In Kansas, there is a bill under consideration that would outlaw abortions that occur after 22 weeks. The basis for this bill is the notion that a fetus can feel pain around this time, though naturally that’s a claim that’s not really based on any sound science. Of course, not having facts on your side has hardly stopped the forced birthers in the past.
The bill has cleared the state house and will be considered by the state Senate this Wednesday.
Tiffany Moore Campbell testified in opposition to the bill before the Kansas State Judiciary Committee last Thursday. The crux of her argument is that if a woman had discovered at 21 weeks that she were in a situation comparable to Tiffany's—where the fetuses were diagnosed with TTTS, a very serious complication that in the most severe cases has a high mortality (60-100%)—there would not be enough time for a woman to contemplate her decision.
Sound reasoning.
In a private meeting between Tiffany and State Senator Mary Pilcher-Cook, the State Senator referred to Tiffany as a "killer" for exercising her right to choose. When called out for this attack, the State Senator altered her answer to say the doctor was the "killer".
This is a vile, ignorant, and unacceptable attempt to shame a woman into believing she killed a child.
Please call State Senator Pilcher-Cook at 785-296-7362 or email her at Mary.PilcherCook@senate.ks.gov to let her know that this language is unacceptable and that she should immediately apologize to Tiffany for her comments.
I implore you to read more about Tiffany's story over the fold, as I believe it demonstrates the spirit of an undeniably brave woman. I will also make the case that the pro-choice movement needs to make such stories heard.
You can read about Tiffany's story in her RH Reality Check diary:
In 2006 I became pregnant and was thrilled. After landing in the hospital with a severe kidney infection at 19-weeks gestation, I received my first ultrasound, leaving us shocked and thrilled to see we were expecting identical twin boys.
The joy didn’t last when our babies were diagnosed with Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome. Webmd.com describes Twin-Twin transfusion syndrome as “the most serious complication of identical twins. It starts in the womb when one twin gets too much blood and the other not enough. The outcome for both twins is grim.”
Severe TTTS has a 60-100 percent likelihood of fetal or neonatal mortality rate. We were sent to one of the premier fetal care centers in the country and told our only hope for saving this pregnancy was to have a selective termination on the one of the babies, and hope the other twin would survive.
At my next doctor appointment when I asked my perinatalogist if the termination we had would be allowed under the abortion ban [in South Dakota]. He said no.
I was outraged and felt violated, how a group of individuals dare think they can make life-altering medical decisions for me. If I hadn’t had the termination, I would have buried two babies instead of only one.
The ban she references was defeated by South Dakota voters in 2008.
It's very important to note that the main reason the TTTS was caught at all was because she had to receive care for a severe kidney infection. Had she waited until her scheduled 21-week ultrasound, the situation would have been discovered right at the cusp of the proposed ban's timeframe giving her almost no time to contemplate what she wanted to do. She did abort the fetus which had a lacking blood supply and eventually gave birth to the surviving twin, now 4, who she has described as "the treasure of his older brother and sister." If there were a law obstructing her ability to abort the deteriorating fetus, the result would almost certainly be that she would not have had such a wonderful child through her choice.
As I stated, the proposed ban on the table in Kansas is based on the notion that fetuses experience pain at 22 weeks, when in reality that's based off of shoddy research.
Furthermore, the notion that fetuses will ultimately be shielded from discomfort or even "pain" through the course of their vaginal births is absurd. Breech deliveries, especially -- and those aided with forceps -- most certainly inflict "pain" on a fetus exiting the birth canal. But proponents of "fetal pain" legislation are focused only on abortions, as they represent what to them is an unacceptable exercise of reproductive autonomy by women.
There are further problems with the concept of "fetal pain" though. A psychologist, Dr. Derbyshire, wrote up a piece on the notion of fetal pain a while ago and posted what Dr. Myers referred to as "sound reasoning" as far as the dangers of equating it with adult pain:
There's more to conscious awareness of pain than raw, reflexive nociception. It also requires awareness, a level of experience that enables the mind to associate a pattern of electrical signals with elements of the environment. You can't have pain without an ability to relate it to memory or emotion, and the fetus hasn't yet developed any of those linkages.
But what's telling is how often these proponents of bills of this nature have very little regard for the pain the mother has to endure. Most of the abortions that happen after 21 weeks are due to complications discovered in the fetus's development, such as TTTS. But one particularly horrifying case of an abortion ban forcing a woman to endure unnecessary torment happened recently in Nebraska, where the ban was on abortions happening after 20 weeks:
Danielle Deaver cradled her daughter, knowing the newborn's gasps would slowly subside, and the baby would die.
Through tear-blurred eyes, she looked her daughter over for physical defects.
Deaver, 34, of Grand Island, Neb., wanted to see something, anything to validate the news doctors delivered eight days before: Her baby had virtually no chance of survival. And if she lived, she would be severely disabled.
What Deaver saw was perfection: A tiny but beautiful child. Ten toes. Ten fingers. Long eyelashes.
Her baby tried desperately to inhale.
With her husband, Robb, at her side, Deaver sobbed, gently kissing her daughter's forehead and hoping her baby wasn't in pain. That fear - that the baby would suffer before its predestined death - compelled the couple to seek an abortion. But a new Nebraska law that limits abortion after the 20th week of gestation prevented her from getting one. The Iowa Legislature is considering a similar law.
Danielle had to endure this experience because a bunch of lawmakers cared more about advancing their shoddy science than they cared about any genuine pain experienced by the mother or even her newborn. That is the "pro-life" movement in a nutshell: the institutional manipulation and control of women.
Tiffany is fighting in Kansas so that women do not have to endure such things, as the only two people who should be involved in the decision to abort are a woman and her doctor.
Neither of whom are "killer[s]."
The pro-choice movement's success hinges on making sure stories like Tiffany's are heard because they embody the same thing: difficult choices, emotional resolve, and a genuine concern for the future. The misogynistic narrative that the average woman aborts based on a whim without any real regard for planning for the future needs to fucking die. The notion that a woman who exercises her reproductive autonomy through an abortion should be equated with a "killer" also needs to fucking die. Both are sentiments designed to guilt and shame women.
So please call State Senator Pilcher-Cook at 785-296-7362 or email her at Mary.PilcherCook@senate.ks.gov to let her know that this language is unacceptable and that she should immediately apologize to Tiffany for her comments.
Thank you.
Addendum: Some people have received emails back, but it's a copy-paste deal:
Thank you for contacting me. I am glad to provide information about what happened. On Friday, March 18, Tiffany Campbell and Amber Versola with the National Organization of Women requested a meeting in my office to discuss their objection to the fetal pain bill, and their desire to create an exception. My chief-of-staff, Mike Pirner, was present, and we were working to find ways we could come to an agreement. At no time did I make any accusations of Tiffany Campbell. In fact, I started our meeting with an unequivocal statement about how we should have compassion for any woman who has had an abortion. I am disappointed that Tiffany and Amber have chosen to say something that is not true. Ms. Campbell and I clearly have different views on the issues of the abortion, and I respect that disagreement, but it is extremely unfortunate they are using a friendly meeting to make false statements because it closes doors and prevents further communication.
Sincerely, Mary Pilcher-Cook
This is fucking infuriating. Not only did she lie, but she won't even own up to her own warped ideology, which is we've seen is abortion = murder. If you're afraid to own these words, how much genuine concern for the fetus did you have to begin with? But therein lies the heart of the matter: the "pro-life" movement is more about controlling women more than anything else.