Wednesday's Words from Women

Over one-third of women of reproductive age have an abortion by the age of 45. However, women who have chosen abortion are often absent from the public debate. In order to break the silence surrounding abortion, we will be featuring real stories from real women each Wednesday on our blog. If you would like to share your story with us or have it published on our blog, go to http://www.prochoice.org/pregnant/hotline/share.html.


I am a struggling parent of three who is just getting out of an abusive divorce and was kicked out of my home. I thank the clinic and the Hotline for going out of their way to help others like me in need.

--Submitted by Matilda* through a member clinic


I wanted to tell my story to let people know that the stereotypes about who gets abortions are misleading. I am a 35-year-old Caucasian woman with a post graduate degree, and my boyfriend is educated and employed. We chose to terminate my pregnancy because we want any children we bring into the world to have the best possible chance for a good life, and right now we are not financially able to provide that. We cannot afford to get married or pay for a pregnancy/delivery because of student loans. I am a self-employed lawyer and my health insurance won’t cover prenatal or maternity expenses. I live in the Detroit area, and full-time work with benefits is very hard to find, so I also work part-time. My boyfriend only makes enough to cover his mortgage and loans.

I want people who oppose abortion rights to take a good look at how screwed up their logic is. We say we are a society that values education, but we don’t support fair wages and benefits for people who take on debt to get one! I have sacrificed a lot to achieve what I have already accomplished. I’m not going to sacrifice my children’s future by having a child I can’t support financially. I look forward to having a family when I can be the kind of mom I want to be.

¬--Submitted by Anne-Marie* through a member clinic

*Names have been changed to protect patient privacy

NAF Blog Named One of Top 50 Blogs About Reproductive Rights

Last week, the public health blog The Health Hawk named our blog as one of its “Top 50 Blogs About Reproductive Rights.” We are joined by other well-known blogs like RH Reality Check, Our Bodies, Our Blog, and Feministing on the Health Hawk’s list.

The Health Hawk tracks health related news, and focuses on a variety of issues, from public health policies to education and general health issues.

The full list of the top 50 can be found here.

Wednesday's Words from Women

Over one-third of women of reproductive age have an abortion by the age of 45. However, women who have chosen abortion are often absent from the public debate. In order to break the silence surrounding abortion, we will be featuring real stories from real women each Wednesday on our blog. If you would like to share your story with us or have it published on our blog, go to http://www.prochoice.org/pregnant/hotline/share.html.


I have five kids at home, and we are all living off of one income. We are barely making it, and I know to have another child would be too hard for me. That being said, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

--Submitted by Jill* from a member clinic


Because I was 38 years old, we decided on an amniocentesis for my second pregnancy. It showed that only the barest, most rudimentary structure of the brain, the brain stem, had developed. Virtually the entire brain was missing, along with most of the middle of the face. All that was there was an empty, fluid-filled space, with no structures. As a pediatrician, I knew that these anomalies were not compatible with life. My husband and I decided then and there to have an abortion. My own OB/GYN scheduled it for the next morning, in the hospital that we both used. She recommended that I have general anesthesia, but then called back that evening to tell me that not a single anesthesiologist on staff at the hospital would participate, even when my OB described to them the absence of a brain! We were living in Salt Lake City at the time, and apparently most of the anesthesiologists in town refused to participate in an abortion, no matter what the reason. Fortunately, I knew an anesthesiologist who had privileges at that hospital, though she rarely used them, and she agreed to provide anesthesia. I had an abortion in my own hospital, with my own OB/GYN. It was entirely covered by my insurance, with the same small co-pay that any surgical procedure would have required. Later, my OB/GYN told me that she had checked for a heartbeat before initiating the procedure. She had been unable to find one. Apparently, between the ultrasound at 5 pm and the surgery at 7 am, the fetus had died. Genetic testing of fetal tissue showed that the fetus had Trisomy 13, a condition virtually always incompatible with life.

--Submitted by Stephanie* through our website

*Names have been changed to protect patient privacy.

Nebraska Attorney General Halts Abortion Law

Today, Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning effectively halted a law requiring health screenings for women seeking abortions from ever going into effect. LB 594 would have required doctors to screen women to determine if the abortion could cause any negative mental or physical side effects.

LB 594 was signed into law by Gov. Dave Heineman and set to go into effect July 15th. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law in late June, and district court judge Laurie Smith Camp issued a temporary injunction against the law on July 14th. In her ruling, Judge Camp said that the law placed “substantial, likely insurmountable” obstacles in the way of women seeking abortions in Nebraska.”

"It is evident from the judge's ruling that LB 594 will ultimately be found unconstitutional,” Bruning’s spokeswoman, Shannon Kingery, said in a news release following Bruning’s decision. “Losing this case would require Nebraska taxpayers to foot the bill for Planned Parenthood's legal fees."

>Learn more about reproductive rights laws in your state

Wednesday's Words from Women

Over one-third of women of reproductive age have an abortion by the age of 45. However, women who have chosen abortion are often absent from the public debate. In order to break the silence surrounding abortion, we will be featuring real stories from real women each Wednesday on our blog. If you would like to share your story with us or have it published on our blog, go to http://www.prochoice.org/pregnant/hotline/share.html.

My pregnancy was a complete shock to me and my fiancé. Our wedding was a month away, I had been on birth control without any problems, and I had just lost my job and decided to go back to school. My fiancé is a firefighter, and while his position seemed secure at the moment, there was no telling where that would go.

We were both in our early twenties, and while that is a perfectly acceptable time to have a child, especially in my family where no one has had a baby past 23, we still felt like this was something we weren't ready for. What about all the things we wanted to accomplish first, like getting out of my parents’ house and finally getting our own place? We have always wanted children, but there was no way we could have provided for a baby at that point.

After weighing our options, it seemed clear terminating the pregnancy was the best choice for us. Of course, this didn’t come without its doubts, and it wasn’t until I decided to discuss this with my mother that I got exactly the comfort I was looking for. She told me that any person who can recognize that they can’t provide for a child at the moment is responsible and caring enough to be an excellent parent.

About a year later, my now-husband and I have begun talking about having a baby. This time it will be planned and we will both be fully prepared. When looking back, there is nothing we regret. Being responsible means making choices that are not always easy, but are always right. Now we are excited to start trying to conceive and know we can provide our child with everything it needs and then some.

--Submitted by Ethel* through a member clinic


My senior year of high school, I ended up pregnant. I was on the pill, and I was also taking medication for bi-polar disorder. My psychiatrist and my pharmacist neglected to tell me that the two medications essentially canceled each other out.

I considered my options, and after consulting with a physician, we determined that with the medication I was taking, and my lack of proper nutrition, it would be best to terminate the pregnancy. I was on several other prescription medications throughout the course of the year. My insurance did not, and does not, cover any form of birth control for any reason, even PMDD or migraines, nor does it cover abortion.

Women's health should not be a topic to be debated by the politicians on Capitol Hill. It is my health—our health—that is in the hands of a biased and sexist majority. My choice, my decision, is just that... my choice. I am a responsible adult; I am a strong and independent woman. Law should not dictate what I can and cannot do with my body.

--Submitted by Maggie* through our website

*Names have been changed to protect patient privacy

Wednesday's Words from Women

Over one-third of women of reproductive age have an abortion by the age of 45. However, women who have chosen abortion are often absent from the public debate. In order to break the silence surrounding abortion, we will be featuring real stories from real women each Wednesday on our blog. If you would like to share your story with us or have it published on our blog, go to http://www.prochoice.org/pregnant/hotline/share.html.

My pregnancy was a complete shock to me and my fiancé. Our wedding was a month away, I had been on birth control without any problems, and I had just lost my job and decided to go back to school. My fiancé is a firefighter, and while his position seemed secure at the moment, there was no telling where that would go.

We were both in our early twenties, and while that is a perfectly acceptable time to have a child, especially in my family where no one has had a baby past 23, we still felt like this was something we weren't ready for. What about all the things we wanted to accomplish first, like getting out of my parents’ house and finally getting our own place? We have always wanted children, but there was no way we could have provided for a baby at that point.

After weighing our options, it seemed clear terminating the pregnancy was the best choice for us. Of course, this didn’t come without its doubts, and it wasn’t until I decided to discuss this with my mother that I got exactly the comfort I was looking for. She told me that any person who can recognize that they can’t provide for a child at the moment is responsible and caring enough to be an excellent parent.

About a year later, my now-husband and I have begun talking about having a baby. This time it will be planned and we will both be fully prepared. When looking back, there is nothing we regret. Being responsible means making choices that are not always easy, but are always right. Now we are excited to start trying to conceive and know we can provide our child with everything it needs and then some.

--Submitted by Ethel* through a member clinic


My senior year of high school, I ended up pregnant. I was on the pill, and I was also taking medication for bi-polar disorder. My psychiatrist and my pharmacist neglected to tell me that the two medications essentially canceled each other out.

I considered my options, and after consulting with a physician, we determined that with the medication I was taking, and my lack of proper nutrition, it would be best to terminate the pregnancy. I was on several other prescription medications throughout the course of the year. My insurance did not, and does not, cover any form of birth control for any reason, even PMDD or migraines, nor does it cover abortion.

Women's health should not be a topic to be debated by the politicians on Capitol Hill. It is my health—our health—that is in the hands of a biased and sexist majority. My choice, my decision, is just that... my choice. I am a responsible adult; I am a strong and independent woman. Law should not dictate what I can and cannot do with my body.

--Submitted by Maggie* through our website

*Names have been changed to protect patient privacy

Wednesday's Words from Women

Over one-third of women of reproductive age have an abortion by the age of 45. However, women who have chosen abortion are often absent from the public debate. In order to break the silence surrounding abortion, we will be featuring real stories from real women each Wednesday on our blog. If you would like to share your story with us or have it published on our blog, go to http://www.prochoice.org/pregnant/hotline/share.html.


I was 19 years old when I found out I was pregnant. I was a drug user and I often drank. Right when I found out, the only word that can describe how I felt was panic. When my boyfriend and I went to the clinic in North Carolina, a bunch of pro-life people yelled and said horrible things to us – I can’t ever repeat the names I was called. I stumbled into the clinic crying and scared, and I got an ultrasound. I was further along than I thought – I thought I hadn’t gotten my period because I had stopped eating and I thought the throwing up was because of the amount of pain pills (my drug of choice) I was taking. A nice, gentle woman told me I could get an abortion at a clinic in another state. I told her I needed a moment to think, and as I stood outside, crying and calling my mom (who supported me fully), some of the protesters started yelling at me again. The doctor came and took me inside, and she actually held me and talked to my mom while I cried. She gave me a referral to the clinic, and I called and made an appointment on my way back home.

I am so grateful to the doctors that took care of me, and the Hotline. I know in my heart that I made the right choice. I am also proud to say that after the abortion that I quit using drugs. I am now 11 months sober. I am so grateful to the wonderful people at the Hotline and the clinic. Thank you, oh thank you so much.

--Submitted by Kaitlyn* through our website


*Name has been changed to protect patient privacy