I have been lurking aroung DK for years. I finally bought a lifetime membership during the fundraiser in December. And now I have something to say.
Do the people who want to take away the right to choice on abortion even remember why women wanted that right? I do. There were often newspaper and magazine articles on women bleeding to death from self-abortions with knitting needles and coat hangers. Many women survived but were so damaged internally they could no longer bear children. There were also stories about illegal abortion mills with terrible sanitation causing infections and unlicensed quacks who could not do the procedure properly.
The women availing themselves of these methods were desperate. They were so desperate they would roll the dice on their own health or lives just to "not be pregnant". Every woman has their own reasons for getting an abortion but rest assured that the reasons are serious, valid and personal to her. It is not a decision made lightly.
I had an illegal abortion. There I said it. I was very lucky. I found a real doctor. It was done in a motel in a bad neighborhood. I traveled there by myself after work on a cold winter night, terrified and alone, to meet a man I didn't know and would never meet again. It took every cent I had so that when it was over I didn't even have money to get home again. The doctor called a cab for me and paid the driver himself.
I have never felt guilty because it was the right decision for me at that time. I vowed that my daughters would never have to go through a night like that. I have been a supporter of choice for over 40 years. Please let's not allow those dark days to return.