Monday, September 12, 2005

Women wanting late-term abortions are all crazy

Or at least that's what Spanish abortion provider Leonardo Llorente says. During an interview with an undercover reporter from London's Telegraph, Llorente admits to circumventing Spain's laws on abortion by exploiting the phrasing of Spain's law which includes no limits on abortion if there is a "high risk to the mother's mental health."

"Always it can be proved that the patient at this moment had serious mental problems even though later on the patients can be completely normal." Asked whether this meant that the woman could be given an abortion "whatever the situation", he answered: "Definitely."......

When asked if the foetuses had to be abnormal for the clinic to terminate them, he said "not necessarily" before going on to explain how they interpreted the law on "serious risk to a mother's mental health". Anyone who was motivated to ask for a late abortion in the first place must be distressed enough to qualify, he said.


I wonder if any pro-choice feminists bloggers or pro-choice organizations will attack Llorente for his comments regarding women who want late term abortions?

UPDATE:
Imagine if Pat Robertson declared that every woman having an abortion after a certain point was mentally ill. That would quite some firestorm.

We'd here shouting from the rafters that "Women aren't crazy because they want to make a decision about their body!" "How dare he pass judgement on women in difficult situations!" "Since when did Pat Robertson because a psychiatrist?" But when an abortionist makes what most ardent pro-choice people would consider a patronizing comment, the response is silence.

If I was that reporter for the Telegraph, I'd ask Llorente, "Why are women who want to abort late term pregnancies mentally ill? If abortion doesn't take a human life then why would a woman wanting a late term abortion be mentally ill? If the women wanting late term abortions are mentally ill, how much more mentally ill are you for wanting to perform these types of abortions?

Naaman adds:

Why is he treating women for psychological illness by killing their children? Why does that treatment make any sense? Why is that a solution? I'm not a psychiatrist, but it seems to me that it would make more sense to treat the actual illness. Why are these women so threatened by their unborn children?

If it's rape trauma, let's heal the trauma.
If it's a feeling of powerlessness, let's improve her self-esteem.
If it's a fear about money, let's get some public assistance to her. (Even here in the let-them-eat-cake USA, we have government-aid programs to help pregnant women and new mothers. Doesn't the UK?)
If it's a lack of "life skills", let's find someone to mentor her.
If it's depression, get her on some anti-depressants. Prozac doesn't appear to be safe, but Zoloft could be helpful. (Lawyers take note: I am not a doctor, and this is not medical advice, so don't sue me.)

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