in the light of scripture and reality.
Let’s Define Our Terms
An abortion, as defined from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is this: “the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus.” Abortion involves intentional killing.
A miscarriage, on the other hand, is a “spontaneous expulsion of a human fetus before it is viable and especially between the 12th and 28th weeks of gestation.” A miscarriage is something that is never intentional or in anyone’s control.
Placing laws or any official criminalization of the crime of abortion does not affect medical care being available for women that have experienced, or are experiencing a miscarriage.
As defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “criminalized” means to make an action or behavior illegal by law, or to treat someone as a criminal.
One thing I want to take note of is that some people call miscarriage, especially when it’s before 20 weeks of pregnancy, spontaneous abortion. But is it an abortion? No, it isn’t, looking at the true definition of what an abortion really is, and understanding what a miscarriage is.
Defining our terms in conversations are always important, especially with this topic.
Why does this lie exist?
Let’s talk about what is similar as stated by the Living Well Medical Clinic, “Treatment for a spontaneous abortion depends on the circumstances. If a pregnancy ends naturally, the pregnancy tissue will often be expelled naturally as well. However, if tissue remains in the uterus after the miscarriage, this is called an incomplete miscarriage, which can increase the risk of serious infection.
In cases of an incomplete miscarriage early in pregnancy, doctors may prescribe misoprostol to help expel the remaining tissue as an alternative to a surgical procedure called a D&C (dilation and curettage). Misoprostol is also one of the medications used in medication abortions, which contributes to the confusion.
If the miscarriage occurs later in pregnancy, treatment may look different. At this stage, there is a higher risk of a missed miscarriage, which occurs when the embryo stops developing but is not expelled by the body. This differs from an incomplete miscarriage, in which some tissue is expelled but not all of it. In cases of either a missed or incomplete miscarriage, a D&C procedure may be necessary to ensure that all pregnancy tissue is removed…A D&C is also the same procedure used to perform an abortion after the FDA approved timeline of 10 weeks gestation.“
It is so important to remember the fundamental difference between having a miscarriage and an abortion – one is intentional killing and the other is out of anyone’s control, therefore, removing abortion will not and does not simultaneously remove the care needed for a woman experiencing a miscarriage.
Let’s look at the definition of a D&C: “Dilation and curettage (D&C) is a procedure to remove tissue from inside your uterus. Health care professionals perform dilation and curettage to diagnose and treat certain uterine conditions — such as heavy bleeding — or to clear the uterine lining after a miscarriage or abortion.
In a dilation and curettage, small instruments or a medication is used to open (dilate) the lower, narrow part of your uterus (cervix). Next, a surgical instrument called a curette, which can be a sharp instrument or suction device, is used to remove uterine tissue.”
A D&C, therefore, is something used outside of just an abortion procedure, which means that it is absolutely without a doubt not only associated with an abortion, but used to help, such as uterine health issues.
The association of the procedure D&C with abortion is often used as a tool to get more support for abortions and to keep them legal, making people think that there will be no care for them if abortion is illegal and criminalized, whether you are actually an abortion advocate or don’t really know which side to stand on. The same with the pill misoprostol (which is one of the abortion pills). The pro-abortionists desperately want the masses to believe that if abortion is removed (in any form) so will treatment for a miscarriage, and this just is not true in the slightest. They would have you believe the lie without providing any facts in the name of “women’s healthcare.”
The Spread of This Lie
“Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is a landmark June 24, 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) in the United States. The 6-3 decision declared that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, ending federal protection for the procedure and returning authority to regulate or prohibit it to individual states.”
Anticipating the outcome of the Supreme Court ruling, many states in the US had a trigger law in place that made abortion illegal in their states, which led to many women believing the narrative that there was no longer any healthcare available for them in those states. These women traveled to other states that were still performing legal abortions, and in many cases employers were making it possible for women to travel to other abortion facilities across state lines.
After the decision came down there seemed to be a cascade of things that happened, including this lie that penalizing abortion would mean there would be no care for miscarriage.
There are zero laws on the books that criminalize miscarriage, and I would dare say that there never will be. Miscarriage care cares for the woman after her child has died, therefore, it would not even make any sense to criminalize a situation that is unforeseen, unintentional and so very devastating.
How can we combat this lie?
Now that you understand a little bit about why this lie has begun to surface and its origins, how can you help spread truth? By conversations.
In your interactions with people, in front of the abortion facility, in the grocery store, in your family or on the street, explain why and how an abortion and a miscarriage are fundamentally different, and on the other hand compassionately approach the conversation with grace and understanding. Remember, the person you are speaking with has believed a grave lie. And if she is a woman who is pregnant or has had a miscarriage or several miscarriages, it may be hard to filter through what she has been told by those she’s supposed to trust. When you are in that state, vulnerable, scared and are believing lies like this one, much grace, love, wisdom, and compassion is needed.
I believe one of the best ways we can combat this lie is through our voices, especially through one on one conversations, and even more so conversations with those trust has been built with.
And through much prayer. Pray for God to be in the conversations you have. Pray that God will change hearts and minds, that those around us and the world at large would truly grasp that unborn children are made in God’s image. That they have value and are important, whether they are born or never get the chance to grow up.
Pray for a shift to happen, that people will start to value life as God does, embrace common sense, stop believing lies and accept truth. Open eyes, Lord. Change hearts and minds, that we may all protect the unborn and fight for them.
Now go out, be brave and have intentional conversations, lean on the Lord, and pray often!
References:
- Abortion and Miscarriage: What’s the Difference?
- Understanding the Difference Between Miscarriage and Abortion
- Is a Miscarriage an Abortion? – Pregnancy Resource Center of Stanly County
- ‘Miscarriage or abortion?’ Understanding the medical language of pregnancy loss in Britain; a historical perspective – PMC
- Criminalization and Punishment for Abortion, Stillbirth, Miscarriage, and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes | CUNY School of Law
