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Abortion clinics’ post-Harvey offer called ‘heinous’


HOUSTON (BP) — A chain of Texas-based abortion clinics has announced it will provide “no-cost abortions” during the month of September “for those affected by Hurricane Harvey.”

Whole Woman’s Health — which operates Texas clinics in Austin, Fort Worth, McAllen and San Antonio — announced its free-abortion campaign in a Sept. 1 blog post stating, “The need for abortion care does not stop for natural disasters.” Supported by abortion-assistance funds, including the Lilith Fund and the Stigma Relief Fund, Whole Woman’s Health will offer free travel and lodging as part of its campaign.

Pro-life advocates called the offer “heinous” and “callous.”

“The promotion of this heinous no-cost service is riddled with fallacies because abortion is never free,” said Melissa Conway, director of external relations for Texas Right to Life. “There is always a cost to abortion. Women are not free from the emotional toll that ensues after abortion and the child is certainly not free to live another day. Abortions, just like the catastrophic effects of a hurricane, are never free and we, as a community, pay the price for their needless destruction.

“As so many are living in the tragic remains of Harvey,” Conway told Baptist Press in written comments, “now more than ever is the time to protect the most vulnerable among us and combat the predatory schemes of big-business abortion attempting to victimize women and terminate the lives of their preborn babies.”

Followers of Jesus must “be the hands and feet of Christ” following Harvey, Conway said, especially to “women who are pregnant and in crisis.” Such women should be referred to pregnancy care centers that will care for them and their unborn children, she said.

Tom Billings, executive director of the Houston-area Union Baptist Association, told BP in written comments, “It’s ironic after so many heroic efforts to save pets during the recent floods in Houston that anyone would be so callous with the life of an unborn child.”

Whole Woman’s Health stated in its blog post, “Unfortunately, we know all too well that abortion can be difficult to access in some parts of the country, especially in Texas. There are already so many barriers to access this necessary procedure, and natural disasters stand in the way of women getting to their appointment and/or being able to afford care.

“During Hurricane Harvey, many of the clinics in Houston had to close temporarily, leaving women with very few options. Continued political attacks on abortion access make an unwanted pregnancy particularly stressful in Texas — add that to the stress of dealing with hurricane aftermath,” the blog post stated.

Abby Johnson, a pro-life advocate and former director of a Texas Planned Parenthood clinic, said her former employer made a similar free-abortion offer following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Though the idea seemed “fantastic” at the time, Johnson said according to LifeNews.com, “I now realize that we were preying on these families in their most desperate time of need.”

Johnson continued, “We didn’t offer to help them find housing, food, clothing, or anything else … just a way to kill their unborn child at ‘no cost.’ Sick.”