September, 2010: Women’s Health

Last month, we talked about preventable diseases that many of our brothers and sisters in the global community face. Part of our discussion centered on women and children who are affected by malaria, the lack of clean water, and other diseases that often lead to death. This month, we want to talk specifically about health issues that affect women.

There are many areas we could cover, but we want to narrow it down to two: abortion and egg donation. Some of you may feel like running away the conversation – and controversy – at this point. Don’t worry, we aren’t interested in having a political discussion or telling you how to vote. Instead, we want to challenge you to stick with us and to think deeply about these issues.

Before we dive in, you need to know where we’re coming from. We value people. We believe what the Bible says about humankind: It’s precious in God’s eyes. People are important, and because we’re uniquely made in the image of God, we want to take special care of the crown of His creation.

That said, one of the most difficult decisions a woman can face in her life is an unplanned – and sometimes unwanted – pregnancy. What woman wants to deal with the decision between abortion, adoption, and keeping a baby – maybe at the risk of losing her educational opportunities, her career, or her significant other? Often, there seems to be no good option – and no place to turn.

This month, we’re going to discuss some of the realities of unplanned pregnancies, and the toll abortion takes on women. As always, we want to make sure you have the information and resources you need to help a friend, or perhaps even yourself.

Another women’s health issue facing many Millennials is the issue of egg donation. Perhaps you’ve seen an ad in your college’s newspaper advertising $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000 to egg donors who are willing to undergo a round of drugs that results in releasing multiple eggs that are then surgically removed.

While this might seem like an easy way to earn some extra cash, the process is riddled with risks to women — risks to future fertility, and concerns over a largely unregulated industry.

So dive in with us and check out the info we’ve provided. As always, we love hearing your perspective, so tell us what you think or visit us on Facebook.

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Did You Know

• By the third week of development, the preborn child’s heart is beating?
• By seven weeks of development, the preborn baby makes her own blood which may be a different type than the mothers?
• By 14 weeks of development, the preborn baby is coordinated enough to find her thumb and suck it?
• Between 22-32 weeks the baby feels pain more intensely than any other time in development.
• Seventeen percent of women participating in a study on the effects of abortion reported that they “had experienced physical complications since their abortion.” That percentage represents approximately 200,000 women annually experiencing physical complications after an abortion.
• Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that having multiple abortions increases a woman’s chance of having a miscarriage in a later pregnancy.
• Based on current abortion rates, about one in three women will have an abortion by age 45.
• 44 percent of women having abortions in the U.S. have had at least one previous abortion.
• Fifty percent of U.S. women having abortions are younger than 25 years old.
• Women aged 20-24 obtain 33% of all abortions, and teenagers obtain 17%.
• 82 percent of women who had abortions in the U.S. were unmarried.

Egg Donation

• Women meeting certain physical characteristics and IQs can may be offered upwards of $50,000 to donate their eggs to fertility clinics
• Egg donation can be dangerous for women who subject their bodies to a procedure called ovarian hyperstimulation. During this process, a woman is injected with powerful hormones that cause her ovaries to produce more than the usual one or two eggs per month. Then, she is put under anesthesia so that a doctor can surgically extract her eggs.
• Studies report that anywhere from 5 to 14 percent of women who undergo ovarian hyperstimulation experience severe complications from ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) — a condition associated with stimulating the ovaries for excess egg production.
• Complications from OHSS can include blood clots, kidney and liver damage, future infertility and death.

Dig Deeper

• Statistics on the number of abortions in the U.S.
• Abby Johnson: The Right to Choose until you Choose Life
• Types of abortion-restricting laws
• Egg Donation: Good Deed or Risky Venture?
• Woman X: My Story as an Egg Donor
• Diary of a Nameless, Faceless Egg Donor
• $50,000 Offered to Tall, Smart Egg Donor
• A Preventative against Biological colonialism
• Women as Commodities

Get Involved

• Feminists for Life
• Option Ultrasound
• Students for Life
• Americans United For Life
• Center for Bioethics and Culture
• Hands Off Our Ovaries

Millennial of the Month

Kristan Hawkins is the Executive Director of Students for Life. She was kind enough to sit down with Rising Voice via Skype last week and talk about how she got involved with the issue of abortion, and how she views it as a women’s health issue. Check out our full interview here.

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