Stories From Fans: Social Media Is Calming Down But We Are Not Backing Down
Although social media is dying down with people’s concerns about the overturning of Roe v Wade, that doesn’t mean that […]
Cate Staff
Although social media is dying down with people’s concerns about the overturning of Roe v Wade, that doesn’t mean that others aren’t still yearning to be listened to and understood. I previously mentioned that I’ll be sharing stories from those who responded to me on Instagram with the intent to add volume to their voice, in hopes of being heard. So, here we go.
Vulnerable Stories From Women To Me
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One women kindly shared her story to me which read, “I had already placed a child in an adoption when I was 17, and knew that I couldn’t do it again. So at 24 when I found out I was pregnant, I chose to terminate.”
She continued, “3 years later, when I was 27, and got pregnant again (on birth control). My boyfriend and I had just bought a house, We were not ready. I chose to terminate. I went into the clinic at 4 weeks pregnant, they couldn’t find the sac on the ultrasound. They told me to come back in 4 weeks. Pee test showed me pregnant, but without ultrasound confirmation they couldn’t proceed with termination. I had to wait 4 weeks to go back. I did. I don’t regret it. Now I have a 2.5 year old [who] I parent when my husband, same person who I was with when I terminated my last pregnancy. All three of us benefited from the choice. I am a better parent now than I ever could have been before.”
Another story read, “I has an abortion when I was 31. I had just been laid off my full time job, lost my health insurance, didn’t have any family for support and boyfriend said he wanted to jump off a cliff. I can’t imagine being forced to have a child. I would have been on state aid with no family support, probably would have raised a f*cked up kid because it would not have been a great situation. I’m grateful today’s world wasn’t around back then.”
A woman who worked for an abortion clinic shared the story of an experience she had writing, “I did not have an abortion but scheduled for a clinic that did. Another clinic called us with her in the room. She was in an abusive relationship and did not want to bring an innocent child into this world if she couldn’t even protect herself. She did not want to feel the guilt of bringing an innocent child and not be able to protect them as well. We did get her help in both of her situations. I wish I knew the next chapter of her life but I wish her the best.”
This story came from a female in another country but it’s just as impactful. She wrote to me, “My name is ____. I live in Denmark. In Denmark we have free abortion. That ment so much for me when I was reaped on a night by a date. I got pregnant from that. The thoughts I went trough… Would I hate my baby if I didn’t get an abortion, would I be able to love the child? How do you love a child that comes from a raip?”
She continued, “Hov do you explain the child ‘it wasn’t my decision to bring you in to the world, your dad raped me.’ I am so happy to live in a country where I don’t have to live with the consequences from a rape that already causes me pain and anxiety every day.”
This next story is about a painful miscarriage being viewed as the better option to abortion..
“I got pregnant in highschool by a very very abusive boyfriend. When I told him he beat me so bad I misscarried. I misscarried alone at school in a bathroom with a friend and she had a car and skipped school and went and got me new jeans, underwear and a shirt. My mom never noticed. I kept that secret until I was 19 years old and finally told my mom and she said well at least you didn’t have an abortion. At least you’re not a baby murderer.”
She went on to say, “Her faith says me being beat so bad I miscarry is better than having an abortion. So now I am aggressively pro choice. Because I didn’t get to have a choice. Every woman deserves one.”
These stories here are the smallest fraction of the hundreds and thousands of other stories out there of women and abortion. All in all, you don’t have to agree with it, you don’t have to like it, BUT every human being deserves the right to their own body, women included, and the means having a choice.