But what about the women?

In the grand life/choice debate, the focus is typically on the unborn child -- when life begins, when a baby becomes viable, when a baby starts to feel pain, etc. When the discussion turns to the well-being of the pregnant woman, though, the arguments can get muddied.

When a woman has a pregnancy that is unwanted, whether because of her age, her financial situation, or, God forbid, because it occurred through rape or incest, the default assumption is that abortion provides a net benefit to the woman. It "takes care of the problem."

Even pro-lifers will often cede that premise, arguing that yes, the woman benefits from the abortion, but that benefit does not outweigh the loss of the unborn baby's life. Let's take a step back, though, and examine this "benefit" to the woman.

Back in January, when I posted about the MCCL March for Life at the Capitol in St. Paul, I wrote about how moved I was by the presentation that followed in the Rotunda by Silent No More Minnesota. About a dozen or so women (and men, too -- don't forget that each aborted baby also has a father) told the stories of their lives during and after their abortions.

These brave women told us what Planned Parenthood won't. Abortion is not a simple, innocuous procedure. It's not like removing a hangnail. These women experienced complications ranging from hemorrhage to infection to the inability to conceive again. They told us about the crying rooms at the abortion clinic; they told us about how lost and alone they felt after being told to leave through the back door; they told us about the cycle of destructive behavior to which their abortion led; and they told us about the devastating, long-lasting emotional impact they suffered when they came to terms with the fact that they had killed their own baby.

These speeches were incredibly powerful, and I had hoped to share the audio with you, but the quality of my recording was poor. Fortunately, Silent No More Minnesota made a good recording of a similar presentation from four years ago. Ann Marie Cosgrove, president and founder of SNMM, was gracious enough to send me a copy of the CD, and she has generously granted permission to share these recordings with you. Over the coming weeks, I will post links to these recorded speeches and provide transcripts so that you can see and hear for yourself how destructive abortion has been to the lives of not just the babies, but also the mothers.

Please stay tuned...