After the presidential debates last night, there was a flood of abortion related propaganda on my Facebook feed. I acknowledge that I am easily triggered by this topic and still struggle with the reality that I had to have an abortion. I’ve had many friends tell me that what I had was “not an abortion” and more of a procedure out of medical necessity. I’ve been told to not think about it as an “abortion” as if this changes the result. I have also omitted certain details around the loss of Robyn with people I am not close to because of the shame and guilt associated with abortions. I did have an abortion. Yes, it was out of medical necessity. Yes, my life was in danger. And yes, it was not something that I wanted. But the fact remains…I had an abortion.
I was frustrated when I saw the internet meme going around that Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were supporting late term abortions at 36 weeks. Folks, that’s infanticide and NOT an abortion. I had a late term abortion and the cutoff in California was 24 weeks. After 24 weeks a pregnancy is determined to be viable and there are very few cases in which a doctor is able to perform an abortion. According to the CDC, 1.3% of abortions happen later than 21 weeks. The rhetoric that abortions are equivalent to birth control does not capture the scope of women that undergo this procedure. Conceptually we know these terms are not synonymous so why do we treat them as such? The idea that a women’s psychological response to having an abortion is the same as popping a birth control pill is ridiculous, damaging, and hurtful.
I will forever remember crying uncontrollably to the operating room while feeling my baby move around my belly. I will forever remember talking to her while rubbing my belly with tears rolling down my cheeks. I will also forever remember the emotional scars that will be branded within my soul. I know that I am not alone in my story and I hope one day that we as a society talk about women’s reproductive rights with compassion rather than with blame or criminalizing language.
I was frustrated when I saw the internet meme going around that Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were supporting late term abortions at 36 weeks. Folks, that’s infanticide and NOT an abortion. I had a late term abortion and the cutoff in California was 24 weeks. After 24 weeks a pregnancy is determined to be viable and there are very few cases in which a doctor is able to perform an abortion. According to the CDC, 1.3% of abortions happen later than 21 weeks. The rhetoric that abortions are equivalent to birth control does not capture the scope of women that undergo this procedure. Conceptually we know these terms are not synonymous so why do we treat them as such? The idea that a women’s psychological response to having an abortion is the same as popping a birth control pill is ridiculous, damaging, and hurtful.
I will forever remember crying uncontrollably to the operating room while feeling my baby move around my belly. I will forever remember talking to her while rubbing my belly with tears rolling down my cheeks. I will also forever remember the emotional scars that will be branded within my soul. I know that I am not alone in my story and I hope one day that we as a society talk about women’s reproductive rights with compassion rather than with blame or criminalizing language.