So I missed Blog for Choice Day yesterday. But I have been catching up, reading tons of pro-choice posts (and, sadly, tons of pro-life hate). I read Alison's post here about working clinic defense over the weekend and another post about how her ability to choose if and when to have to have children allows her control of all the other aspects of her life. I'm a swirl of emotions now.
When I had my abortion there were tons of protestors. We could hear them inside the clinic. The doctor who performed the procedure was male and incredibly insensitive, clearly making a moral judgment about my decision even as he performed the procedure. I was also alone, very young, and incredibly scared and confused. I wouldn't wish the experience on anyone.
But I would do it again. I have the life I have now, a life I love, and the children I have now, two wonderful girls I adore, because I got to make the choice then. I got to determine for myself what my life would be. Because of that one choice, I got to make a thousand others that having a kid would have made impossible.
Every woman deserves to get to make a thousand choices.
5 comments:
lovely.
Yes! "Every child a chosen child." I am not in a position to question the sincerity of clinic protesters -- but at the end of the day couldn't their proposed work ("saving babies") be done by actually working to save already born babies? It is hard to imagine how one can protest outside a clinic and yet make no protest about the fact that the infant mortality rate in the United States is higher than most other developed countries, despite our having more neonatal doctors -- and even worse is that this rate is even higher in minority communities. If one claims care about babies why not protest the wholly preventable deaths of these chosen babies?
Wow, Conseula, thank you for sharing your story. When I had my abortion, I was totally geared up--every muscle tensed--for judgment from the folks performing the procedure, but they were, as I wrote in my journal that night, "blessedly nonjudgmental and matter of fact." Even if they'd been crabby as hell, though, I would have had that abortion.
Whew, I just reread it, and this is a really beautiful post.
to claire--people are great big hypocrites. and mean. and maybe a little bit hateful. I guess it would be best to try to see the other point of view, but seriously, I can't. Pro-lifers seem much more concerned about controlling the lives and bodies of women than the are about the health and well-being of children.
to alison--I was inspired by your post (and by you in general in a lot of ways for a lot of reasons, but that's a conversation for another day)
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