Except she hasn't.
We need to be on guard against tactics like this
Last month, "Shout Your Abortion", a page that encourages women to share their abortion stories, published an article with the defiant title "I am 23 and I have had 3 abortions. YES I HAVE!" (It has since been removed, but the cached version can be seen here)
ZERO regrets
The story, which was widely shared, was attributed to "Heather" and detailed how the author had two abortions after casual sexual encounters and another because having the baby would interfere with her summer job.
"I am 23, I have a good life, I don’t want to destroy it because of a bunch of children that I am not ready for. Doesn’t that make sense? I have ZERO regrets on what I have," the author writes, wishing that abortion was seen as "just another surgery."
Not as it seemed
It had already attracted a lot of attention before the bombshell revelation that the woman in the photo used in the article is not of "Heather" at all, but of a Canadian pro-life woman who has never had an abortion. It raises serious questions about the truthfulness of all the "Shout your abortion" submissions.
In a statement sent to several pro-life organisations that had covered the original story, the woman who is actually pictured wrote:
"My name is Molly. I am 24 and want to make it clear that I have never had an abortion.
"I was horrified to wake up yesterday and learn that a photo of me was stolen and used without my permission or knowledge on a post for 'Shout Your Abortion', a website that encourages women to share the stories of their abortions. Someone using the name 'Heather' stole my picture and essentially my identity, using it in a post titled, 'I am 23 and I have had 3 abortions. YES I HAVE!' She said she is proud of who she is and her actions, yet she used a picture of a random stranger instead of herself. I am appalled that my photo has been used in this manner."
"I believe every life is valuable"
Not only has Molly Schaap never had an abortion, she is an active pro-lifer. "All of my life, I have been pro-life and believe that life begins at conception. I have personally donated to pro-life causes and believe that every life is valuable. As a Christian, I believe that God is the author of life, and life is not ours to take away."
Many of Molly's friends and family have commented on Choice42's post to confirm her story, and in a clear admission of guilt, "Shout Your Abortion" has removed the story from their website.
We need to be on guard
However links and screenshots of the title falsely tied to Molly's pictures are continually being shared, and she says the comments being made about the girl in the photo "feel very personal."
Molly's story is a good reminder that we should take promotional stories advocating abortion with a pinch of salt. In the business which promotes a culture of death we can’t be too surprised that truth is sacrificed and need to be on guard against such tactics.
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