This post originally appeared at https://wifamilycouncil.org/radio/intention-is-the-difference/
2025 | Week of October 13 | Radio Transcript #1640
Last month, Governor Evers signed a proclamation recognizing October 15th as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day and the month of October as Pregnancy and Infant Awareness Loss Month. Tragically, between ten and twenty percent of all known pregnancies end in miscarriage,[i] and approximately one in every one-hundred-seventy-five babies is stillborn.[ii] Because we recognize the inherent value of life from the moment of conception, we mourn with those who have experienced the tragic loss of their babies.
In part, the governor’s proclamation reads, “This month, the state of Wisconsin joins families, friends, and dedicated individuals, advocates, and organizations across the state in honoring the memory and lives of those lost during pregnancy or infancy and showing encouragement and support for families forever devastated by their loss.”
Ironically, in the proclamation, Evers refers to unborn babies as “lives” not fetuses or clumps of cells. While on one hand Evers loudly supports abortion – the intentional destruction of life in the womb – on the other he recognizes the tragedy of lives lost in miscarriage or stillbirth. His position, the position of many in America today, is simply illogical. It is logically inconsistent—and maybe impossible—to sorrow for the unintentional loss of life in the womb while simultaneously celebrating its intentional destruction. The value of life does not rest in whether it’s wanted or planned. Each life holds intrinsic value, and that is why we mourn.
Understanding the inevitable emotions surrounding pregnancy loss, abortion activists maliciously twist the tragedy of pregnancy loss into an argument for abortion, intentionally creating paranoia. Using this argument, abortion activists blur the line between abortion and miscarriage claiming that banning abortion restricts access to care for mothers experiencing pregnancy loss. In fact, Dr. Allison Linton, an obstetrician-gynecologist and the chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, claims, “You can’t separate abortion from miscarriage management. They are the same thing.”[iii] Her statement is simply untrue. While at times a procedure used for a miscarriage may be similar to an abortion, there remains a clear distinction between the two: intention.
While both abortion and miscarriage involve tragic death, one is intentional while the other is not. Despite what the media may say, miscarriage care and abortion bans can and do coexist.
Sadly, pro-abortion activists and much of the media repeatedly spread the false claim that women could be prosecuted for receiving miscarriage care. This deliberate misinformation has created widespread confusion about the law, and women have greatly suffered as a result.
To eliminate any confusion, Wisconsin legislators are introducing a bill that clarifies the definition of abortion to exclude miscarriage procedures. The bill clearly states that care for miscarriage situations and the removal of anembryonic, ectopic, and molar pregnancies do not fall under the definition of abortion. In cases where the baby must be removed from the mother to save her life, the bill simply requires that doctors make reasonable efforts to save both the life of the mother and her child.
Daniel Degner, president of Wisconsin Family Council, shares his family’s personal experiences with pregnancy loss and miscarriage care: “My wife and I have lost two children from a miscarriage and an ectopic pregnancy….When we lost our babies, our doctor immediately gave my wife the medical interventions needed to save her life and remove the deceased babies from her womb. For too long, the pro-abortion lobby has sought to cause confusion for families like mine that are going through the tragedy of losing a child in the womb.”
Just as a woman should have access to the best care possible in the event of unexpected and unintentional pregnancy loss, so doctors should never have to worry about losing their licenses or facing legal repercussions when performing necessary procedures on these women.
This month, perhaps the best way the Wisconsin legislature can demonstrate compassion for women experiencing pregnancy loss is by passing legislation that eliminates any paranoia over whether their loss is the same as an abortion so that they may focus their attention on healing physically and emotionally during the difficult process of loss.
For Wisconsin Family Council, this is Julaine Appling extending heart-felt sympathy to all families who are mourning the tragic loss of their babies and reminding you that God, through the prophet Hosea, said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
Haylee Lawver