09 May 2007
breaking it down
this week at work we got a phone call from a woman who had just discovered that her wanted pregnancy is threatened by a severe fetal anomaly. she wanted to know whether an abortion could evacuate her baby intact so that they could see it, hold it, and have a service for it.
according to the supreme court's recent decision, the answer is now uniform nationwide, and it is "No." the answer is "Unfortunately by law our only option is to take apart your baby inside your uterus and remove it in pieces, because the law deems this process objectively less brutal than the alternative you are seeking. Short of international travel, your only other option is to let the baby die and decompose inside you until you have a miscarriage or go into stillbirth labor. We're so sorry for your loss, and for this added bad news."
the anti-choice movement would have you believe that this woman is the "extreme hypothetical," the "mythic sob story" of abortion politics, and yet here she is. these are real women people blather on about, as though their lives are simply theoretical. i'm so angry.
according to the supreme court's recent decision, the answer is now uniform nationwide, and it is "No." the answer is "Unfortunately by law our only option is to take apart your baby inside your uterus and remove it in pieces, because the law deems this process objectively less brutal than the alternative you are seeking. Short of international travel, your only other option is to let the baby die and decompose inside you until you have a miscarriage or go into stillbirth labor. We're so sorry for your loss, and for this added bad news."
the anti-choice movement would have you believe that this woman is the "extreme hypothetical," the "mythic sob story" of abortion politics, and yet here she is. these are real women people blather on about, as though their lives are simply theoretical. i'm so angry.
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God, that's awful! What happened to the woman?
Roula, as harrowing as I'm sure your job is, it's still great that you get to confront these issues up close and in-the-flesh (a bit too literally I suppose...).
Serious street cred.
Roula, as harrowing as I'm sure your job is, it's still great that you get to confront these issues up close and in-the-flesh (a bit too literally I suppose...).
Serious street cred.
jeremy, you should read this blog post too:
http://angryblackbitch.blogspot.com/2007/05/untitled.html
that's what i'm saying, about real women. and girls. every damn day.
i don't know what happened to the woman who called. i wish i did. i wish we had snuck her in and claimed it was technically legal since it was before the 25-day post-ruling deadline (for clinics to get their practices in order). but i guess it's easy for me to say that when i'm not the one responsible for our operating license. but still.
http://angryblackbitch.blogspot.com/2007/05/untitled.html
that's what i'm saying, about real women. and girls. every damn day.
i don't know what happened to the woman who called. i wish i did. i wish we had snuck her in and claimed it was technically legal since it was before the 25-day post-ruling deadline (for clinics to get their practices in order). but i guess it's easy for me to say that when i'm not the one responsible for our operating license. but still.
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