Woman who had abortion speaks out about graphic undercover Planned Parenthood videos

Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Mother speaks out about past abortion
Mother speaks out about past abortion in wake of graphic videos of Planned Parenthood

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Graphic videos released by an anti-abortion rights group are bringing back painful memories for women who have had abortions.

Karen Perez has been married for 41 years and has three children -- four, if you ask her.

"And I say our oldest child is in Heaven," Perez said.

Perez had an abortion just after getting married.

"It was just a blob of tissue. And I believed that, I believed that it was just a blob of tissue," Perez said, "until five years later when we had a child -- we had three more children -- and I saw the ultrasound, and I saw the little hands and the little feet."

She said she went through a dark time in her life because of her abortion. She regrets her decision.

"I knew the minute we left the clinic that I had made a terrible mistake," Perez said.

Years later, she said she finally forgave herself and started helping other women do the same. Despite the number of years that have passed since her abortion, these last few weeks have been difficult for her.

Videos released by an anti-abortion group appear to show a Planned Parenthood official discussing the cost of intact fetuses. In the latest video, an actor poses as a medical researcher and gets access to a Planned Parenthood lab. The actor asks to see an example of intact fetal body parts.

Perez watched the whole video.

Click/tap to view the YouTube video released by the Center for Medical Progress. WARNING: SOME VIEWERS MAY FIND SOME IMAGES DISTURBING

"These videos are just opening up a lot of memories for a lot of women. For me, it's memories that I never imagined I'd see," Perez said. "But you know what, I'm happy, Kaitlin, I'm so happy that we're finally able to see what we knew all along that these are our babies. These are babies!"

Planned Parenthood declined our request for an on-camera interview but referred us to a statement they released:

    Regarding the release of highly-edited video footage taken inside a Houston Planned Parenthood building and clinical area.