Rather than being “irrelevant” or “medically inappropriate,” Spaulding Balch explained to CNA that the information required to be given to women seeking an abortion is actually “simple and basic.”
This information includes a description of what the abortion procedure entails, possible risks of the procedure and possible alternatives. “This would be considered normal and reasonable information for any other procedure,” she said.
“This information is all reasonable, rational, and relevant to the decision the mother is about to make.”
Another topic included in the CRR report is the “stigma” of abortion providers among medical professionals and the general public. The document says that abortion is “marginalized and perceived as ‘dirty’ and outside of normal medicine practice,” and that this negative image results in many doctors refusing to perform, assist in, or even refer abortions.
The report claims that this stigma exists “because abortion is not integrated into mainstream healthcare.”
Saying that it is a “normal human reaction” for people to be repulsed by the idea of abortion, Spaulding Balch rejected CRR's argument. “There is something inherently evil about it,” she said, explaining that people understand this instinctively, and that is why they are still not comfortable with it, even 30 years after its legalization.
Spaulding Balch contrasted abortion with other medical procedures that are uncommon or may be otherwise “not integrated into mainstream health care,” but which the general public does not view with distrust. The fact that it is not mainstream health care is not the cause of the revulsion, she said. Rather, it is the horror of the abortion itself. “There is an inherent distinction between treating a rare disease and killing a living human.”
The publication of the report comes amid discussions of a health care reform package that would allow abortion to be required as a minimum health care benefit. Spaulding Balch explained to CNA that abortion advocates are working intensely to have the package approved in an attempt to save the dying industry.
“The abortion industry knows that they need this for their survival. They must make abortion part of mainstream health care, or the industry will see its demise,” she said.