She is a Child, Not a "Choice"

Human Life Alliance presents:

35th Anniversary Edition

AChildNotAChoice.org

Healthy Women Aborting Healthy Babies Is Not Healthcare She’s a Child, Not a “Choice” delves into the topic of abortion, a subject that often evokes discomfort, anger, and heated debates—sometimes even causing rifts in relationships. However, it is essential to acknowledge that everyone is entitled to their perspectives. The only way to resolve this issue is through actively listening to those we disagree with and having open, honest dialogue, all with a desire to find the truth.

Within these pages, we present a compelling argument for considering the pro-life position - to defend all human life.

Navigating the intricate landscape surrounding abortion is not easy, as it intertwines with various issues such as foster care, rape, sex trafficking, single-parent households, and child abuse. At Human Life Alliance, we believe that the vast majority of people in our society do not support elective abortions but are either misinformed or lack the knowledge and courage to express their opinion.

Are abortion “bans” extreme? No. In fact, did you know that the United States is one of only eight United Nations (UN) member countries without any federal laws or limits on abortion for gestational age? That means that 185 out of 193 UN member countries limit abortion at some point during pregnancy. Even 46 of the 50 European Union countries ban abortion after 15 weeks, some even earlier.1 In America, if you support any restrictions on abortion, you’re often attacked and called extreme when most of the countries in the world restrict abortion at some point during pregnancy.

With birthrates falling, maybe humanity shouldn’t be so cavalier about abortion. The World Health Organization reports that 29% of all pregnancies end in abortion, with a total of 73 million abortions worldwide each year.2 Many countries are facing a population crisis with birthrates well below the replacement rate of 2.2 per woman:3 • Europe: 1.40 • North America: 1.60

• South America: 1.81 • Asia: 1.88

• Oceania: 2.14 • Africa: 4.07

Through cancel culture, misinformation, and political messaging, the “choice” argument has been used to eliminate alternatives to abortion. Planned Parenthood and other groups that make up the multi-billion-dollar abortion industry have a lot to lose, so they work very hard to influence what our culture believes when it comes to pregnancy. They are driven by profits, not principles. They have morphed the elective termination of a healthy pregnancy, taking the life of an unborn human, into a “right.”

Society overlooks the risks women face from malpractice by doctors who may prioritize profit over the safety of both the mother and her baby. Women can experience serious complications from a chemical abortion that leaves them alone and frightened in their own bathrooms, or in an emergency room at risk of death because it was marketed as “easy” or “just a pill.” Additionally, there is the troubling issue of pregnant women being sex trafficked. Some buyers are willing to pay more if she’s already pregnant so they don’t have to worry about getting her pregnant. These are just a few critical concerns that the pro-abortion side tends to ignore when discussing the implications of providing free abortion services on demand, no questions asked.

Make no mistake, She’s a Child, Not a “Choice” is intended to make people think about abortion, or rather, re-examine what they believe they know about pregnancy. That’s what Pro-Lifer’s really want to talk about: the unique human being in the womb. We don’t want to just ban abortion; we want to make it unthinkable because She’s a Child, Not a “Choice.” We don’t want to take away rights. Rather, we are defending the right to life for every human being.

She’s a Child, Not a “Choice” is Human Life Alliance’s flagship publication. In 1990, HLA published the first edition in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Since then, we have been publishing a new magazine edition every five years. This is the 35th Anniversary Edition, which now includes a companion website version at AChildNotAChoice.org. Human Life Alliance is a non-profit, educational organization whose publications have reached over 240 million people around the globe. © 2025 Human Life Alliance All sources available at AChildNotAChoice.org/sources

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LIFE alliance Since 1977

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Ableism Is a Cruel “Choice” Techniques like amniocentesis were developed to catch potentially life-threatening illnesses in the womb so doctors could operate and save many preborn lives. However, this life-saving technology is used to target certain human beings for abortion. When presented with an adverse prenatal diagnosis, such as a genetic or physical defect, parents can feel pressured into aborting their child. They are often only told the negative aspects of life for people who were born with those same challenges and not the joy and beauty these human beings would bring, or the value their babies’ lives have.

“Jessika Sirjala, of Finland, who has a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter Lia with Down syndrome, felt that health professionals tried to steer the couple towards abortion, even though they both wanted to keep their daughter. [...] ‘It felt like all the official information I received as a pregnant woman was to prove that it was worthwhile to terminate the pregnancy. I was given two options, either to keep the baby and live in the horror scenario that was painted for me, or to choose the death of my child.’ “1 Diagnosis

A Life of Value

A Life Aborted

Down Syndrome

The average lifespan of someone born with Down syndrome is 60 years.2 A growing number of people with Down syndrome live independently3 and nearly 99% report that they are happy with their lives.4

Between 67-94% of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted.5

Cystic Fibrosis

Life expectancy for people with cystic fibrosis is currently in the mid-40s. Over half of adults with cystic fibrosis work full-time or part-time jobs, 42% are married or in a committed relationship, and 31% have earned a college degree.6

As many as 90% of babies diagnosed with cystic fibrosis are aborted.7

Spina Bifida

Up to 90% of people with spina bifida will survive into their third decade of life.8 Many adults with spina bifida live on their own, drive a car, and have fulfilling careers.9

63% of babies diagnosed with spina bifida are aborted.10

Ability Doesn’t Determine Someone’s Worth and Doesn’t Erase Their Right to Life.

A diagnosis should never be a death sentence. Many prenatal diagnoses occur between 18 and 20 weeks gestation when babies can now feel pain.11 Disability-based dismemberment abortions are performed on pain-capable babies.12,13,14,15

I am a Man with Down Syndrome And My Life Is Worth Living

Whatever you learn today, please remember this: I am a man with Down syndrome, and my life is worth living. [...]

Some people say prenatal screens will identify Down syndrome in the womb, and those pregnancies will just be terminated. I completely understand that the people pushing this particular “final solution” are saying that people like me should not exist. That view is deeply prejudiced by an outdated idea of life with Down syndrome. Seriously, I have a great life. [...]

I don’t feel I should have to justify my existence, but to those who question the value of people with Down syndrome, I would make three points. First, we are a medical gift to society, a blueprint for medical research into cancer, Alzheimer’s, and immune system disorders.

Second, we are an unusually powerful source of happiness. A Harvard based study has discovered that people with Down syndrome, as well as their parents and siblings, are happier than society at large. Surely, happiness is worth something.

Finally, we are the canary in the eugenics coal mine. We are giving the world a chance to think about the ethics of choosing which humans get a chance at life. [...]

Is there really no place for us in the world?16

Excerpts from Frank Stephens testimony to Congress in 2017 To watch his full testimony, scan the QR Code.

AChildNotAChoice.org | 3

Abortions in the USA 1,038,100 in 20241 Reasons Given for Abortions2 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

E L E C T I V E

HEALTHY WOMEN ABORTING HEALTHY BABIES

Abortion by the Numbers Ethnicity of women having abortions: • Black – 42% • White – 30% • Hispanic – 22% • Other – 6%

“Limitless” Abortion Up to Birth in the USA after Dobbs4 Of the 193 countries in the United Nations, the USA is now one of eight with no federal abortion limit for gestational age.

Gestational age of abortions: • 93% - Up to 13 weeks • 6% - 14 to 20 weeks • 1% - 21 weeks or more

"EXCEPTIONS" 4.1%

95.9% 2.2% 1.2% 0.4% 0.3% ELECTIVE & Other physical Abnormality Rape & incest UNSPECIFIED in the unborn health REASONS baby concerns

Risk to the woman's life or a major bodily function

The ages of women having abortions: • Teens – 8% • Twenties - 57% • Thirties – 31% • Forties – 4% 2021 CDC Data3

Are Abortions Coerced?

People assume that women freely choose abortion and that they are satisfied that it was the best decision for themselves. However, more and more peerreviewed studies are being published which show that this is not the case. One recent study found that:

The Legal History of

• Only 1/3 of abortions are “wanted.”

• 1 in 4 women describe their abortion as “unwanted” or “coerced.”

• 43% described their abortion as “accepted” but

Prior to Roewith v. Wade “inconsistent their values and preferences.”

There constitutional right to an abortion saidwas theirno preference would have been to give ••60% birth, if they had of received more emotional support at any stage pregnancy. had greater financial security.5 •orAbortion was illegal after quickening, which is the moment a woman first feels fetal Are You Being Coerced? movement.

No one has the right to force, coerce, or • Pre-quickening abortions were unlawful. unduly pressure a woman to abort. Scan the QR code for information or if void as illegal, Contracts formore abortion were you or someone you know needs help. abortion places were shut down, and it was illegal to advertise for abortions.5 Sources available at humanlife.org • By the end of the 1950s, all but 4 states and D.C. banned abortion however and whenever performed, except to save the life of the mother.

• The day before Roe, 30 states had already banned abortion entirely except to save the life of the mother.

4 | She’s a Child Not a Choice

Roe v. Wade (1973)

• Key finding of Roe: A fundamental right to abortion.

• Under Roe, the unborn child was considered a “potential life” but not a person.

• States were forbidden from treating the unborn as persons.

Doe v. Bolton (1973)

• Key finding of Doe: The right to abortion is implied in the Constitution through a right to privacy.

• This decision stated that women may obtain an abortion after viability to protect a mother’s “health,” determined by the physician and the mother, legalizing abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.

The States on Abortion6 X X X

X

X X X

X

4

X

X Constitution

4 Constitution

X

4

Protects Life

4

X Constitution

Protects Abortion

4

Statutes

4

Compiled by Human Life Alliance on August 1st, 2025 | humanlife.org

Abortion in America Planned Parenthood v.

Casey (1992)

• The Court reaffirmed Roe and Doe. • “The justices imposed a new standard to determine the validity of laws restricting abortions. The new standard asks whether a state abortion regulation has the purpose or effect of imposing an “undue burden,” which is defined as a ‘substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion before the fetus attains viability.’ ”7 • Relegates personhood of the unborn to the subjective decision of the mother and provider.

Chemical Abortion Regulations (2020)

• The FDA Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) in-person prescription requirement was: • Suspended from July 13, 2020, until January 12, 2021.

• Suspended again from April 2021 until January 3, 2023.

• Permanently removed on January 3, 2023.

• Chemical abortion pills are now available on demand and can be mailed anywhere in the country.

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022)

• Key finding of Dobbs: There is no constitutional right to abortion.

• This decision completely overturned Roe, Doe, and Casey.

• States are now permitted to treat the unborn as persons with rights under the law.

• All abortion laws are now subject to the rational review of law.

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Pregnancy Resource Centers Are a Choice It’s not uncommon for abortion providers to claim they offer comprehensive women’s healthcare. But what does Planned Parenthood offer for pregnant women? Abortions account for 96.9% of all pregnancy resolution services at Planned Parenthood. In fact, adoption referrals make up just 0.5% of their services for pregnant women and prenatal services make up only 1.7% of pregnancy services.1,2 There are upwards of 2,750 pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) in the United States that provide pregnant women with a plethora of free resources. Nearly 8 in 10 PRCs provide ultrasound services on site to give accurate information on fetal development. With five times as many locations as Planned Parenthood, these PRCs offer better accessibility as well. Some of these PRCs are expanding into comprehensive women’s clinics (excluding abortion).3 There was a 142% increase in PRCs providing and overseeing the Abortion Pill Reversal protocol and providing resources and support for women following chemical abortions between 2019-2022.4

Abortion Pill Reversal

Having second thoughts? It may not be too late.

If you’ve taken the abortion pill and have changed your mind,

please call the Abortion Pill Reversal Hotline IMMEDIATELY! 877-558-0333 | abortionpillreversal.com

I Just Needed Someone To Talk To

“We see many clients with unplanned pregnancies who are in school and want to focus on their career,” said Sharon, a pregnancy resource center volunteer.

One such client she described was a woman named Britney. Britney felt it was too early in her life for her to have a baby. She feared it would interfere with her career and ruin her financially.

This is not an uncommon fear. In fact, studies have shown that most women who seek abortions say it’s for financial reasons.5 “I just listened while she poured her heart out,” Sharon said. “Then she started thinking about all the ways her life was set up to have a baby.”

The next week, Britney was back in the center for her ultrasound. And she was acting completely different.

“She was so excited for her baby!” Sharon explained. “She told me, ‘I just needed someone to talk to.’ I’m so glad I was there to listen.”6

RESOURCES

Pregnant and feeling alone? Every woman deserves love and support during an unexpected pregnancy. > Pregnant on Campus?

Find resources and learn your rights.

Call or text: 1-877-910-0096 Or visit: StandingWithYou.org > Find a Pregnancy Resource Center near you: pregnancydecisionline.org/find-a-pregnancy-center

6 | She’s a Child Not a Choice

Adoption Is a Choice People often dismiss the idea of adoption due to myths and outdated stereotypes. These myths and stereotypes don’t help anyone. They’re harmful to adoptees, birth mothers, adoptive parents, and women who are weighing their options in an unexpected pregnancy.

Modern adoption differs from adoption of the past. Knowing the facts could help you or a friend make an informed decision someday. It can also help you understand the experiences of adoptees and their parents.

Adoption isn’t “giving your baby away.” It’s a courageous and loving choice to give your baby the life you want him or her to have.

Adoption services are FREE to mothers choosing parents for their babies. Pregnancy-related medical expenses may be covered as well. Depending on which state she lives in, financial assistance to cover food, housing, and living expenses may also be available during pregnancy and beyond.

Not everyone is in a position in life to raise a child. Modern adoption is an option that cares for both the birth mother and her baby while treating them both with dignity and respect.

Adoption Myths

Truth

Adoption is giving your baby away to a stranger.

You choose your baby’s adoptive family.

Adoption is all about the adopting couple. Birth mothers and adoptees aren’t treated well.

Modern adoption treats women and their babies with dignity and respect. It provides the birth mother with options every step of the way.

You’ll spend your whole life wondering what happened to your baby.

In modern adoption, you can stay in contact with your baby’s adoptive family and watch your child grow up.

Adoptees end up in foster care.

Private adoption is completely separate from foster care. The baby leaves the hospital with the adoptive family without spending any time in foster care.

Adoption places a financial burden on the mother.

Adoption is FREE to birth mothers. They may even receive financial assistance throughout the process.

Adoption takes away your privacy.

Adoption plans are confidential, and a woman’s privacy is respected.

Women don’t receive support after adoption.

Many adoption agencies provide ongoing peer-topeer support and counseling services to women who have placed a child for adoption.

Learn More About Modern Adoption:

Modern Adoption

You are in control, and you don’t have to walk alone.

You get to choose your baby’s adoptive family and decide how much contact you want to have. Modern Adoption provides you with support, resources, and mentoring every step of the way, even if you change your mind.

Christian Adoption Alliance christianadoptions.org/birth-moms Lifetime Adoption Call or text 1-800-923-6784 Lifetimeadoption.com Lifeline Pregnancy Counseling 1-800-875-5595 pregnant@lifelinechild.org optionsinadoption.com/adoption-plan

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Human Development "Virtually every human embryologist and every major textbook of human embryology states that fertilization marks the beginning of the life of the new individual human being." 1 Ward Kischer, Ph. D, Human Embryologist, University of Arizona

Day 1: Fertilization On the first day of a baby’s life, the sperm joins the egg to form a brand new, unique, and whole person: one cell with the complete genetic makeup (DNA) for the child’s sex, hair and eye color, height, skin tone, etc.2,3 Month 1: (1-4 Weeks) The first cell begins cell division as the newly formed individual travels down the fallopian tube to the uterus. More than 500 cells are present when the embryo reaches the uterus and implants in the endometrium 7-10 days after fertilization. Foundations of the brain, spinal cord, and nervous system are already established. By day 21, the heart begins to beat, and the child has a blood type, often different from the mother’s.4 Muscles, arms, legs, eyes, and ears are forming.

Month 2: (5-8 Weeks) By 6 weeks, brain waves can be detected, and the brain is controlling 40 sets of muscles as well as the organs.5 The jaw forms, including teeth and taste buds.6 The baby begins to swallow amniotic fluid; the baby hiccups.7 The stomach produces digestive juices; kidneys begin to function. Fingers and toes are developing, and at 7 weeks, the chest and abdomen are fully formed.8 The skeleton is complete, and reflexes are present. As the baby swims in the womb, the baby now looks like a miniature human infant.9,10 Month 3: (9-12 Weeks) Unique fingerprints form and never change.11 The baby now sleeps, awakens, and exercises muscles by turning his or her head, curling his or her toes, and opening and closing his or her mouth. If the doctor strokes his or her palm, the baby will make a fist. Baby’s fingernails are present at 11-12 weeks. Even though mom cannot feel movement yet, the baby is very active. The baby breathes amniotic fluid to help develop the respiratory system. Gender can be determined, and family resemblances may appear as well.12 All the organs and systems of the baby’s body are functioning.13 Month 4: (13-16 Weeks) By the end of the fourth month, the baby is 8-10 inches in length and weighs about one half pound. The ears are functioning, and the baby hears his or her mother’s heartbeat and other sounds, like music.14 Baby’s eyelashes are present by 16 weeks.15 Mom begins to feel the baby’s movement, a slight flutter at first that will become stronger.16 Lifesaving surgery has been performed on babies at this age.

8 | She’s a Child Not a Choice

Day 1

Week 4*

Week 8*

Week 10*

*Actual size

During Pregnancy Month 5: (17-20 Weeks) If a sound is especially loud, the baby may jump in reaction to it. The baby may also start sucking on his or her thumb.17 Month 6: (21-24 Weeks) Oil and sweat glands are functioning. The baby’s delicate skin is protected in the amniotic sac by a special ointment called vernix. The baby grows rapidly in size and strength while the lungs become more developed.18 Babies born during this period have survived.

Month 7: (25-28 Weeks) The baby can now recognize mom’s voice. The baby exercises by stretching and kicking. The baby can hear, touch, taste, and look around in the womb.19 In males, testicles descend from the abdomen into the scrotum.20 Month 8: (29-32 Weeks) The skin begins to thicken, with a layer of fats stored underneath for insulation and nourishment. The baby swallows a liter of amniotic fluid per day and often hiccups.21 Though movement is limited due to cramped quarters, the baby’s kicks are stronger, and mom may be able to feel an elbow or heel against her abdomen.22 Month 9: (33-36 Weeks) Gaining one half pound per week, the baby is getting ready for birth.

The bones in the baby’s head are soft and flexible to help with the journey down the narrow birth canal.23 Of the 45 generations of cell divisions before adulthood, 41 have already taken place. Only four more come before adolescence.

90% of a person’s development happens in the womb.24

If She’s Pregnant, You’re a Dad

You’ve probably been told you’re only there to support her, but this is your baby too. You can say something. You can speak up for your child.

She might be afraid you’ll leave. She wants to hear that you love her, that you’ll be there for her and the baby. She wants to discuss this with you, to make a decision with you.

Too many babies are lost because the father never said anything.

You can help her today.

You can save your child.

A “Choice” She Won’t Forget

Did you know that 65% of women who have an abortion are left with devastating psychological consequences and physical complications?25

AFTER ABORTION, IT ISN’T JUST “OVER” It can seem like a solution, but many women suffer afterabortion trauma. The truth is, pregnant women are mothers.

Supporting her means doing your best to save her from the pain that will come later if she has an abortion.

MIND Suicide rates are six times higher. Depression is 65% more likely.26 Eating disorders, as well as drug and alcohol abuse, often come from the pain and guilt.27 BODY Her uterus could rupture. She could have a heart attack, get a serious infection, or even die.28,29 FUTURE She has a 60% higher chance of having a future miscarriage30 and a 44% higher risk of getting breast cancer.31,32

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Surgical Abortions VACUUM ASPIRATION Typically committed: 1st trimester Preborn age: 3-11 weeks The uterus is emptied by a vacuum or syringe, and the baby is torn into pieces as he or she is pulled through the hose.1,2 DILATION AND EVACUATION (D&E) Typically committed: 2nd-3rd trimester Preborn age: 11-40+ weeks The abortionist tears the baby’s body apart with forceps. The spine is snapped, the skull is crushed, and the remains are sucked out.5

DILATION AND SUCTION CURETTAGE (D&C) Typically committed: 1st trimester Preborn age: 5-13 weeks After the baby is suctioned out of the uterus with a vacuum, the abortionist inserts a curette—a loopshaped steel knife—into the uterus and uses it to cut the placenta and umbilical cord and scrape them into a basin. The uterus is suctioned again to make sure no body parts have been left behind.3,4 INDUCTION OR PROSTAGLANDIN Typically committed: 2nd-3rd trimester Preborn age: 11-40+ weeks Labor is induced in 2nd or 3rd trimester, saline or urea are injected to kill the child in the womb. Digoxin or potassium chloride are directly injected into the baby’s heart to guarantee the child’s death. Other times, the baby is delivered alive and left to die.6

Things Changed for this Abortion Doctor After he lost his Daughter

Dr. Anthony Levatino had his young daughter die in his arms after a car accident. Less than a month after the tragedy, he began a previously scheduled abortion. Here are his words in a courtroom testimony: “I didn’t want to continue, but I had to because you can’t leave any body parts in the woman.

We don’t pile up body parts on the table to be gruesome, we do it to keep inventory. If we don’t get all the parts out, the woman will get sick, get an infection, she could even die.”

When he looked at the stack of miniature body parts he’d just removed,

“I didn’t see the woman’s right to choose or the $800 cash I’d made in 15 minutes. I saw somebody’s son or daughter.”7

Harvesting Scandal - Selling Fetal Body Parts

Aborted baby organ harvesting... and more: In 2015, the release of videos by the Center for Medical Progress showed that Planned Parenthood engaged in numerous violations of state and federal laws.8 Alleged violations included illegally selling aborted baby remains for profit, altering procedures to preserve fetal organs for resale, and failing to operate within federal HIPAA privacy regulations.9 In December 2016, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Special Investigative Panel on Infant Lives10 referred Planned Parenthood to the Department of Justice after their investigations found probable cause to believe Planned Parenthood’s trafficking in aborted baby remains broke the law.

Excerpt from HLA’s The Truth About Planned Parenthood, written by Cheryl Sullenger, Operation Rescue.

You Can Cure Mom Without Killing the Baby

Former abortionist and practicing Ob-Gyn Dr. Anthony Levatino says, “You never need a late term abortion to save a woman’s life.”11 Dr. Levatino goes on to explain: “I was faculty at the hospital for nine years, and I saw hundreds of cases of really severe pregnancy complications—cancers, heart disease, intractable diabetes out of control, toxemia of pregnancy out of control. And I saved—in those nine years—I saved hundreds of women from life-threatening pregnancies…by delivery, either induction of labor or caesarean section, delivering the baby. And I always tell people, in all those years, the number of babies that I had to—that I was obligated to deliberately kill in the process—was zero. None.”12

10 | She’s a Child Not a Choice

No state law can prevent doctors or emergency rooms from treating women for ectopic pregnancies, lifethreatening complications, miscarriages, or botched abortions.

Chemical Abortions Chemical abortions, misleadingly referred to as medical abortions, are induced by a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol.1 The pregnant woman often takes the pills at home or in college housing.

Typically committed: 1st trimester Preborn age: Up to 10 weeks 1. Progesterone is the hormone that protects the lining of the uterus.

The first pill, mifepristone, blocks progesterone, causing the uterine lining to break down.

2. Mifepristone cuts off blood and nourishment from the baby. The goal is to starve the child in the womb to death.

3. 24-48 hours later, the second pill, misoprostol, is taken.

It causes contractions that can create painful cramping and heavy bleeding to expel the baby.

4. Women will be told to miscarry at home over the toilet. If they (were to) look closely, they would see their dead child. Even at seven weeks, it is possible to see his or her fingers and toes.

The woman has no way of knowing if she had a complete abortion since she cannot ensure that all pregnancy tissues have been expelled. This leaves her at risk of a severe adverse effect like an infection or even death.

63%

In 2023, abortion pills accounted for 63% of all US abortions, an increase from 53% in 2020.2

Hospitals and abortion facilities must comply with strict waste disposal regluations to ensure human remains, tissues, blood, and biohazards are properly disposed for public health.

Chemical Abortions, on the other hand, usually take place in the woman’s bathroom at home. The baby’s remains, placenta, residual pharmacueticals, and amniotic fluid are flushed down the toilet.

To learn more about the environmental impact of chemical abortion and “reproductive helalth,” visit: studentmag.org

20

Total Incidence Reports of Adverse Effects4 20%

15

10

5

Are Abortions Coerced?

People assume that women freely choose abortion and that they are satisfied that it was the best decision for themselves. However, more and more peer-reviewed studies are being published which show that this is not the case. One recent study found that: • Only 1/3 of abortions are “wanted.”

• 1 in 4 women describe their abortion as “unwanted” or “coerced.”

• 43% described their abortion as “accepted” but “inconsistent with their values and preferences.”

• 60% said their preference would have been to give birth if they had received more emotional support or had greater financial security.3 Feeling Pressured to Abort? For free documents explaining your legal rights as a pregnant woman, please visit Center Against Forced Abortion: thejusticefoundation.org/CAFA

0

5.6% Surgical Abortions

Severe Cases

Chemical Abortions

According to a 2025 study by the Ethics of Public Policy Center, 10.93% of women experience a severe adverse effect within 45 days of a chemical abortion,5 including: sepsis, infection, hemorrhage, hospitalization, or surgical intervention, among others.

For additional information on chemical abortions, please visit: achildnotachoice.org/chemical-abortion

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No Choice: Sex Trafficking

More people are enslaved today than at any other time in human history.

An estimated 40.3 million people, including children and young adults, are trafficked worldwide each year.1 It is common for women to experience coerced or even forced abortions, particularly those being trafficked and victims of incest. A groundbreaking study revealed 55.2% of women in the study had at least one abortion while being trafficked, and 29.9% had multiple abortions.2 Widely accessible mifepristone (the abortion pill) puts women at a much greater risk to predators, all while making it easier for these people to exert greater control over them and avoid being detected and reported by healthcare workers.3 According to the Lozier Institute, “with no medical oversight, abortion pills can fall into the hands of traffickers and abusive partners. Already, there are accounts of women being given abortion pills without their knowledge and against their will. The risk of forced abortions has increased now that the pills are available online without an in-person visit with the woman’s doctor.”4 On December 6th, 2024, a man in Norfolk, England, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for intentionally inducing an abortion by giving a woman a combination of Mifepristone and Misoprostol without her knowledge or consent.5 And this is not an isolated incident. Even before the FDA REMS changed in 2023, there have been several similar cases in the United States.

For help or to report, visit: a21.org/content/human-trafficking Traffickers prey on young homeless or runaways at transportation hubs, motels, and shopping malls. Additionally, they lure potential victims through the internet, social media, online games, or use other victims to recruit. Traffickers convince their victims they will be employed overseas as a nanny or become the next big model sensation, then take them by force to be sold.

“In a 2003 survey, 49% of people ‘currently or recently in prostitution’ reported that their traffickers made pornographic material of them while they were engaged in prostitution.”6 Since these materials are posted on the internet, the victims feel they cannot escape that experience because they are revictimized every time someone views those materials.7 Factors that make a person more vulnerable:

• Disabilities • Poverty • Lack of family support • History of abuse • Age • Drug or alcohol addiction • Criminal record • Homelessness • Gang involvement • Forced abortions

Signs that someone may be a victim:

• Feels unable to leave relationship with trafficker • Forced to do uncomfortable things • Expected to have sex for money or valuables • Traffickers keep victim’s money or items earned through sex

Techniques used to keep victims:

• Threaten victim or family member • Withhold identification documents • Cause and exploit pregnancies • Force prostitution for debt repayment • Provide drugs or alcohol to create dependency • Blackmail through pornography

Negative effects of being trafficked:

• Emotional and physical abuse • Forced abortions • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder • Doxing (publishing of private content online) • Malnutrition and sleep deprivation • Contraction of STIs, Hepatitis B & C, and AIDS

Want to know more about your state? Visit Human Trafficking Hotline website at the address below to see what your local numbers reveal. Keep in mind these are only the victims who have been helped or the traffickers who have been caught. humantraffickinghotline.org/en/statistics

12 | She’s a Child Not a Choice

Abortion and Breast Cancer

Pregnancy: A Woman’s Natural Way of Resisting Breast Cancer

1

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Carrying a pregnancy to full-term gives women natural resistance to breast cancer. During pregnancy, the breast tissues, called lobules, go through four stages of development. (A lobule is a unit of breast tissue consisting of a milk duct and glands.) During adolescence, the majority of lobules are Type 1 and Type 2, which are immature and susceptible to cancer. Throughout the first trimester of pregnancy, the number of Type 1 and 2 lobules rapidly increases. This means that the breast has more lobules susceptible to cancer. However, in the second trimester, the breast lobules start maturing into Type 4 lobules, which are cancer resistant. By the end of the third trimester, 85% of the breast has fully matured. Only 15% of the lobules remain immature and cancersusceptible, leaving fewer opportunities for cancer to start. After birth and weaning, Type 4 lobules regress to Type 3. There is evidence this transition to Type 3 is permanent, providing life-long cancer resistance.

How does abortion affect this process?

A premature delivery before 32 weeks doubles the risk of breast cancer because it leaves the breast with more places for cancer to start. In the same way, abortion also stops the progression of breast lobule development. This prevents the development of Type 4, and subsequently Type 3, cancer-resistant lobules.

Induced abortion of a healthy pregnancy results in increased risk of breast cancer for the mother because more Type 1 and 2 lobules remain. According to the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute, a recent study found that, “2 or more abortions increased risk for breast cancer by 610% and family history of breast and ovarian cancer increased risk by 325%.”1,2

Chemical Abortion Chemical abortion pills cause the termination of a healthy pregnancy. Chemical abortions take place in the first trimester (through week 10) when Type 1 and 2 breast lobules are forming rapidly. Since chemical abortions and surgical abortions both prematurely end healthy pregnancies, they carry the same risks for breast cancer.3 What about miscarriages?

Approximately 90% of miscarriages occur in the first trimester. However, the vast majority of natural miscarriages in the first trimester do not increase the risk of breast cancer. In these cases, pregnancy hormones are lower than those of a healthy pregnancy due to either a fetal or ovarian abnormality. Therefore, a breast may not have grown more, or at least grew very few, Type 1 and 2 lobules (sites where cancer starts) in response to pregnancy hormones.

For this information and more about breast cancer and abortion-related breast cancer risk, visit the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute: bcpinstitute.org

But What About Rape?

Fifty years ago, when I was 18, I was a victim of criminal sexual assault. I conceived a child by way of rape. All this happened only 18 months after Roe v. Wade was made law. At that time, I was literally homeless, motherless, jobless, penniless, a teenager, pregnant by rape, and I have an uncurable, rare physical disability... For all these “reasons,” I was told that I was the “perfect candidate” for an abortion.

On June 14, 1975, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl who I named Jennifer. My inner healing began with her very first smile, her first tooth, her first words, and her first steps. My life was all about Jennifer, NOT about the rape. My child was made in the image and likeness of God, our Creator.

No matter what, the circumstances of someone’s conception never determine the quality, sacredness, or value of a new life.

Today, Jennifer is a college graduate, a happily married wife of 21 years, a mother of 5 children, and a very productive member and citizen of Minnesota, and I am a grateful, doting grandmother of seven with a clear conscience and no regrets.

By my testimony, I give you absolute proof that abortion is never necessary, ever! With God, all things are possible. Every child conceived is destined for great good. ~Cindy S.

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Let’s Talk About That Choice A woman should be able to do what she wants with her own body—It’s My Body, My Choice.

A fetus is not a part of the mother’s body but a completely separate human being with his or her own unique DNA. If what’s in the womb is a human being, should another person have the right to kill that child?

But a fetus isn’t a human—it’s just a clump of cells.

Simple tissue doesn’t have a beating heart or brain waves. Twelve weeks after fertilization, every system of a child’s body is in place and functioning.1 Nothing new is added except oxygen, nutrition, and time.

Okay maybe it’s a human, but it’s definitely not a person.

The worldview that led to the acceptance of slavery and genocide began with stripping away personhood from some humans for convenience. Isn’t it discriminatory to say some human beings are not people?

But I consented to sex, not pregnancy!

People are only able to consent to actions, not to outcomes. The risk of pregnancy may decrease with contraception, but it’s still a possible outcome. Consent to sex acknowledges the possibility of pregnancy.

Well, nobody can use someone else’s body without consent.

An unexpected pregnancy can be difficult, but there’s no other place for this new human being to grow and survive. Is it justified to end someone’s entire existence to avoid nine months of inconvenience? There’s no neutral option in pregnancy. Killing another human should not be the answer.

But if abortion is made illegal, women will die through unsafe, illegal abortions.

Dr. Bernard Nathanson, co-founder of NARAL, admitted he exaggerated the numbers. “I confess that I knew the figures were totally false.”2 In 1973, more women died from legal abortions (25) than illegal abortions (19).3 Just because some people break laws doesn’t mean laws shouldn’t exist to protect the vulnerable.

I’m personally opposed, but I won’t take away someone else’s right to an abortion.

The same reasoning applied elsewhere sounds like, “I’m personally opposed to child abuse, but I won’t take away someone else’s right to beat their child.” There should be no such thing as the freedom to kill a child.

Well, the world is overpopulated anyway.

If we were to give every person on the planet a 930.25 square foot plot of land on which to live, we would need 269,597 square miles of land.4 That’s the size of the state of Texas.5 People suffering from hunger could be lifted out of malnourishment on less than a quarter of the wasted food from the US, UK, and Europe.6 We can solve distribution problems without killing human beings.

I Regret My Abortion

“I’m 28 years old, and I had my abortion about 6 years ago. I think about it all the time. I always thought I’d move past it eventually, but it’s only gotten worse. I didn’t feel like I had a choice at the time. I was with a guy who I knew I wasn’t going to end up with. I wasn’t in love with him. I was with him because I was lonely, and vice versa. More importantly, I was still in college and I wasn’t ready to have a child.

“I cried so hard on the day when the abortion was scheduled that the clinic could not go through with the procedure until a week after the first appointment. If I had realized how much I would regret my decision, I wouldn’t have gone through with it. I think about whether it was a boy or girl, what he or she would have looked like, and whether or not he or she would have had my eyes. These questions tear me apart over and over again. Even though the baby doesn’t exist anymore, its brief existence in my womb changed my life forever. I wish I could go back in time and change my own mind. I would hold my newborn child in my arms and never let go.”

–Heather

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HELP AFTER AN ABORTION Rachel’s Vineyard – 24 hour 877-467-3463 rachelsvineyard.org National Helpline for Abortion Recovery – 24 hour 866-482-LIFE (5433) nationalhelpline.org Project Rachel 888-456-HOPE (4673) hopeafterabortion.com

Choose to Be a Life Saver

Now that you’ve learned the truth about abortion and life affirming alternatives, are you ready to help defend the sanctity of life? Our mission at Human Life Alliance is to educate, equip, and empower people to change the culture from one that encourages abortion to a culture that respects life at all stages and at all ages, including the preborn.

She’s a Child, Not a “Choice” was designed to challenge the media and pop culture’s portrayal of pro-lifers and to educate people on the humanity of pre-born children. For the last 50 years, abortion proponents have been using “a woman’s right to choose” to deny humanity to the tens of millions of perfectly healthy babies who were aborted in the United States. Public opinion can change. When presented with the facts about ableism, fetal pain, human development during pregnancy, and the risks of abortion, people no longer see it as just a “choice.”

We want to make sure you have the truth so you can talk confidently to defend life from abortion. Being prepared for a conversation with a friend or family member facing an unexpected pregnancy could make all the difference.

You could be the reason she contacts a pregnancy resource center or maternity home instead of going to Planned Parenthood or ordering chemical abortion drugs online. You can find all the information in this magazine, and so much more, at: AChildNotAChoice.org

While HLA is not political, we do believe that political awareness plays a huge role in our society regarding abortion.

Be an informed voter when it comes to life issues and abortion, learn about local petitions and ballot initiatives, and contact your legislators regularly to let them know what’s on your mind.

Maybe you feel called to do more and want to get involved in the pro-life movement. We encourage you to engage actively in your community to defend life. Prolife organizations are always looking for financial support and volunteers. Check for local options or use these tips to be a lifesaver.

College Campus Students: • Form or join a pro-life group.

• Foster community with fellow students.

• Learn about resources for those who need pregnancy assistance.

• Advocacy: Politicians know who their votes come from, and student advocates can do extraordinary things.

Employees: • Help and advocate for student groups.

• Be a supportive voice for those facing an unexpected pregnancy.

• Learn what resources are available on campus and nearby for pregnant students.

Sidewalk Advocates • Self-education: Continue to learn, research, and develop your understanding of life issues. Keep current with news, research, and policies concerning these issues. If you can think and speak coherently about these topics, then others will be able to hear and understand you better.

• Ask for the material you need. Share which materials people react to or ask for on the street. Educational pro-life groups rely on your input!

Pregnancy Centers • Keep fighting the good fight!

• Advertise in your neighborhoods. Go to local churches and ask for fundraisers. Build awareness in the community so they have a vested interest in supporting your ministry.

Church Groups • Look for ways to support local pro-life efforts.

• Educate yourselves and others about all life issues so that anyone who asks you to defend your stance will receive a clear answer.

• Promote events, acknowledge members of the community, and try to find collaborative opportunities with other pro-life groups.

She’s a Child, Not a “Choice” is a product of: Human Life Alliance 1614 93rd Lane NE, Blaine, MN 55449 feedback@humanlife.org | 651-484-1040 Learn more at humanlife.org

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