The Innocent Ones by Cassandra Shae (best ereader for pc TXT) 📕

This book started out as an English project for my English 11 class. We were learning about the social reform that went on in the Romanticism Era in American literature, and our project was to start a little social reform ourselves. This book was part of my project. 

This year, I'm taking Sociology, and right now we're talking about social change, and we have a project similar to the one last year. Since my views on abortion haven't changed, I asked my teacher if I could just alter this one a little bit, make it better, instead of doing a whole new huge project. So I've made a few changes (hopefully they're improvements).

The social problem that I chose to focus on was abortion, in the US and in the world. It's a big issue, and most people feel pretty strongly about it, one way or another. The next few pages contain accounts of a few different methods of abortion. Each chapter holds a few parts- one from the point of view of the baby, one from the point of view of either a doctor, a mother, or a survivor, and one section filled with a few extra facts about that method of abortion. They cover a variety of stages of development, but the earliest that I did was 16 weeks. At this point, the baby is already more than a third of the way developed, and they can feel the pain of the abortion. 

Please take the time to read my little book, and please pray. Pray for the millions of babies who have lost their lives because of abortions. Pray for the mothers who have had abortions, and pray for the doctors and nurses and anyone who works in abortion clinics around the globe.

And here we go.

--Cassie Hoene

We've been together for 24 weeks now. I'm over halfway there. I get to meet my mommy in a few more months.     We're going to the doctor again today. Last time we went, there was a camera, and I got to wave to my mom. I hope she knew it was on purpose. I can't wait for her to see me again.     But in the office, Mommy doesn't seem the same. I can feel her nerves going crazy. What's wrong? After a while, she's called out of the waiting room. I feel her lay down, and it isn't long before I'm no longer alone in my home.

Only this time, it's not a camera that's with me. This is cold metal. It has sharp teeth that dig in- OW! It clamps around my foot, twists, and pulls it away. I look at the stump, in shock.    Soon, the claw is back. This time it pulls off my hand, and I hope with all my heart that it won't return. But it does. I don't know how many trips it takes, but each time the Claw comes, it pulls away another part of my body. Parts of my legs, my arms, my shoulders. Piece by piece, the Claw rips me apart. I try to scream, but they must not hear me. If they heard me, then they'd stop, right? They must not know how much it's hurting me. Soon, my head is all that's left.

My skull is hardened already, so there's only one thing for them to do. But they must know what they're doing by now. They must be doing it on purpose. Why? The clamp grabs onto my head, and squeezes, until my skull collapses.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dr. Smith shakes his head as he washes his hands. A mirror hangs above the sink, but he can't bring himself to look into it. The mother is in the room, waiting for him. She's so young, he thinks. So innocent.  The tools are waiting too. A shudder goes through his body as he thinks of the tools. Why does he use them? He knows what he does with those tools. When he got his degree, he had no doubt that this was okay, acceptable, even good for society. But after doing this year after year, he can't even say the word.  When you tear a child apart, piece by piece, there's no denying that what you do is wrong. But to reassmble the baby, to ensure that the abortion is complete, is even worse. Piece by piece, you can claim that it's okay. But when you gather the pieces and reform the child... Dr. Smith shudders again, and splashes some water on his face. He knows this is wrong. How can taking the life of an innocent child NOT be wrong? But he does it anyway. It pays the bills, so he ignores it.

He goes into the room. As the door swings shut, his emotions shut off- It's the only way that he can stand to do his job. The nurses are there, and they have prepped the mother and the baby for the procedure. They joke with each other, laughter filling the air in the small room. It's the only way. They all know it's wrong. But they do it anyway.

Dr. Smith smiles at the girl, but his eyes are empty of emotion. "Don't worry, miss. Soon, all your troubles will be gone." But he knows that this is just the beginning.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Not-So-Fun Facts about Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) Abortions:

1. D&E abortions are not guarenteed. There have been times when the baby lives, only to grow up with missing limbs. 

2. Because the abortionist just reaches in blindly and grabs body parts, sharp pieces of bones may be left in the womb, potentially tearing up the lining of the mother's cervix.

3. There have been many D&E abortions that result in the mother hemorraging so bad that she requires hospitalization. 

4. "Dr. Smith" is a made up name, but he is modeled after several former abortionists who now speak out against abortion.

5. Every "successful" D&E abortion kills an innocent child. 

Almost halfway there. 16 weeks, only four left before I'm halfway done. Before I'm halfway there to seeing my mommy, my daddy, my family. I can't wait.  

But Mommy's been different lately. Scared, almost. It worries me. If she's scared, should I be scared too?    She used to hold the place on her tummy where I am. I could almost feel her smiling down on me. But then she told Daddy about me. And Daddy yelled at her. He said they weren't ready for parenthood. He said he'd leave if she didn't have an abortion. What does that mean? Where will he go? What is an abortion?    Since that day, Mommy doesn't seem to love me as much. She isn't as careful anymore, she doesn't care if something bumps into her belly, into me. She talks to her friends about having an abortion, before her parents find out. That she has to do it soon before they notice her growing tummy. She says all these things, but I don't understand any of them.

She had her friend drive her to the clinic today. Is that like the doctor? I don't understand.

I feel her lay down on the table. I hear voices, nurses in and out of the room. So it is the doctor. But this is different. The doctor comes in, says something about a needle. Mommy sounds scared when she says, "But is it a baby?"  

"No," says the doctor without hesitation. Then what am I? 

He mentions the needle again. Saline? I don't understand what that word means. But then Mommy relaxes. "Okay. I'm ready."

It isn't too long after that that my skin starts to burn. What's going on? I open my mouth to cry out, but then it gets in my mouth. It burns, oh, it buuurns. Is this the saline? My skin is burning off. I try to ignore the pain, but it's too much. So. Much. Pain. Is this the abortion? Why would Daddy want this? Why would Mommy do this? 

The burning goes on. And on. And on. Through my misery, I hear the doctor say good-bye. The nurses are still there, talking to my mom. "You're going into labor," one of them explains. "You'll deliver the lifeless fetus, and we'll take care of the rest." She tries to calm her with her words.  

Finally, the nurse delivers me. The light is bright. I try to cry out, but I can't. I can't breathe. I flail, my mouth open in silence.

"She's alive!" they shout. "We must get her to the emergency room!" More shouts, and people rush around the room. I change from one set of hands to another, to another. Their hands burn on my skin. Through it all, I hear my mommy cry. "I'm sorry," she sobs. "I'm so, so sorry!"

They take me away. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ellie hears the doctor sigh. She feels her adoptive mom's hand on her shoulder. After everything, this hand on her shoulder is the only thing that can calm Ellie down. It tells her that she is loved, that someone is there.

"Well, you're a fighter, that's for sure." says the doctor. "You have certainly done much better than we thought you would."

"She has drive, that's for sure," she hears her mom say. They share a short laugh, and then the doctor looks at his papers again.

"You said that the seizures are happening more often. And..." Ellie blocks the words out. She is tired of the doctors talking all the time. It doesn't make her any better, so she isn't going to listen. Ellie is only nine, and she can't remember a time when her life wasn't run by the doctor appointments. She has cerebral palsy, and no eye sight. Both are a result of surviving a saline abortion. Although she doesn't understand what it all means now, there will be times in her future when she wishes that she hadn't survived.

    Because of what happened to her as a baby, she wasn't even expected to be able to lift her arms or head on her own. Now, she does her best to live her life as a normal girl. She can do most things that normal kids can, but she tires faster. Sometimes she isn't allowed to do things, because her mom is scared that she will have a seizure. Ellie doesn't like