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OB/GYN Shares The Many Reasons Her Patients Had For Abortions, Says They’re All Completely Valid
Alabama has made a home in the headlines after Governor Kay Ivey signed the Alabama Human Life Protection Act – the countries most restrictive abortion law to date. In response women everywhere have used whatever platform they have to share their opinions and experiences, the most popular one being social media. Several hashtags have popped up to encourage and destigmatize the dialogue surrounding abortions such as #ShoutYourAbortion and #YouKnowMe, and while many agree that sharing these stories are important, others – like this OB/GYN – also think that a woman shouldn’t have to share or have a traumatic story for her right to choose to be respected.
RELATED:
This OB/GYN responded to the new abortion law in Alabama in a powerful post that has since gone viral
An obstetrician-gynecologist with almost 17-years of experience shared a post on the website Scary Mommy as a response to Alabama’s law, that only allows abortions to prevent a serious health risk. OB/GYNs found breaking this law could face up to 99-years in prison or even a life sentence. She began by inviting people to come into her exam room “just for a moment, to listen to the stories I have heard from women. Listen carefully to what is said to me behind closed doors.”
She mentioned the multiple reasons women had given for their procedures that ranged from economic to medical to mistakes to rape. There has been much controversy surrounding Alabama’s law even among religious conservatives over the fact that it does not allow exceptions for rape or incest.
In 2004 the Guttmacher Institute conducted a survey completed by 1,209 abortion patients at 11 large providers and in-depth interviews with 38 women at four sites. They found the most frequently cited reasons were: that having a child would interfere with a woman’s education, work or ability to care for dependents (74%); that she could not afford a baby now (73%); and that she did not want to be a single mother or was having relationship problems (48%). Nearly four in 10 women said they had completed their childbearing, and almost one-third were not ready to have a child.
At the end of the post, the OB/GYN finished by saying that the reasons why a woman was seeking an abortion didn’t matter, “You don’t need a reason other than, this is your choice.” She added that if people were sent to prison for treating their patients then “we have gone too far.”
Women in the comments thanked the doctor for her support
What do you think ?
Elizabeth A Montero 6 years ago
My one and only pregnancy was described as a "train wreck". I was a newly diagnosed and uncontrolled diabetic. I had just found out that I had a bicornuate uterus, and I was pregnant with twins. This pregnancy could have killed me. I am forever grateful that I had a choice, no matter how difficult it was.
Care 6 years ago
Thank you for sharing. Sorry you had to go through that.
Load More Replies...
Foxxy 6 years ago (edited)
This should not even be up for debate, abortions should never be made illegal. No one has a right over a woman uterus except herself alone.
OnlyMyOpinion 6 years ago
Not just her uterus, it's her entire life, mind and body.
Load More Replies...
Zoe's Mom 6 years ago
I had a debate with a male co-worker who is against abortion. I sat and listened and then said, "So if a woman is raped, you want her to be raped over and over again as she feels this child grow"? This child did not come into this world out of love. So she should deliver a child she never wanted/never consented to"? He just looked at me like the lights went on. I don't think abortion should be used as birth control but there are MANY, MANY reasons we need to keep this legal.
anarkzie 6 years ago
What is meant by abortion being used as birth control? Are there people that think that women go around having lots of unprotected sex and just go f**k it I'll just abort whatever's going on in there in a month or two or are people saying that abortion should only be under extreme circumstance rape etc; Genuine question?.
Load More Replies...
Delilah Jones 6 years ago (edited)
Abortions have been happening for 1,000s of years. Women used to use abortifacient herbs to have abortions. Making abortions illegal will not get rid of abortions, it will only make them less safe as more women pursue back alley abortions. Pro lifers try to shift the importance of the baby's life as more important than the woman carrying the baby, but history has shown that will never be true. The pregnant woman will not allow others to dehumanize her and always be the one to choose in the end, and just by this act, she makes it fact that the woman's life is more important than that of an unborn baby.
Ann 6 years ago
Prior to legalization, 90 percent of illegal abortions were done by physicians. Most of the remainder were done by nurses, midwives or others with at least some medical training. The term “back alley” referred not to where abortions were performed, but to how women were instructed to enter the doctor’s office after hours, through the back alley, to avoid arousing neighbors’ suspicions. Most women having abortions are pressured or coerced to do so by someone else — and that most abortions are likely unwanted. Before 1973, women could refuse an unwanted abortion on the grounds that it was illegal, unsafe and immoral. Legalization has made it easier for those around her to insist that because abortion is legal, it must be “safe,” and because it is “socially approved,” it must be moral. It makes it easier for them to refuse to support her desire to continue the pregnancy and insist that she abort anyway.
Load More Replies...
elfin 6 years ago
Women should own their own bodies. Just as important is the fact that government should not. Government is not equipped to make personal medical decisions for people. It is not qualified to do so. It does not have the right motivation. And let's remember that giving government the power to control a woman's reproduction by forbidding abortions implies the power to enforce abortions.
Ann 6 years ago
When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit. , The popular pro abortion chant "Without our basic rights, women can't be free: abortion on demand and without apology!" This line betrays the faulty underlying philosophy that is perpetuated in our modern society: that women must have the legal right to kill their children through abortion in order to be "free" and equal. This idea has been central in the legal argumentation for Roe v. Wade, PP v. Casey, and even Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstedt. However, implying that a woman cannot be successful if she carries her baby to term is fundamentally misogynistic. It doesn't address the true needs of women, but acts as an insufficient band-aid on societal ills surrounding reproduction, pregnancy, and parenthood.
Load More Replies...
Sandra Charlot 6 years ago
I love how every "pro-life" men suppose that a raped woman should accept the children as a gift. Well and what if she's your wife ? Like, you know, not all raped woman are single drunk teenage girl who love party! A raped woman can be also your christian wife ... would you accept your wife's and her rapist's child as a gift of God ?! Would you love him? Really ?
Karen Klinck 6 years ago
Plus, why should some woman ruin her life to give a 'more deserving' woman something to adopt?
Load More Replies...
Susann Campbell 6 years ago
If this bill passes it should include an amendment that states that all rapist should have a complete removal of their genitalia as part of their punishment.
Kelly Hartle 6 years ago
My husband and I were thrilled when I got pregnant after 3 years of trying. Then we found out the baby had Down's Syndrome which was so severe that he was not expected to live. After a weekend of holding each other and crying, we both realized that we had independently come to the conclusion that it would be cruel to force him to live, even if he managed to, with all the associated birth defects he would have in such a severe case.
Lorraine Measor 6 years ago
It really pisses me off to think that a bunch of old men are deciding on what should be a womens' decision! Maybe if the deal was they should all have a ....vasectomy!!
Elizabeth A Montero 6 years ago
My one and only pregnancy was described as a "train wreck". I was a newly diagnosed and uncontrolled diabetic. I had just found out that I had a bicornuate uterus, and I was pregnant with twins. This pregnancy could have killed me. I am forever grateful that I had a choice, no matter how difficult it was.
Care 6 years ago
Thank you for sharing. Sorry you had to go through that.
Load More Replies... Foxxy 6 years ago (edited)
This should not even be up for debate, abortions should never be made illegal. No one has a right over a woman uterus except herself alone.
OnlyMyOpinion 6 years ago
Not just her uterus, it's her entire life, mind and body.
Load More Replies... Zoe's Mom 6 years ago
I had a debate with a male co-worker who is against abortion. I sat and listened and then said, "So if a woman is raped, you want her to be raped over and over again as she feels this child grow"? This child did not come into this world out of love. So she should deliver a child she never wanted/never consented to"? He just looked at me like the lights went on. I don't think abortion should be used as birth control but there are MANY, MANY reasons we need to keep this legal.
anarkzie 6 years ago
What is meant by abortion being used as birth control? Are there people that think that women go around having lots of unprotected sex and just go f**k it I'll just abort whatever's going on in there in a month or two or are people saying that abortion should only be under extreme circumstance rape etc; Genuine question?.
Load More Replies... Delilah Jones 6 years ago (edited)
Abortions have been happening for 1,000s of years. Women used to use abortifacient herbs to have abortions. Making abortions illegal will not get rid of abortions, it will only make them less safe as more women pursue back alley abortions. Pro lifers try to shift the importance of the baby's life as more important than the woman carrying the baby, but history has shown that will never be true. The pregnant woman will not allow others to dehumanize her and always be the one to choose in the end, and just by this act, she makes it fact that the woman's life is more important than that of an unborn baby.
Ann 6 years ago
Prior to legalization, 90 percent of illegal abortions were done by physicians. Most of the remainder were done by nurses, midwives or others with at least some medical training. The term “back alley” referred not to where abortions were performed, but to how women were instructed to enter the doctor’s office after hours, through the back alley, to avoid arousing neighbors’ suspicions. Most women having abortions are pressured or coerced to do so by someone else — and that most abortions are likely unwanted. Before 1973, women could refuse an unwanted abortion on the grounds that it was illegal, unsafe and immoral. Legalization has made it easier for those around her to insist that because abortion is legal, it must be “safe,” and because it is “socially approved,” it must be moral. It makes it easier for them to refuse to support her desire to continue the pregnancy and insist that she abort anyway.
Load More Replies... elfin 6 years ago
Women should own their own bodies. Just as important is the fact that government should not. Government is not equipped to make personal medical decisions for people. It is not qualified to do so. It does not have the right motivation. And let's remember that giving government the power to control a woman's reproduction by forbidding abortions implies the power to enforce abortions.
Ann 6 years ago
When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit. , The popular pro abortion chant "Without our basic rights, women can't be free: abortion on demand and without apology!" This line betrays the faulty underlying philosophy that is perpetuated in our modern society: that women must have the legal right to kill their children through abortion in order to be "free" and equal. This idea has been central in the legal argumentation for Roe v. Wade, PP v. Casey, and even Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstedt. However, implying that a woman cannot be successful if she carries her baby to term is fundamentally misogynistic. It doesn't address the true needs of women, but acts as an insufficient band-aid on societal ills surrounding reproduction, pregnancy, and parenthood.
Load More Replies... Sandra Charlot 6 years ago
I love how every "pro-life" men suppose that a raped woman should accept the children as a gift. Well and what if she's your wife ? Like, you know, not all raped woman are single drunk teenage girl who love party! A raped woman can be also your christian wife ... would you accept your wife's and her rapist's child as a gift of God ?! Would you love him? Really ?
Karen Klinck 6 years ago
Plus, why should some woman ruin her life to give a 'more deserving' woman something to adopt?
Load More Replies... Susann Campbell 6 years ago
If this bill passes it should include an amendment that states that all rapist should have a complete removal of their genitalia as part of their punishment.
Kelly Hartle 6 years ago
My husband and I were thrilled when I got pregnant after 3 years of trying. Then we found out the baby had Down's Syndrome which was so severe that he was not expected to live. After a weekend of holding each other and crying, we both realized that we had independently come to the conclusion that it would be cruel to force him to live, even if he managed to, with all the associated birth defects he would have in such a severe case.
Lorraine Measor 6 years ago
It really pisses me off to think that a bunch of old men are deciding on what should be a womens' decision! Maybe if the deal was they should all have a ....vasectomy!!
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