The Blog Project For A Woman's Right To Choose

1966 - A Married Woman

2006-04-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

"Writing about my abortion, perhaps for the first time, is my opportunity to
think about it from the perspective of distance, both in years and emotions.

The year was 1966, and my baby was six months old. I was 24 years old and
had planned to have my second child in about three years. This unexpected
second pregnancy was due to lack of proper post-pregnancy/delivery
information from my gyn/ob physician and subsequent birth-control
measures.

I had clear and strong feelings that I did not want another child at this
time, and spoke to a Family Physician my husband worked for who offered to
contact the abortion doctor in Pennsylvania to make the necessary
arrangements. I discussed my emotional and psychological state with this
physician as well.

I don't have a clear memory of the details that preceded the actual
abortion.

We left our baby with my sister-in-law, telling no one else, and drove to
Baltimore, Maryland. (Though the cost (?) was probably the same, we didn't
have to go to Puerto Rico, more of a vacation site.:~} )

I suppose we checked into the motel before heading to the diner where I was
to be picked up and taken to the place where the abortion would be
performed. I can't remember how we arranged all of that, but I do recall
getting into a car....don't remember if the other women ("girls") were in
the car already or if we picked up others on the drive to the Garden
Apartment where the abortion(s) were performed.

I was the last in the group to be aborted because I was the only one who had
given birth and therefore was perceived to be more "comfortable" than the
others to be placed on a table and have a procedure performed.

Though the room was clean, and all seemed professional, it was an apartment,
it was surreptitious, and it was quick. I remember strongly objecting to
being forced to get up and out while still feeling the effects of the
medications.

I remember arriving at the motel.

It was only years and years later that I thought about the "what could have
beens".
Though we were assured of the competency of the doctor and the medical care,
and indeed I remember a nurse being present, there could have been
complications. But mostly, I later realized that my husband did not know
where I was being taken.

I was lucky. I know the stories about those who weren't as fortunate to have
the care and concern and help that we had. I have marched in Washington D.C.
before and would do so again if needed.

I don't remember when I first began telling anyone about my abortion. I do
know that the same gynocologist/obstretrician who hadn't given me the
medical information that would have prevented the unwanted pregnancy also
told me, when I informed him about my abortion and requested different birth
control measures, that as a result of my abortion I might have difficulty
getting pregnant the next time! (It did take a few months and I remembered
those unnecessary and inappropriate words!)

I do remember when finally, years later, told my mother about my abortion.
She sat there calmly and told me about the abortion that she had before I
was born. Our reasons and the circumstances surrounding our abortions were
completely different.

My parents came to New York City from Vienna, Austria, escaping from Hitler.
.My mother did not know what her mother and brother's fates...and didn't
know where they were until years later that they were killed in Auschwitz.
This is relevant because my mother had had an ovary removed as a young woman
and both she and her mother thought that she would not be able to have a
child. Yet, when my mother became pregnant at age 34 soon after arriving in
NY, she felt economically unprepared to raise a child and had an abortion in
what she called the Abortion Hospital on the East Side of Manhattan.

I didn't go to "a back alley" and no hangers were used for my abortion. I
was surrounded by caring and supportive people and the money to pay for the
abortion and the motel.
However, the memories of the experience will exist forever. Roe v.Wade must
be upheld so that women in the future need not endure any negative
experiences dealing with their own bodies."

Our New Music Director - We want MP3s

2005-07-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

We are thrilled to announce that we are noe acception musical contributions from artists who have recorded pro-choice / polital songs.

This was posted on Music For America yesterday:

I am spearheading a community action project that will archive thoughts and stories about what it means to be pro- choice in America.

I would like to add some music to the e-mails we send (MP3s & Links to iTunes for potential purchase). We will send your MP3s to our e-mail lists when we do our quarterly e-mail newsletters that will encourage people to contribute stories and thoughts, let readers know how to get involved and take community action and educate them on the status of Pro-Choice America under siege.

Our only request is you donate 10 cents from each iTunes sale through this project to NARAL or Planned Parenthood or Emily's List - Your Choice !

If you have a song or know of someone who has written a song about abortion / Pro-Choice please let our Music Director Dean know and appropriate MP3s will be included it in the project.
Dean can be e-mailed at: Community@3KStatic.com

Judith's Mother - 1970

2005-07-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

I was the person who, though I never had one myself, was always brought along with the friend who needed an illegal abortion in the days before Roe.

Everyone, that is, except my mother.

When she found she was pregnant in her early fifties, with three grown children, my mother went to a hospital and told them she would kill herself if she had another child. The doctor there said that she could have a legal abortion when three doctors signed off on it. However, one of the doctors who had to sign the permission was in another country, and in the pre-cell phone, pre-email world, could not be reached for at least a month. That would certainly be too late for my mom.

In sorting out her alternatives, my mother didn’t ask me about the local doctor with his knotty pine office a few blocks from her house, the man who looked like a nervous drug addict when he performed an abortion on a terrified out-of-state young person. Nor did she ask me about the clean and peaceful Puerto Rican clinic to which I accompanied a friend. She didn’t know that there was a Dr. Spencer who, in the rural part of Pennsylvania where we lived, my generation of women knew as an abortion saint.

What she did instead was call her brother the radiologist who said that while he couldn’t perform a traditional abortion, he could achieve the same result with radiation.

Years later she died of uterian cancer.

Jennifer - 1960

2005-06-27T10:30:00.000-07:00

1960, NYC – Carole S. was fresh out of graduate school and running a theatre company that specialized in Children’s productions. One of her young actresses (a woman in her early 20’s) came to her in tears saying she was pregnant and unsure of what to do. She was unmarried and was not ready to become a mother. She wanted to have an abortion.

Carole as her employer picked up the phone and started calling everyone she knew – lawyer and friends. She finally found someone who gave her a phone number in Pennsylvania. The abortion would cost $300 and she was given instructions on how to get there.

She put the young actress on a Greyhound bus headed out of the city. The woman returned the next day and went to rehearsal. During rehearsal she began bleeding and Carole rushed her to an emergency room. The young woman had been cut so badly it took an operation to repair the damage that had been done.

This young woman was told she would never be able to have children again. She, like many other young women before Roe vs. Wade, was badly bungled and was a victim of a law that invaded her privacy and life.

Yale University - 1969

2005-06-25T07:29:00.000-07:00

From: Anonymous

There is a story I know to be true but have never seen it written in print. I would prefer to keep the confidence to which I was pledged. But sufficient years have passed since I worked for the national group which was instrumental in lending assistance.

There is an office of the medical center at Yale University that directly deals with family planning situations. Yale was renown for creating a terrific manual for women on women's health, pregnancy, and birth control...after the following situation occurred. It was a "bible" of the young adult set.

That office, I believe, was the go-between the year Yale admitted women. Here were some of the brightest women in the country, who successfully competed for the rare places at what was an all male elite school. Within three months, either one-third or two-thirds of those 120? [the writer was not sure]women were pregnant. An interesting indicator as to how little was known about effective birth control among 18 and 19 year olds.

Not wanting a scandal, whether it was the university, the health center, or someone representing them, asked
help in creating a Christmas break trip to Scandinavia or Puerto Rico, the only places where abortions then where
legal and safe. My understanding was that no freshman co-ed ever had a child that year.

Arthur - 1966 , A Full Story On The Way

2005-06-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

From: Arthur
This e-mail came in last week from a friend of a friend - We are looking forward to his full complete story...

It appalls me how easily hard freedom earned is so easily lost.
I'm taking on a tough two-week project tomorrow, but after it, I'll send you a precis of
the abortion I had to help my first girlfriend obtain, and what the back allies of Newark New Jersey
were like to a sophomore in college who gave up all his available cash and possessions to pay $1200
in 1966 dollars. Please remind me if you don't hear from me in three weeks.

Also - There was an upstate New York assemblyman who chose to cast the deciding vote in 1968 or 69 which
kept Roe v Wade in place, or kept up the funding for S. 2108, the enabling legislation permitting the funding
of information and education of family planning services. Go hunt and find it. It is a touching story of how a
daughter changed the course of history. I know The New York Times covered it and anyone in the library of
National Planned Parenthood would know.

Articles From The Media Project - the Entertainment Industry's Resource on Sexual Health

2005-05-31T07:59:00.000-07:00

Friday, May 27, 2005

State Politics & Policy
New Hampshire House Approves Bill That Would Allow EC To Be Sold Without Doctor's Prescription; Governor Expected To Sign
The New Hampshire House on Wednesday approved 195-169 a bill (SB 30) that would allow pharmacies to sell emergency contraception to customers without a doctor's prescription, the Concord Monitor reports (Heckman, Concord Monitor, 5/26). The measure would allow specially trained pharmacists to dispense EC, which can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of intercourse. Under the measure, only pharmacists who choose to participate in a training session sponsored by the state pharmacy board could provide the pills to patients without prescriptions. Pharmacists would not be required to undergo the training. Supporters of the bill say that easier access to EC would help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions, but opponents of the measure say it would encourage promiscuity. The Senate in March approved the measure 14-10 (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 4/4). Before approving the measure, the House rejected 225-141 an amendment to the bill that would have allowed pharmacists to sell EC without a prescription only to people ages 18 or older (Concord Monitor, 5/26). The bill now goes to New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D), who has said he will sign it. Former New Hampshire Gov. Craig Benson (R) in June 2004 vetoed an identical measure (SB 484) (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 4/4). Six states -- Maine, Alaska, California, Hawaii, Washington and New Mexico -- already have laws allowing EC to be obtained without a prescription (Concord Monitor, 5/26).

May 27, 2005, 1:24AM

Abortion consent bill goes to Perry

Senate-backed measure requires parent's OK for those under 18

By JEFFREY GILBERT
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau
RESOURCES
• Complete coverage: See more stories and resources on the 79th Texas Legislature from the Houston Chronicle.

AUSTIN - The Senate late Thursday approved and sent to the governor a bill requiring a minor to get written parental consent before she could get an abortion.

Gov. Rick Perry is expected to sign the bill.

Senators voted 23-7 to accept the parental consent language and other amendments that the House had attached to a bill reauthorizing the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners.

"As a mother, I feel very strongly that on any medical procedure performed on one of my minor children, I should be involved and give my consent," said Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, author of Senate Bill 419.

"If, heaven forbid, something like a medical complication arose, the parent has to know," she said.

Earlier this week, the Senate had voted to send the bill to conference committee, but Nelson said Thursday that was no longer needed.

Under the bill, it would be a license violation for a doctor to perform an abortion on a girl younger than 18 without getting the signed consent form.

A judge could bypass the consent requirement by determining that involving a parent could put the minor at risk of physical or emotional abuse, or that she is sufficiently mature to make the decision.

Current law mandates that girls must notify their parents before getting an abortion, but doesn't require written consent.

Tougher bill was killed

Only six states do not have a law requiring either parental consent or notification. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush signed a notification bill on Wednesday.
RESOURCES
NOTIFICATION BILL

The Senate approved a bill that revises the current parental-notification law on abortions by minors.
The changes
• Written consent: The bill requires a parent to provide written consent for unmarried girls under 18 to obtain an abortion.
• Physicians affected: It also restricts doctors from performing abortions on women who have carried a child for more than 26 weeks unless the mother's life is in jeopardy.
Abortions in Texas
• Under 18: In 2002, a total of 3,499 abortions were performed on girls younger than 18 in Texas.
• Late-term cases: 43 late-term abortions were reported in Texas during that year.

Texas Department of State Health Services
Changing the law to require a parent's consent is a top priority this session for social conservatives, and the movement has been picking up steam in recent weeks.
The Senate last week passed a separate parental consent bill with similar language, but the House never debated it, assuming this measure would be approved.

Another bill, by Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, would have made it much tougher for a minor to be awarded the judicial bypass. That measure was killed by parliamentary maneuvers earlier this month.

King said Thursday that although it's not everything he wanted, the bill that will be sent to the governor is a great step.

"It's a great day for parents who are back in the loop on their child's health care decisions," King said. "It may not be a home run, but it's a triple."

Under the adopted bill, doctors also would be prohibited from performing abortions on any woman who has carried a child for more than 26 weeks unless having the baby would jeopardize the woman's life or the baby has serious brain damage.

"How common are third-term abortions?" asked Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, D-Austin. "Generally, do women wait around until the third trimester and then decide to have an abortion?"

Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, a doctor, said those statistics are not made available, but said he has seen a 15-year-old get an abortion at 33 weeks into her pregnancy.

Getting to issue's core

Sarah Wheat, spokeswoman for NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, said the parental consent measure that was adopted is a better bill than King's original, but said "we are still opposed to this because it does nothing to prevent teenagers from getting pregnant in the first place."
"The reality is it's not going to affect most teenagers today," Wheat said. "This is going to affect those girls who come from abusive or dysfunctional families who don't have a parent who they can turn to."

But Joe Pojman, executivppe director of Texas Alliance for Life, disagrees, saying the Senate's vote will help decrease the number of teenage pregnancies and abortions.

"Parental consent goes a long way in restoring the rights of parents that were taken away by the Supreme Court in its Roe v. Wade decision," Pojman said. "It's just plain good public policy."

Tuesday, May 31, 2005

State Politics & Policy

Nevada Assembly Approves Amended Bill Prohibiting Pharmacists From Refusing To Fill Prescriptions for Religious Reasons
The Nevada Assembly on Thursday approved 25-16 a bill (SB 163) about occupational regulatory boards that includes an amendment that would require pharmacists in the state to fill any prescription, including birth control pills, despite moral or religious objections, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports (Vogel, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 5/27). The amendment would allow the state Pharmacy Board to discipline any pharmacist who refuses two or more times to fill a prescription the pharmacy has in stock. Punishments could include the removal or suspension of the pharmacist's license to practice, according to the AP/Las Vegas Sun. Advocates of the amendment say pharmacists do not have the right to judge personal decisions made between people and their doctors, but opponents say the amendment would violate pharmacists' rights to freedom of speech and religion. The amended measure now goes back to the state Senate (Hennessey, AP/Las Vegas Sun, 5/26).

Actress Polly Bergen - 1940's

2005-05-23T08:12:00.000-07:00

I found this online - It is one of the few stories about back alley abortions online - My mission is to change that.

Someone gave me the phone number of a person who did abortions and I made the arrangements. I borrowed about $300 from my roommate and went alone to a dirty, run‐down bungalow in a dangerous neighborhood in east Los Angeles. A greasy looking man came to the door and asked for the money as soon as I walked in. He told me to take off all my clothes except my blouse; there was a towel to wrap around myself. I got up on a cold metal kitchen table. He performed a procedure, using something sharp. He didn’t give me anything for the pain ‐‐ he just did it. He said that he had packed me with some gauze, that I should expect some cramping, and that I would be fine. I left.1

‐‐Polly Bergen, discussing the illegal abortion in the 1940s that rendered her infertile and nearly proved fatal.

Mom Fought For Roe V. Wade

2005-05-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

The mission of this blog is to collect stories from the past, from the generations of woman who had abortions prior to 1973 - so that we don't forget what happened and where we may headed if we don't take action - now.

This blog is also here to collect stories of the children of woman who fought to get Roe v. Wade passed - their impressions of growing up in a country where abortion is safe and accessible and their impressions and stories of defending this right.

This Blog is dedicated to my mother and to all of the women of her generation who fought for the privilege we all now get to have - access to safe abortions.

As a woman my age, I do not remember what it was like to live in a world of illegal / back alley abortions. Pro life activists often point to the stories of illegal abortions and numbers reported of women who died before Roe v. Wade was passed as impossible to track and grossly exaggerated.

This blog is born out of result of a conversation I had with my mother and my aunt this past mother’s day – They were discussing the world before Roe v. Wade, the world where their friends and peers went through illegal abortions and many of them have not told their stories.

My Mother – Her Values, My Family’s Values

Snapshots - Two Marches w. My Mother

2005-05-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

Age 32
On the train from New York City to Washington DC for last April's March on Washington my mother earnestly looked over at me and asked - "Were you with me at the first one?" By this she was referring to a march she had attended during the fight for Roe v. Wade in the late sixties. No mom, I smirked, I wasn't born yet, she laughed too – It just seemed so normal that I would have been there with her (and I guess in a way I kinda was). We marched that day April 25, 2004 heads held high with 1,000,000 other people. My mothers College roommates son was with us (Syracuse class of ’56) as was my best friend her husband, his best friend and his girlfriend. We had tears in our eyes for most of the day, overwhelmed by the sheer masses of people, the spirit and the energy on the Washington Mall

Age 16
Mom and I also marched in 1987 - My first march on Washington DC where I was humbled and overwhelmed by how great a country we live in, where people can express how they feel with each other and for the rest of our country to see. We flew in to DC in the morning and took a cab straight to the march. Jesse Jackson gave an amazing speech that day that moved me to tears and my best friend Elly and I held hands chanted and followed my mom and her friends from NOW who kept yelling “group” to keep us all in line….