This article ought to be required reading for every person who believes no abortion should ever be performed. Not Ever! The bleeding cannot be stopped, the fetus is dying, and this woman is treated like a medical exhibit until a doctor is called in who will perform the abortion. And when it's over, this is part of the feedback from the family;
After my family found out I'd had an abortion, I got a phone call from a cousin who felt the need to tell me I was wrong to have interfered with God's plan. And in that moment I understood exactly what kind of people judge a woman's reproductive choices.
Now wasn't that a loving thing to say?
I am going to say it again, it's my body and my womb. Do not ever assume that your doctrinaire approach is the only solution. Don't assume that women are incompetent to make one of the most personal decisions of their lives. Don't assume that women do so lightly or out of convenience.
3 comments:
Well said. Sometimes it is the necessary and most responsible option. I would not have to face that choice, but I'd rather have it as an available, legal option.
In doing genealogy research and talking to an older relative, I learned that a great aunt died of a botched back alley abortion in 1917. She already had 3 children and was barely able to support them when she was deserted by her husband. When she found out she was pregnant with her 4th child, she chose abortion so that she could give her children the best life she could, rather than stretching scarce resources even thinner.
Due to bleeding and infection, she died soon after the procedure. Her family shunned her children after learning what happened. They ended up being adopted by another family, and didn't learn the truth until they were adults. Then they were furious at their biological relatives.
If she could have gotten a safe, legal abortion, perhaps she could have lived to a ripe old age and met her grandchildren. Instead, she died at 27, leaving 3 young children behind.
I'm glad that the woman in the article was finally able to get the procedure she needed, and that she survived to raise her children.
You know, she lives here in Chicago, not some community with no other options. That makes it even scarier that she had such difficulty getting the proper care.
I agree. The fact that this is 2011 in Chicago, not 1917 in a small town, makes it a LOT scarier. It shouldn't be happening in a state and country where abortion is legal.
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