It has long been understood by pro-life and pro-abortion advocates that an abortion itself is devastating to everyone involved. The physical, psychological, and emotional effects of an abortion can scar the women, her family, and friends for life. But has anyone ever stopped to wonder: how does abortion affect first-responders? These men and women who arrive at the clinic or the hospital to “clean up the mess” are often overlooked.
I mean, let’s face it: abortions do not always go as planned. The operation itself is extremely risky and dangerous. I myself am a first-responder here inVirginia. I and many of my fellow paramedics have been exposed to the horrors of our city’s abortion clinic at one time or another, either directly or indirectly. Our city’s Fire and Rescue departments receive multiple 911 emergency calls from that clinic every month. Despite the fact that this clinic must be shut down due to its health and safety issues, I am simply writing this to expose to you another side of abortion and its negative fallout, particularly on first-responders. Many people believe that, besides a women’s immediate family and friends, the only other people exposed to the procedure are the doctors and nurses at the clinic and hospital. Yet, has anyone ever wondered how the bleeding woman [following a botched abortion procedure] was transported to the hospital in the first place? EMS professionals such as myself and many of my friends are the ones who have to deal with the abortion before the doctors do. We are simply providing physical care for the women as we transport her to the hospital. That explains why she is usually in a more “stable” state when she arrives.
Can you imagine what it is like arriving onto the scene of a botched abortion? One of my fellow paramedics told me just the other day that he and his crew had to run a call for a woman who had just undergone an abortion. As he started to tell me the story, he grew very quiet and eventually trailed off into silence. I won’t give any details of the accounts like this but my observations have led me to believe that no one knows just exactly how to describe dealing with a post-abortion victim. The entire ordeal is very traumatic, especially for first-responders. We are often taken for granted and some of us eventually just lose any feeling of fear, disgust, or sympathy for the victims we deal with on a day-to-day basis. It is simply by nature of our line of work: we see horrific car accidents and burn victims all the time and at one point, you just don’t feel anything for them anymore. That is why people never hear from first-responders about, say, abortion clinic victims. It’s just simply something that doesn’t cross your mind because, as a paramedic, you’re used to it.
I myself still remember to this day my first fatality. I will never forget that call. It must have been about 3 AM and we were all racing towards the hospital, jostling around in the back of the ambulance. I was performing CPR and chest compressions on a man who had just suffered a heart attack. Performing CPR in the back of a moving ambulance at 3’oclock in the morning with very little sleep and a man’s life hanging in the balance, well, let’s just say it’s not exactly the easiest thing to cope with. I was still relatively new and inexperienced as a paramedic but what struck me the most about this particular incident was what the medic next to me said. I still remember looking at the monitor on the AED and seeing his heart rate beating in time to my compressions. The guy holding this man’s IV was next to me and he pointed at the monitor as I continued CPR. He said to me: “You see that, rookie? That’s you. That’s all you. You’re what’s keeping him alive.” I don’t think that medic’s words really sunk in until later that day, after we had gotten the victim to the hospital, when I learned that the man didn’t make it. You see, ladies and gentlemen, first-responders might try to push these kinds of memories out of their heads, but we all know that we will never forget them. It is truer in cases of abortions. I once heard it described as the most traumatic thing anyone can ever witness in their lifetime. I believe it.
Abortion is a terrible thing and even more terrible are the repercussions that it creates. First-responders are often times the only witnesses to the death of a botched-abortion victim, yet they always remain silent. Well not today. You have heard my story. You now know that we hold on to these things. Please, if you or anyone you know is in touch with a firefighter or paramedic, do not hesitate to ask them if they want to talk about their experiences. It is very similar to what a soldier goes through with post traumatic stress. Oftentimes, first-responders are still hurting from traumatic abortion-related calls; they just don’t want to think about it. Abortion hurts everyone and it’s about time that first responders started speaking out. If we could get more people to give their first-hand accounts, to really open up about their darkest memories, maybe, just maybe, we can end this curse of abortion once and for all. You see, my fellow Catholics, oftentimes it is those who are there for us who are also secretly in need themselves. Please pray for me, my fellow first-responders, and all those who stand ready to serve and protect those who are in need.
Thomas Aveni is a Lieutenant first-responder (paramedic) with the Greater Manassas Volunteer Rescue Squad. He currently resides in Manassas,Virginia.