The Hmong Case for Life Part II: Defining the Issue
“One preborn child dies at Planned Parenthood every 89 seconds.” — LiveAction.Org
The Hmong word for pregnant is, “Xeeb Menyuam”. The word “Xeeb” (seng) means “to form” while “Menyuam” (me-yua) means child or baby. In the literal sense “xeeb menyuam” can be interpreted as “to form a baby”. Another Hmong phrase used interchangeability with “xeeb menyuam” is “Muaj or Tau Menyuam”. “Muaj” and “Tau” both describe having possession of something. In this combination “Muaj Menyuam” means to “have child” or be in possession of a baby. Pregnancy, as defined by The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development is, “The period in which a fetus develops inside a woman’s womb or uterus.” Merriam Webster defines pregnant as, “Containing a developing embryo, fetus, or unborn offspring within the body.” These definitions acknowledge one constant and significant thing — pregnancy involves a life, more specifically a child.
However, when it comes to the issue of abortion, the definition is becomes magically elusive. The definition is often shrouded in euphemisms and frequently reframed. A favorite reframe of pro-abortionists is to attack Hmong culture and traditions, specifically our traditional patriarchal system. Pro-abortionists see pregnancy as a method by which a man controls a woman’s body. In their view, pregnancy is a continued means to control and oppress Hmong women. To liberate women from this oppression, they believe a woman must be allowed to kill her own child. Only through the sacrifice of her child can she achieve her truest potential.
While these pro-abortion values masquerade themselves as Hmong, they stand in stark contrast to Hmong values. The truth of the matter is that pro-abortion values are radical, rooted in critical and feminist theory, learned at the college level. They are not Hmong values. But don’t take my word for it. On episode two of the “Not Your Average Mai Podcast”, which features four Hmong women including Representative Liz Lee (MN, SD67A), host Monica states, “I ultimately think our right to abortion, the right to choose is rooted in sexual liberation… like women and girls, or you know people, should have the liberty to have sex with whoever they want, whenever they want, without having to fear… you know being pregnant or having babies or being slut shamed for it.”
Another tactic includes broadening what abortions are. Abortion is a “woman’s health care” issue as my State Representative Jay Xiong (MN, SD67B) laid out to me. Why the emphasis on woman’s health? The simple answer is that advocating for a form of “healthcare” is simpler than defending the termination of a baby at any stage of pregnancy. Broadening the definition of what an abortion is also ropes in tragedies like miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies. Rep. Kaohly Her (MN, SD64A) did such a thing when she shared her personal account of an ectopic pregnancy at an abortion rally in Minnesota. Yet miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies are not the same as an abortion. Before scrubbing their website of this fact, even Planned Parenthood (PP) was clear in stating that ectopic pregnancies are not an abortion — “Treating an ectopic pregnancy isn’t the same thing as getting an abortion… the medical procedures for abortions are not the same as the medical procedures for an ectopic pregnancy.” Seeking an abortion is to deliberately end a baby. Miscarriages are heartbreaking and that is why you will never hear a mother shout her miscarriage like an abortionist “shouts their abortion”.
If abortion isn’t woman’s rights and it isn’t health care, what is it?
Planned Parenthood (PP) simply defines an abortion as — “Ending a pregnancy”. PP identifies two categories of abortions. The first is the abortion pill. The pill consists of two different medicines — Mifepristone and Misoprostol. This abortion is typically administered up to the 11th week of a pregnancy. Mifepristone, “blocks your body’s own progesterone, stopping the pregnancy from growing.” Simple enough, right? Since we’ve established that a pregnancy is when there is a child, how does Misoprostol end the pregnancy? LiveAction describes the effect of Mifepristone as follows, “When RU-486 (Mifepristone) blocks progesterone, the lining of the mother’s uterus breaks down, cutting off blood and nourishment to the baby, who then dies in the mother’s womb.” Noreem Johnson, MD, who is featured in LiveAction’s video narration adds that the baby’s oxygen supply is cut off. A baby at 10 weeks old can suck their thumb, open, and close their jaw and stretch. Their heart completes dividing into four chambers. After the baby dies, the mother then ingests Misoprostol which induces contractions and bleeding before jettisoning the baby from the womb. And here lies another unavoidable truth, the mother will give birth to a child, the question at hand is will that child be alive or dead?
The second category of abortions are “In-Clinic” abortions or “surgical abortions”. PP adds, “they’re generally an in-office procedure, not surgery.” There are two kinds of “surgical abortions”. The first kind is a suction abortion known as an aspiration abortion or a Suction D&C: Dilation and Curettage. PP describes this process as using, “gentle suction to empty your uterus.” Again, carefully selected words are used to distract from the cold procedure. The tool, which has “10 to 20 times the force of a household vacuum cleaner.”, violently rips and extracts a baby from their mother’s womb. Following that procedure an abortionist, “uses a sharp metal device called a curette to empty the remains of the child from the mother’s uterus.” Abby Johnson, who was once a director at Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas, describes the moment she observed a little 13-week old baby move to avoid the probe of an abortionist — “I could see the whole profile of the baby 13 weeks head to foot. I could see the whole side profile. I could see the probe. I could see the baby try to move away from the probe.” The baby is literally there one moment and with a flip of a switch, the baby is gone. That moment changed Johnson forever.
The last of the surgical abortions are a “Dilation and Evacuation” (D&E). D&E abortions involve the use of “medical tools to remove the pregnancy tissue out of your uterus.” This description found on PP’s website of a D&E is underwhelming when contrasted with the testimony of Dr. Anthony Levantino, who completed 1,200 abortions. His testimony in front of Congress is nothing short of stunning. In his testimony he mentions the “needing to take inventory”. By that he meant making sure there were two legs, two arms and making sure all pieces of the baby has been removed. Most disturbing from his account is the crushing a baby’s head — “you know you did it right when a white fluid comes out of the cervix — that’s the baby’s brains.”
This is the truth of abortions. They are brutal. They are inhumane. They are tragic. In depriving a child of life, abortions also have lasting impacts on the mothers, fathers, and families. Because life is a prerequisite to all other rights, the Hmong community must confront the issue of abortion with clarity — are we pro-death or pro-life? Our position on this issue will inform the substructure of our values moving forward. Absent the moral clarity we will continue to blindly platform elected officials and leaders who we think represent us but are aligned and endorsed by abortion groups. Most consequential, we will continue to buy the bankrupt belief that abortions are beneficial to “BIPOC” communities. They are not. Aborting our children — a choice of our own making — is to cosign the death of our future, our people, and our culture.
“Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.” — Proverbs 17:6
