My two abortions were a decade apart and different in so many ways. But my choice to have them hinged on the same innate desire to exercise the freedom to determine my future.
Last November, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, my husband and I flew to Colorado so I could receive abortion care. Just days before, our doctor confirmed that one fetus in our twin pregnancy had a fatal abnormality. But, as I write in my guest essay for Times Opinion, I live in Texas, a state with an abortion ban. To protect myself and the other fetus, we had to quickly travel out of state for a selective reduction. And there was no time to litigate — waiting longer for the procedure would have put the entire pregnancy at additional risk. This story is similar to many others we have heard post-Dobbs. Lawmakers in dozens of states have imposed abortion restrictions that are forcing women to carry nonviable pregnancies to term and hamstringing the medical profession with unclear exceptions for life-threatening situations. This has resulted in thousands of women leaving their state for care or hovering on the brink of death before receiving treatment. There is value in all abortion stories. But my worry is that most people are sympathetic to the kind we keep hearing about and not toward those of the typical abortion patient. A decade ago, when I was a single mother and jobless, I was that typical patient. I needed an abortion so I could care for my daughter and pursue my career in public service. While the circumstances differed, my abortions were equally valid and necessary. One in four women in the United States is expected to have an abortion in her lifetime, slightly more than an eighth of the population. If we focus only on certain kinds of abortions, we lose sight of all that was lost with the overturning of Roe — the freedom for all women to control their lives no matter the circumstances. In our effort to restore that freedom, we must also fight abortion stigma by recognizing that it is normal and necessary health care and seeing the humanity in all women who receive it.
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Saturday, September 28, 2024
Opinion Today: Both my abortions were necessary. Only one gets sympathy.
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