On social media, people were quick to respond with outrage and dismay. The hashtags #TexasAbortionLaw, #WomensRightsAreHumanRights and #AbortionIsHealthcare were all trending on Twitter in the hours and days following the legislation., retweeted over 29K times at the time this article was written, gave a number of powerful examples of people who had sought abortions.
“Tonight I’m thinking about Chelsea, impregnated by an abusive husband she managed to escape from only days ago. Fifteen weeks.Tonight I’m thinking about Jill, whose partner removed condoms during sex, flushed her birth control pills down the toilet, and yanked out her IUD. Eight and a half weeks.The thread goes on to tell still more stories of pregnant people who sought abortions: a Hmong woman who had never heard of birth control or seen a doctor before she was eight weeks pregnant.
Yet, what is missing in the examples I shared above, and what is all too often missing in discourse about reproductive rights in general, are the more “average” abortion stories, those in which women tell of their choices to exercise reproductive rights not because their own life or the life of their fetus was in grave danger; not because they were raped or impregnated against their will; not because they had been consistently denied access to birth control; but simply because right now was not...
Perhaps more importantly, there is no need for people to share their reasons for making this personal healthcare decision. When we provide abortion opponents with justifications or explanations for why women seek abortions, we reinforce the stigmatization of having an abortion and of speaking publicly about it—both of which can further limit people’s ability to access reproductive rights in turn.
I worked for Planned Parenthood in the 80's. Most of it was post procedure, sometimes assisiting with procedure. I never-EVER saw or heard any sense or verbal regret during my time there. As a matter of fact, the relief I observed with these women was overwhelming. It SAVED them.
AbbottFailedTexas AbbottMustGo