I shudder to think it could happen again

[serai]

.
My Illegal Abortion

One woman's story of pre-Roe abortion, and her terrible fear that we're returning to that dark, deadly world.

Please read, and pass it on. I cannot express how important this is.

(I commented briefly with my story. It's on the first page of comments, if you're interested.)

Comments

[biting-moopie.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting this. The comments wouldn't open for me so I couldn't read your story, but I hope that all is well.

I live in a country where women have easy access to abortion and other forms of birth control and it's not really a political issue. The hatred of women in the US is terrifying. It's horrifying that so much of it comes from other women.

[serai1.livejournal.com]

Ah, sorry about the comments. Both Salon and Slate have opted for horrible comment systems that don't work half the time. Here's what I wrote:

I was 26. It was 1984, it cost $100 (the local PP had sliding scale). I talked it over with my boyfriend, who basically said whatever I wanted to do was good to him. He came with me, held my hand, drove me back to his house and stayed by my side all night, bringing me tea and making sure I was okay. (He was a good guy, luckily.)

I felt no guilt at all, never have, and never regretted it. A few times I've seen my daughter in my dreams and talked to her about what I did. She said it was okay, that she had moved on to another incarnation and is living a happy life elsewhere. She's beautiful, and we embraced, and it comforts me to think that I did right by her - even if it is "only a dream".

I think it's time that those of us who have and have had abortions and not regretted it to come forward and tell our stories, too. The "OMG it's necessary but SO HORRIBLE" attitude cannot be allowed to rule the day, not anymore. That's how we got ourselves into this regressive situation in the first place, by accepting and internalizing the hateful wingnut viewpoint. Either support the right of autonomy COMPLETELY, with no reservation, or else GET OUT OF THE WAY. Women's lives are at stake, and this is no place for wusses.

*ahem* As you can see, I feel rather strongly about this.

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

*hugs you a lot*

I didn't read the article (yet), but your story really moved me.

By the way, I was conceived by accident when it was illegal, and yet I STILL would have fully supported my mom to have an abortion should it have been available to her.

[serai1.livejournal.com]

Thanks! But really, there was nothing in the least traumatic about it to me. It was an obvious decision, and I felt good about it - still do. The whole point of women getting the right to an abortion is that it is (or is supposed to be) a procedure available to any women for any reason. Nobody else's opinion counts at all, unless the woman herself wants it to count. But somehow, anything having to do with reproduction is up for grabs in this country as being EVERYONE'S business. That is simply, flatly, wrong. Our bodies, our decision.

And I agree with you - had my mom wanted an abortion and been able to have one, then I have no beef with the thought. 'Tis the beauty of being a pagan - the thought of not having been born holds no horrors for me. I'd have just popped up somewhere else!

[serai1.livejournal.com]

P.S. I envy you your entitlement to safety and autonomy. Unfortunately, the US is indeed a culture that hates women intrinsically. It's all that god-bothering, you know. Rots the brain. The really infuriating thing is how quickly some of these wingnuts run for the clinic when their daughters get pregnant. Disgusting hypocrites, the lot of them.