FiveThirtyEight recently asked for more feedback for its echo chamber:

Nearly 1 in 4 American women will have an abortion before the age of 45. But over the past decade, access to abortion in America has changed dramatically. There are fewer clinics and more restrictions. And now it seems likely that the Supreme Court will limit the right to abortion even further. As we document the impact of these shifts, we want to include the voices of people who have had abortions in the U.S. If you’ve had an abortion and are willing to share your experience with us, please fill out the form below and we may follow up with you to hear more. We’re particularly interested in hearing from people who have had abortions over the past 10 years, but we’d love to hear your story even if you had an abortion less recently. Whatever you want to share, we are grateful for your willingness to tell your story.

Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux, “Do You Have An Abortion Story? We Want to Hear From You.” at FiveThirtyEight (December 21, 2021)

If you want to understand the mindset of the abortion lobby, note that this plea for accounts of killing of children in the womb appeared on Twitter on Christmas Day.

I filled out the form, explaining how I work very hard to protect children in the womb and to oppose abortion. To judge from a collection of responses profiled two days later by Brett T. at Twitchy, it seems that many people on Twitter feel the same way I do:

“I was born with a minor genetic condition. My mother’s Dr suggested abortion because I wouldn’t live a normal life. My parents said no. I’m living a normal life. I want no more abortion stories. I want more birth stories.”

“My mother was screamed at by a doctor who demanded she abort my younger sister with Edward’s syndrome; he insulted her and even threatened to drag her away. I was there; only 3, but I remember it. Since then, I have always been pro-life, even at my worst. Deo gratias.”

“My parents were told my sister would have Down Syndrome. They said if that is how she will be, we don’t care. She was born just fine, well not as cool as me but pretty close.”

“At the ultrasound for my 2nd pregnancy we were told our baby had Down Syndrome and her heart was incompatible with life. They encouraged us to end the pregnancy. She’s completely healthy.”

“Our first pregnancy had complications. We were told there was a chance of genetic disorder & were asked if we wanted to abort. We didn’t. He’s my amazing 13 year old son, & I can’t imagine life without him.”

“I was told my baby didn’t have a heart beat at 10 weeks and that we should do a DNC right away… I said no. Almost 10 years later, my perfectly healthy son is sitting right beside me.”

“My Son celebrated his 15th birthday. The Dr told my wife she was high risk and should abort him. He plays piano, loves the Browns and Loves the Lord… His name is Jacob! May this encourage someone…”

“My mom found out she was pregnant. Planned Parenthood just wanted to schedule “the procedure.” She sought another opinion, decided against abortion, had me and my twin, 2 more kids, a career, 4 grandkids and counting.”

There are many more. Please read the whole thing — it’s a beautiful response to an atrocious request.

The world is blessed with countless people who, with God’s grace, had moms and dads who chose life instead of death. I’m one of them — my mom had severe hypertension and doctors recommended I be aborted, but she and my dad refused. I owe my life to their love for me, even before I was born.

I am a pediatric neurosurgeon, and every day I treat kids (and adults) who were prime candidates for abortion, but by the grace of God escaped the abortionist’s tools.

I do a fair amount of prenatal counseling. While I always tell the families the truth about their baby’s prognosis, most of the patients I evaluate are essentially normal babies who have prenatal ultrasound/MRI findings that show minor brain variants that don’t impact their lives. Even for children with serious diagnoses, the outlook is often much better than the abortion-happy medical profession tells families in crisis.

Just recently, I saw a 10 year old girl in the office for whom I’ve cared since she was in the womb. When her spina bifida was diagnosed by prenatal testing, the doctor basically insisted that she be aborted. It was relatively late in the pregnancy, and the doctor gave them the name of George Tiller, a notorious late-term abortionist in Kansas who aborted babies at an age when even the most callous of other abortionists refuse to kill. Her family declined, and sought me out as a second opinion. I told them the truth about their daughter’s prognosis — which was guarded but by no means hopeless.

As it turned out, I was wrong. She did indeed have spina bifida and I operated on her the day she was born. But she has done much better than any of us even dreamed. She walks, runs, and loves to dance. She is bright and charming, and is the love and light of her mom, dad, and her doting older brothers. I give talks to medical professionals about neurosurgical prenatal diagnoses and at the end of the talks I show a video clip of her dancing.

Shame on FiveThirtyEight for publishing this abortion endorsement on Christmas Day of all days. Christmas is, after all, the day Christians celebrate the Incarnation of the Lord of life, and it’s heartening to read how many people in FiveThirtyEight’s Twitter feed chose life instead.

You may also wish to read: Do babies really feel pain before they are self-aware? Michael Egnor discusses the fact that the thalamus, deep in the brain, creates pain. The cortex moderates it. Thus, juveniles may suffer more. Jonathan Wells recalls, from when he was a lab technologist, how very premature infants would scream when he took a drop of blood for tests.