The U.S. House overwhelmingly approved legislation to protect same-sex and interracial marriages amid concerns that the Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade could have implications for other rights, including the right to same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, reversing the constitutional right to an abortion, reversing the court’s five-decade-old decision that guaranteed a woman’s right to obtain an abortion. Experts fear the decision could jeopardize other rulings, including those protecting interracial and same-sex marriage.
Roughly eight Americans in 10 support abortion rights and opposed the reversal of Roe v. Wade before the Friday ruling. The Respect for Marriage Act, a response to the 1967 ruling in Loving v. Virginia, invalidated state laws that banned marriages between people of different races. The Supreme Court’s decision could be applied to undo Loving v. Virginia, signaling a new threat to interracial marriage as we know it.
The Respect for Marriage Act codifies federal protection of same-sex and interracial marriages. The Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade could have implications for other rights, including those protecting interracial and same-sex marriage.
📹 Doctor Explains Roe vs Wade – What Overturning Means for Health & Autonomy in Pregnancy
We’re discussing Roe vs Wade, what it protects, and what an overturn of abortion protection could mean for the state of health and …
Is interracial marriage legal in the United States?
Since 1967, all U.S. states have allowed interracial marriage. Many states had already made interracial marriage legal.
When did interracial marriage become legal in Illinois?
The 1829 Illinois law said: No person of color could marry a white person. The law against interracial marriage was repealed in 1874.
By Lyle Attention: This post is over three years old and may be out of date. This post is over 3 years old. February 20, 2015.
As we approach February 26, the anniversary of the day same-sex marriage began in Chicago, it is interesting to look at the history of marriage restrictions in Chicago.
Before Illinois became a state. I haven’t researched this period much because marriage wasn’t regulated much. In early Chicago, Native American marriage customs were the norm. These customs were fairly free. Who and how many could get married was up to the individual and their family.
What was the vote for interracial marriage?
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Senate voted to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, which would make same-sex and interracial marriage rights federally recognized for all Americans. The Respect for Marriage Act would require the federal government to recognize a marriage between two people if it was valid in the state where it was performed. The bill would guarantee that valid same-sex and interracial marriages are recognized by the federal government. However, it would not require states to issue marriage licenses.
U.S. Senator Jack Reed said:
“Marriage is about love, respect, commitment, and happiness. All Americans should be treated fairly and equally under the law. This will protect marriage equality nationwide.
Did Mitch McConnell vote against interracial?
On Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell voted against a bill to protect interracial marriages, despite being married to an Asian American woman. McConnell is white and married to Elaine Chao, the first Asian-American woman to serve in the presidential cabinet.
McConnell was one of 37 GOP senators who opposed the Respect for Marriage Act. The procedural vote succeeded with a bipartisan majority of 62.
What was the interracial marriage law in Virginia?
In Loving v. Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that laws banning interracial marriage violate the Constitution. 87 S. Ct. 1817; 18 L. Ed. 2d 1010; 1967 U.S. LEXIS 1082.
Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1, was a landmark civil rights decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. It ruled that laws banning interracial marriage violate the Constitution. In 2013, the decision was used as a reason to say that laws against same-sex marriage in the United States were wrong. This included the Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges. The case involved Richard Loving and his wife Mildred Loving. In 1959, they were sent to prison for breaking the Virginia Racial Integrity Act of 1924. This made it illegal for white people to marry people of another race. After losing their appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court, they appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the Racial Integrity Act was unconstitutional.
What is another word for mixed race?
The meanings of “multiracial” and “biracial” have changed since they first appeared in American English. In the 1950s and 1960s, these terms were used to discuss groups with more than one race, like multiracial societies and biracial committees. When I was a kid, I always thought that everyone called people like me “mixed.” In central Ohio, where I grew up, “mixed” meant people with one black and one white parent. My community had few people who identified as anything other than black or white, so I thought mixed meant black and white unless otherwise specified. This was easy for me. It let me describe my racial identity quickly. As I got older, the nation’s demographics changed. People with parents of different races started calling themselves mixed. People asked me what I was mixed with. I wished I had a term for people like me. In South Africa, I’d be classified as colored, which is a term of oppression during the apartheid era but still used as a demographic category. In the UK, people who are mixed-race come from black and white backgrounds. They have some of the same struggles for meaning around the term mixed as people in the US.
Which race has the lowest divorce rate?
Asian Americans have the lowest divorce rates of all races. Currently, 12.4 out of every 1,000 Asian Americans get divorced. At least one out of every 18 Asian American women and 16% of Asian American men get divorced. Hispanic-origin Americans are the second largest group for divorces. In 2018, 18.5% of marriages among this group ended in divorce. 30% of the divorces involved women and 27% involved men.
White Americans are third with 15.1 divorces per 1,000 people. About one-third of white women and men have been divorced at least once.
Was it illegal to marry a Chinese woman?
People in the U.S. were very hostile to these interracial marriages because of a long history of racial intermarriage being taboo. This was largely a legacy of slavery. From 1850 to 1950, 15 US states passed anti-miscegenation laws banning Chinese and white people from marrying. The numbers weren’t high, but these marriages could still cause trouble. A single case could still cause a big outcry. “A Chinese restaurant waiter married an American woman. This is bad for our community.” Some places were also accepting, so couples faced different prospects.
Laws were especially hard on American women who married Chinese men during this time. Why was that?
Why do you think laws concerning marriage of Asians and Indians existed more in western states?
Answer: Explanation. Western states had laws against Asian and Indian people marrying each other because of racism. Why did some states have laws against Asian and Indian marriages? The skin around the belly button is red. There is a pimple on the thigh. The face is red, the belly is sore, and the breasts are large. Two spots on the chest, a sore throat, and a pain in the neck. Donec aliquet. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. The belly button is flat and the skin around it is loose. The skin on the back of the thighs is rough. The thighs are fat. The lips are red, the belly is soft, and the breasts are large. Fusce dui lectus, congue vel laoreet ac, vitae odio. Donec aliquet. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. The belly button is a small hole.
What is the percentage of black marriages in the United States?
Most white people were married, but only a third of black people were. Only 27.5% of Whites had never been married, compared to half of Blacks. In 2021, 34.4% of Black men were married, compared to 28.6% of Black women. 55.5% of white men and 52.4% of white women were married. More than 48% of Black women and 51.1% of Black men had never been married. Whites had slightly higher divorce rates than Blacks, but Blacks were more likely to be separated from their spouse. Whites were more likely to be widowed than Blacks.
Was interracial marriage once considered taboo in the United States?
In the past, many people in the United States were against interracial marriage. By 1986, only one-third of Americans approved of it. In 2011, most people approved of interracial marriage. In 1991, less than half approved. In 1994, more than half of Americans approved of interracial marriage. Approval rates differ by race, gender, age, and socioeconomic status. A 2018 YouGov/Economist poll found that 17% of Americans oppose interracial marriage, with 19% of other ethnic groups, 18% of blacks, 17% of whites, and 15% of Hispanics opposing.
📹 VERIFY: What privacy cases could be challenged following Roe v. Wade?
Cases legalizing gay marriage and interracial marriage, like Roe v. Wade, rest on the 14th Amendment which gives every …
PARENTS: Especially of teenage girls. Please make sure your teens know that they can come to you and tell you if they are pregnant. Pregnant teenagers are scared to death especially if they were brought up in a strict environment and told how shameful it is to be unwed and pregnant. I know teenagers that were desperate and alone and we’re ready to kill themselves rather than tell their parents they were pregnant. It’s terrifying to think of my baby scared and alone and ready to die because she thinks she can’t talk to us. No one wants to believe their babies are out there having sex and could get pregnant but we all know teens will be teens. Let your teenagers know they can come to you with anything. The disappointment is nothing compared to the grief that could be. 💕
About 10 years ago my partner at the time had an ectopic pregnancy. We had gone to a hospital that was unfortunately Catholic-based. It literally took hours of going through the same exact examinations to determine whether it was ‘still viable’ and it ended up rupturing. The white man doctor with the gold cross on his neck who was doing these exams then disappeared entirely and they called in an Indian woman to perform the completely avoidable emergency surgery. In her write up, which we got a copy of, she detailed just how dangerous and deadly the situation was, presumably to get the attention of the other doctor that nearly got this woman killed. Religion and healthcare should NEVER be mixed.
I live in Ireland. Up until 2018 we had a constitutional ban on abortion. Women died, women were exiled to other countries, women were shamed and women were silenced. It is an awful thing to live your life being treated like nothing more than an incubator. I hope that the hard fought for and won rights for access to abortion are protected. We in Ireland lived under threat of life in prison until 2013 when it became 14 years in prison. We spent years telling our stories and convinced our fellow citizens that we weren’t monsters and we won the removal of the outright ban. Its not perfect and we’re still fighting for reproductive freedom. Good luck to everyone trying to protect women and families opting for abortion
I have never actually thought of it under the lens of ‘by outlawing abortion, we are giving a fetus rights other people don’t have’. I have always been pro choice, but that really helps me put how I have felt into words. Like, we can’t force someone to donate blood or organs to someone to keep someone else alive, how is this much different?
I live in Texas and had a nearly fatal 1st pregnancy afflicted with severe hyperemesis gravidarum 5 years ago. I was denied tubal ligation during my cesarian surgery due to the surgeon’s personal religious beliefs. I lived terrified that my husband’s and my birth control would fail and I could become pregnant again. But, at least with abortion access, we had a back up emergency plan. Now we are abstaining from intimate relations until it’s safe again. Our son deserves to have a living mother. We deserve for ancient gnomes to not be involved in our bedroom activities. I am not an incubator. My life matters too. My living son’s life matters.
For context: I’m Polish woman in her 30s(no children), living in the UK. I personally don’t think I will ever abort a pregnancy unless my life or occurance of birth defects in fetus. Having that in mind, I don’t think everybody has to share my views and I am definitely AGAINST prohibiting people to make decision about their life, health and well-being. I may never use all my rights, but that doesn’t mean I would take them away from everybody else. What they doing is really disgusting and disappointing. I feel like all that we accomplished as people is working backwards and people’s mentality is changing for worse.
Dr. Jones, I live in Canada, where abortion is protected. We have prepared for an onslaught of international abortion seekers from our sisters down south and we will support them and help them. I really hope in the future things will change for you guys down there but in the meantime know that we have avenues up here to help these women financially and medically/surgically.
This is such a hard topic for me, as an adoptee my birth mother may have had an opportunity to abort me instead of giving me up, I am pretty sure that was an option to her at the time. She was also a young adult and could have kept me, but she would have had a tough time raising me as a single mother who was trying to get an education. I myself had 2 high risk pregnancies that were both unplanned but I never considered abortion because I was married. My first pregnancy I had high blood pressure and my second diabetes. I am now dealing with chronic high blood pressure and on the cusp of type 2 diabetes because of these pregnancies. After a head injury my now ex husband became abusive and I stayed in that relationship longer than I should have because of the cost of child care. My ex was staying home with the kids due to severe anxiety attacks and he was using prescriptions that caused him to sleep. One day my 2 year old daughter walked to my 5 year old’s school by herself and was playing on the playground during the school day, our little dog followed her out of the house and stayed with her. My ex was sleeping on the couch. I could have lost everything that day. We should not have been in that situation at all, but I could not get childcare assistance due to the fact that he was home, unless I declared him unfit to care for our children and he refused to let me do that because he was too controlling. Who is going to help these women who are refused abortion throughout their lives?
I had an ectopic pregnancy about 15 years ago. We followed lab values for about 5 weeks when they started to surprisingly rise. Thru out this whole time the pregnancy parts could not be found. I think I had like 5 ultrasounds. So huge risk. Was to pick up meds (chemo injection) and walk upstairs to my doctors office for the doc to inject. Only way to save my life. Stuck in the pharmacy for hours because staff would NOT fill script. New MI law had just passed that allowed staff to refuse to process scripts “they didn’t agree with”. I was in a large SE MI Catholic hospital multiplex. My doctor had to intervene at the pharmacy to require them to process and explain why I was getting this med. It was HORRIBLE. I was treated awful by the pharmacy staff. It was humiliating. I was not able to be attended by my doctor because by the time I got up to her office, she was called away for a birth. A nurse gave me the 4 very painful and emotional injections without comfort and support. My doctor gave me the option to reschedule, but my life was in the balance. My doctor was great. But what a horrible situation when I had wanted this pregnancy, although it should not have made a difference. And abortion was completely legal at this time.
I live in Texas. My mom came from an extremely abusive background. My grandpa shot and killed my grandma in front of my mom and her siblings. He claimed temporary insanity and it was a mistrial. He never went to jail. My mom grew up being starved and beat. She was forced to live outside in a shed. She was sexually assault by her dad and her grandpa on a regular basis. CPS never believed her as her dad and grandparents were white and wealthy. She ran away at 15 and never went back. A 30 year old decided it was ok to have sex with a 15 year old. My mom got pregnant. My mom was not physically, emotionally, or financially able to raise a child. She raised up the money and had an abortion. I am 100% pro-choice and I support my mom’s decision. Whether or not you believe life begins at conception is a religious debate and should not be intertwine into federal or state laws. My mom had more reproductive rights 37 years ago than I do now. It especially makes me angry that there is no exception for rape or incest when nearly 80% of women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. It happened to my mom and it happened to me. Abortions are healthcare. Overturning Roe v. Wade sets a dangerous precedent that the government can tell you what to do with your own body. Im not even going to get into the legal/constitutional issue with this ruling.
What you are saying about bodily autonomy is reminding me of that movie with Cameron Diaz where she played a character that was a mom to a child that was dying. She had another baby to help save the first. Then that second child grew up and demanded the right to her own body and won. If a person at 13 or younger decide that they no longer want a medical procedure, it should be their right. To force pregnancy on someone is essentially forcing that person to become an incubator to someone else, or forcing that person to go through a traumatic medical procedure against their wishes.
So I have epilepsy, and I’ve been terrified of this law. When I was around 19, me and my neurologist had a long, tough discussion about pregnancy, its risks and possible complications for me, and what it could mean for a fetus. She emphasized the importance of birth control and careful family planning because there are a lot of things that can go wrong during any trimester of pregnancy, and as you said, pregnancy complications can get real bad, real fast. She told me these things not to scare me, but so I could be able to know what to do if something goes wrong. Would I consider termination over my life/wellbeing or being able to care for a severely handicapped child? Stuff like that. I live in a state which wants to ban all abortions with no exceptions, and want to restrict contraceptives. Because of my condition, that would make my only option for birth control condoms, and those can break. Whether I would choose an abortion or not is irrelevant. The point is that I wouldn’t have a choice to begin with. Just that alone scares the shit out of me.
My pregnancy resulted in multiple TIAs, in lamens terms.. strokes. I have been permanently altered by my pregnancy. The doctors lightly joked how my fetus was one of the healthiest babies they’ve seen, but I was a train wreck. I had pre-eclampsia, heart problems which led to breathing problems, neurologically I suffered.. I lost hearing in my left ear that hasn’t fully recovered, the ability to speak for a week, I can’t draw anymore and that was my literal job, and momentary vision loss in my left eye. But on paper, my fetus was a happy bouncing baby boy… Are women like me condemned to become living gestational chambers so some rich family can adopt my healthy baby as I regress into a non speaking vegetable? Abortion needs to be between a doctor that knows their patient and patients that know their bodies and needs…
Two things I’ve always been told – First is “Outlawing abortion doesn’t end abortions. It only ends safe abortions.” Second came from my staunchly Irish-Catholic mother, “I don’t believe in abortion but what a woman does with her own body is between her, her doctor, and God.” This whole situation scares me. I’m past the point where I have to worry about getting pregnant but what about my kid? My nieces? My friends?
This hits me severely I had never even heard about this law and it just never crossed my mind. Until I started trying for a baby and kept having miscarriages. The only reasoning my doctor could give me was that my uterus lining was a little bit thicker than it should be. My babies usually never made it past 9 weeks which is when the placenta ataches. I had had six miscarriages at this point. Again I thought nothing of it until I was sitting in a police station with them telling me that I was under investigation for unlawful abortion. I was told they got an anonymous tip. And did I mention at the time I was almost 6 months( 5 months and a week or two) pregnant sitting there while they’re telling me that the investigation could take months and to “spit it out now so we don’t have to get CPS involved when your kid is born.” That’s when I went into hysterics. I spent a lot of my pregnancy fearing they would take my child for me for trying to have a child. It took me three months to be able to get a lawyer and after I did the case/ investigation was quickly dismissed because they couldn’t charge me for something that I “did” when it wasn’t illegal. ( all of my miscarriages happened before the abortion restrictions) but it’s just the fact that if I had been lawfully ignorant or just not able to get a lawyer that I could of had my baby taken from me and potentially jailed. All because I had fertility issues. I had blood pressure issues during that investigation, I had abnormal amount of blood in the amniotic fluid.
Damn right. It is extremely dangerous. A dead twin could have seriously endangered a mother’s life if it cannot be aborted. “Oh, but a body can clean it out itself.” Uh, no. Just freaking no. A body cannot always poop out a dead fetus when another one is alive. People like this (for those against abortion for any reason. At all) just boils my blood.
I was in a abusive relationship for 6 years and got pregnant twice. I knew that if I had birthed children no matter how much he spoke of being excited or how convinced he was that he would be a good father, I KNEW that he would end up subjecting those children to his violence and psychological abuse. I had Stockholm syndrome and even then my brain told me it was wrong to birth a child into such a toxic life.
“You cannot give a fetus rights that no other human being has.” THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS. What I always come back to when I defend the right to abortion is the fact that we cannot take organs from DEAD PEOPLE and use them to save the life of another person unless we have the prior consent of the deceased. If I’m pregnant I have to let that fetus use my body for 9 months but if I died none of my body could be donated to the organ transplant wait list unless I explicitly agreed to it beforehand. Even though I’m dead and cannot use those organs anymore and won’t even be aware they’re gone, no one else can touch them no matter how many lives it would save… but if I’m alive and pregnant, I am just a vessel for that fetus to use up whether I like it or not. So even DEAD PEOPLE have more bodily autonomy than pregnant women in anti-abortion places.
When I was 18 weeks pregnant, they told me that there was a chance that my daughter had Edward’s syndrome. For those of you who don’t know, it leads to severe birth defects that are often not compatible with life. My partner and I wanted this baby more than anything, but we decided that if the test came back positive, we would terminate the pregnancy. It wouldn’t be fair to bring her into this world just to suffer until she passed. We got lucky and didn’t have to make that hard decision, but some people aren’t that fortunate. I can’t bear to imagine a world where families could be forced to carry their child to term knowing that they will suffer until they die.
A relative had a miscarriage and at one of her doctors appointments when she was pregnant for the 4th time the doctor said “I see you had 1 abortion and 2 vaginal births.” She was confused and told him she never had an abortion. He told her that’s what all miscarriages are called in their records. It makes me worry about how far this could go. Will all miscarriages have to be investigated as a potential crime? Could you get charged for accidental death? As if a miscarriage isn’t potentially very traumatic for some people, now they could have to be interrogated and taken to court about it?
I was in a DV situation and knew that if I didn’t terminate the pregnancy that he probably would have killed me or my baby if I had to keep it. If he didn’t kill me or the baby at some point, he definitely would have gotten full custody as he controlled everything in my life and I couldn’t live with the thought of my child growing up with an abusive parent. I knew I wouldn’t get help from any family so logically there was only one option. I didn’t want to but I’m glad I still had the choice.
After enduring several rapes and 10 miscarriages AND growing up in a super strict religious environment I feel like I was never allowed to think either. I was definitely pro life with very few exceptions. After waking the F up and learning so much from MDJ I’m now very much pro-choice. Thank you for taking the time to educate us. I wish that this article was required viewing for Scotus, because you’re so right. Millions of women are going to die unless it’s overturned again.
That thing you said about pregnant women going from being okay to dying on you very quickly… I really felt that. I’ve only had one pregnancy and in the matter of 3 weeks I went from okay to dying, not once, but on 3 separate occasions. The first two was because I had really bad hyperemesis gravidarum and I went to the hospital (yay medical debt!) with severe dehydration. The third time, near my due date I developed preeclampsia and needed to give birth immediately. In all honesty, pregnancy was the worst, most traumatic experience of my life and thinking that SCOTUS will make other people go through the same thing unwillingly is horrific.
Just some food for thought here: So according to the U.N., forced pregnancy is considered a crime against humanity (in war crime cases). So by overturning Roe v. Wade and subsequently PP v. Casey, the US will essentially, in some form, allow crimes against humanity, under the guise that it is “states’ rights” and because we aren’t at war. But if a country implemented the full criminalization of abortion, that would be deemed as a crime against humanity because it is forcing pregnancy on people…
I am currently 7 months pregnant and I cannot imagine someone being forced to do this. I love my baby I wanted my baby but this pregnancy has been very hard on my health. I have developed a heart condition due to the stress put on my heart. I’m constantly fainting. I have previa which is very scary. The medical bills alone (with good insurance) has been so substantial from hospital visits to cardiology to OB care. I can’t imagine being forced to do this. Like I said I love my baby with all of my heart but pregnancy is hard and expensive.
I am 70 years old. I was married at 20 years old. My husband and I decided to have a baby and though we tried and went through many procedures to try to successfully become pregnant, it didn’t happen. We decided to adopt and were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. I want to make a point here. Just because I wanted to have a child no one OWED me that. I am grateful that our daughter’s birth mother had the courage to give up her baby because she couldn’t afford to raise her. We were blessed beyond measure with her decision. If we had not been able to adopt, we would have to have lived with that. No one has the right to tell anyone what to do with their body. I wouldn’t have had an abortion, but it is not up to me to decide that choice for someone else. This possible “roll back” of Roe v Wade is a dangerous and devastating decision. Not only will a birth mother have a child, but she will also have the burden of caring for and feeding a baby that she may not be able to do. Welfare/state aid will be used more (understandably) and with it comes burdens of its own. I choose to be pro-choice and hope the Justices of the Supreme Court will stay out of this issue which does not affect them and take on cases that have more relevance to the nation and its current issues. It is my hope I am coherent and explained my thoughts well.
As a prior child protection social worker in my state, trust me when I say this: not everyone should have kids. Not everyone is in a position to be an actual parent. Not to mention, not everyone is in a position to have a healthy pregnancy especially if they are dealing with substance abuse issues or other medical issues. Furthermore, there are a lot of people who do not take proper care of their children. Simply having a baby doesn’t make you a responsible person. Sometimes abortion is the best option and makes you more responsible. I also want to point out, I appreciate all the foster parents out there doing this for the right reasons. You are all awesome 👍 and child protection workers couldn’t do what they need to do for these kids without you.
Also a side issue but worth mentioning- we don’t have the social safety nets in place to support all of these children (mental health, medical care, education, etc.) instead of worrying about fetuses- how about we worry about the children and adults suffering everyday in this country due to lack of access or affordability of care?!
Thank you for addressing this, I watched it when you posted originally. I’m perusal again. I love your website, and this content is what I come here for. A doctor’s opinion and well formulated thoughts are crucial in this conversation, in fact many doctors should be speaking up right now. You bring light and understanding to people in highly difficult times 🙂
My sister in law was a real life “I didn’t know I was pregnant,” as a result they had a son with Hydroanencephaly. They didn’t know at first, the hospital sent him home saying he was healthy until his head wouldn’t stop swelling around 6 weeks. They took the CT scan to place a shunt when they realized there was no brain. Just a brain stem controlling automatic reflexes. That brainstem was being crushed by the fluid that wasn’t draining properly from his skull. He was functionally blind, and deaf, and he was in pain. He endured 6 more weeks of suffering before he passed away. To this day its the most painful thing our family ever lived through. And I think of other families, like my brother and sister in law, who’ve already endured these horrific tragedies, trying again and then finding out that once more the complication has occurred. To be forced to carry a child you know you’re going to have to bury is the utmost cruelty. Especially if they’re like my family and already suffered that fate once prior. I almost died from pregnancy complications, and then again during labour. Had my medical team not stepped up and treated my pregnancy aggressively with medication designed for chemo patients, I would have either chosen to end my pregnancy, or likely died trying to continue untreated. My liver and kidneys were already not functioning properly by 8 weeks. Funny enough, if the pregnant person dies before the fetus is viable, the “baby” you’re trying to protect does too. It is better to allow that person to choose to end the pregnancy and try again and hope for a healthier pregnancy since they all can be different.
Thank You! My experience with abortion involved a young couple who had gotten the terrible news that the fetus was badly deformed, including the skull. The pregnancy could go to a later period miscarriage, that the fetus would die in the womb, or the baby might live a few hours after birth. The mother’s life would have been in danger both physically and mentally. The abortion was performed within the first 4 months. The parents had been so happy when the pregnancy was first discovered and wanted the child. After the abortion they worked with a genetic counselor and the next three pregnancies resulted in three happy, healthy children and a healthy family!
this is a bit crazy, but about two months ago, I had a dream where, as a 19 year-old, I got randomly got pregnant and was about to give birth. let me tell you, this was the most terrifying dream I’ve ever had and it felt so real. I was about to give birth to a baby I didn’t want nor even gave myself consent to carry/conceive it, yet I had no other option to avoid doing so. I remember being so distressed, thinking I’m only this young, I barely started college, and I have no way of funding this child. there was absolutely nothing I could provide to give myself and this baby a good lifestyle… I understand, this sounds incredibly absurd, but never did I think this would become a reality for many women in America today. Unfortunately though, this country seems to be heading towards a very dangerous direction where power will be abused and most civilians will soon become victims of this corrupted government. and at this point, I really don’t care as to what you think as an individual is right or wrong regarding abortions, however, to take away that right from women will do absolutely much more harm than any good. women are in such grave danger, more than ever now. to be moving so far backwards makes absolutely no sense. and now, I’m started to feel that exact terror I felt from that dream I had before.
I am studying medicine in Poland. They have the following law regarding abortion: only when the mothers life is in danger or after rape and incest. Rape is difficult to prove here. There was a judge who said that it was not rape bevause the girl did not defend herself. During my studies I saw how it affects babies, mothers and doctors. I saw an autopsy of a newborn born by a 14 year old child. The autopsy was done to see if the child killed her child. I saw that women had to wait for medical procedures simply because her life was not in danger enough to justify an abortion. Does she need to be in severe sepsis before doctors can abort? Women died because doctors were pressured to wait. I saw a newborn with trisomy 18 with severe cleft palate leaving for hospice. It wasnever taken care of by his mother because she simply could not. It is horrible and I am not all the time at the obstetric ward and the teachers are trying to protect us from the severe cases. I read an article today about Poland and the US. One sentence stuck through: “The regression of abortion rights is always linked to a regression of democratic rights.” I think that says a lot
I can’t wait to go back to a time where every pregnancy ended well, everyone had pregnancies that were planned and everyone could afford to feed every kid no matter what. Oh wait, that never existed. History tells us this doesn’t work and this entire thing is madness. People worrying so much about right and wrong that they don’t worry about whats necessary and real.
I had what was suspected to be an ectopic pregnancy which ended up being a cancerous tumour. If I had not been given methotrexate to abort the pregnancy, they would not have discovered my tumour until either 1) my ovary ruptured and I possibly died or 2) until it had spread, reducing my chances of survival significantly. There are so many medical avenues that can be unexpected and taking away rights to health and potential treatment is despicable.
Watching now….after the fact. I never expected this to ever happen. Every time I think we’ve hit the bottom as a country the floor just keeps getting lowered. I am so depressed over all of this. It’s hard not to feel like giving up hope. It literally feels like this is completely out of our hands and nothing we can do will make a difference. Even things I’ve never had to worry about like the fact that I have PCOS and am on hormonal birth control pills to manage that…do I need to start considering that they may make it difficult for me to get my pills even though I’m not specifically taking them for birth control? This is ridiculous.
First of all, I really appreciate this website, and especially your professional, medical, and historic approach to this topic. Separating pregnancy from this expectancy of a woman (that term still being used) and any Religious bias and looking at it as a medical condition (which it is) is such an important step. Even if there are those who believe in life beginning at (15 weeks, first heartbeat, whenever), AND that the “life” (fetus) matters, it still boggles me that they believe the unborn life is EQUALto the pregnant woman’s life, body, mental health, physical health, her liberty, her control over her life and decisions. It’s not. Not just equal, but these laws are saying that the fetus MATTERS MORE. The most pro-life Doctor out there, if ever faced with a decision to save the pregnant mother or the unborn child will always, ALWAYS save the pregnant mother. Why? Because they are not equal. I’m 51, and having a Hysterectomy (not because of this ruling but for other health reasons) but my heart breaks that the choices I had as a young woman, in my state, are now taken away from my younger friends and family.
You say it so well and I am very impressed with way you explain that some women are connected to an abusive partner by a pregnancy and a child and how an abortion can be a way to cut that abusive tether and allow the woman to regain her life again. I have been in that similar circumstance and I can say my life would have been lost and wasted had I not had the abortion services available to me. I would have been in a physically, sexually, emotionally and mentally abusive relationship because I had a child with a man who purposely got me pregnant while under the influence in order to “keep” me. While this may not be everyone’s story, it was mine and I am thankful for the medical professionals who helped me get out of that alive. Thank you.
When I was a fetus, in an ultrasound, doctors found certain signs in my physiology that pointed towards fetus me having Down’s syndrom. They asked my mother if she wanted to do another test to determine whether I had Down’s syndrom or not and then from there make the decision on whether to terminate the pregnancy or not. Now, as it turned out, I’m not sure exactly how they got it wrong so if you could tell me, I’m kinda curious, but as it turned out, I didn’t have Down’s syndrom, my mother never even did that test because there were risks associated with it for me and my development but I came out normal. I was very upset that someone asked my mom if she wanted to abort me because they thought there was something wrong with me when there wasn’t when she eventually told me that story when I grew to be an adult. I was upset with the doctors (not my mother), but thinking about it, I’m really grateful they gave my mother that option. I care deeply about my mother and if she had made the decision to abort me if I had Down’s syndrom because it’s really difficult to raise a child and have to tell them they won’t live much past 20 years old, and financially really difficult also, that’s okay to me, and I’m really happy that she got that option whether she chose to terminate or not, that someone respected her rights to her own body. I’m really grateful that she let me borrow her body to create myself, and actively protected me while I did so and provided the nutrients I needed, but I would have wanted for her to be happy above all else if I had had Down’s syndrom and she didn’t want to go through the hardships that come with raising a child who had Down’s syndrom.
A friend of mine was five months pregnant with twins when she found out they had died in the womb. (One had a severe skull deformity) Her doctor had to lie to the state to do the abortion because our state had a first trimester law. This was 20+ years ago. With Rose VS Wade being overturned, she wouldn’t be able to get a abortion because our state is going to go back to no abortions for any reason. (Went into effect in the 1950’s). I myself had six miscarriages, all in the first trimester except the last. I lost that one one week into my second trimester. With some of the miscarriages I needed medical help. I’m terrified for my six nieces and my two nephew’s future partners.
“You can’t make people use their body to keep someone else alive. This is not ethical, and it’s a breach of bodily integrity and autonomy.” Absolutely! These words ring so true. I feel like some people just completely gloss over consent with these issues like it doesn’t matter, and it worries me that they might ignore consent in other facets of life…
I’m Italian and yet my heart broke as soon as I heard the news. When i was little i dreamed of moving to New York in a small apartment and making the American dream come true; But now that i’m an adult i feel immensely blessed to live in Europe, of course we have many problems here but there is no comparison. It breaks my heart thinking of all women who will have to go through unimaginable situations because the state is using their bodies against their will. This is violence and it is inhuman.
I am a retired RN. I was in nursing school 1971-73, when Roe vs Wade was new. The nursing students in OB rotation were given the option to not participate, observe only or participate by just being helpful in the room gathering equipment, comforting the patient,etc. I was 19 . I was curious. I opted to observe. I saw a blind deaf young woman about 22 who had several severe physical and mental anomalies, including blindness and deafness . She was obviously raped at her group home. They didn’t realize she was pregnant so she needed a late saline termination (17 weeks) Her fetus had all of the same malformations that she had. It was so sad, yet it was good imo that termination was legal. Hopefully later in the late 90s they could use DNA evidence to find her rapist. Row vs Wade needs to exist. It has served our citizens for over 50 yrs. If you don’t believe in abortion don’t have one. All women need rights to protect their privacy in their healthcare decisions- ALL women in all states. And all healthcare professionals should be protected too.
I’ve always been pro choice… and I always wondered if my opinions would change after I had a child. Well, I had my son and I feel even STRONGER that people deserve the option of abortion. I love my child more than life itself, but my pregnancy was HARD. My postpartum was HARD. It nearly broke me—and that was a pregnancy and baby I wanted and chose to have. I can’t IMAGINE having to go through that hard of an experience if it wasn’t a child I wanted to have and was ready for.
As a constitutional lawyer, I really appreciate your breakdown of the case history. Only small quibble, Roe v. Wade itself framed it as a doctor’s right to perform abortion. The argument you made, the one that actually makes sense, was in Casey v. Planned Parenthood. You correctly described the implications and consequences of both decisions, but that was the way the reasoning went.
I have a lot to say about this. My husband and I were in our first pregnancy, and not knowing I had a placenta Privia (spell check), since our only option was St. Joseph’s hospital, where they did not allow volunteer abortion, our only choice was a 3 hour drive to a hospital where they could. It was heart breaking since were were in our 6th month. I was passing blood clots the size of large oranges, and did not know if my baby survived the 3 hour trip, we lost our son, even I had 6 pints of blood. It was the most heart breaking time of our marriage this was 31 years ago. I don’t know how much has changed In terms of the right to save your own life? But it don’t look it has changed for the better.
I eventually want to have kids someday, but this makes me concerned that if I got pregnant, and something went wrong I would not be able to get the right medical care in my state, could die, or be held criminally responsible. And that terrifies me. Abortion is not a black and white issue. It is a medical procedure that allows people to live their lives as they see fit and saves lives.
Just to share my story for the masses… I was 18 when I had my son. I had a placental abruption 2 months before he was due. We both almost died. I had to have a blood transfusion and he stayed in the NICU for 2 months, came home with oxygen for 6 months. I was told that if I had another child I WOULD DIE. I was ALSO told that I CANNOT, was NOT ALLOWED get a hysterectomy or get my tubes tied because 1. I was not married, 2. I was under the age of 25, and 3. I only had the one child. They gave me birth control and sent me on my way. I turned 25 and went back. They STILL REFUSED to give me a hysterectomy or tie my tubes because I was not married and I only had 1 child. The same people that told me I would die if I ever got pregnant again would not do a preventative surgery to help save my life. Now, I’m 31 with a 13 year old, PTSD from a traumatic placental abruption and emergency c-section, and an honest to the gods phobia of ever getting pregnant again. I wish we could personally talk to these senile people running our country and tell them OUR stories. I am pro-whatever choice you want to make. Keep it, abort it, carry to term and give up for adoption, sell your eggs, whatever. Just don’t tell someone else what to do with their body.
50% of pregnancy in general end in miscarriages before a women even knows she pregnant. It’s such a frequent occurrence and that doesn’t even include how high miscarriage rates are between 6-12 weeks. It’s insane that they would try to criminalize that because for most women it’s already a insanely devastating time to be alive.
I had a friend who was diagnosed with stage 4 uterine cancer while she was pregnant. She had to make the insanely difficult decision to go through with a hysterectomy and lose her child in order to undergo chemo and save her life. She was married and already had a 3 year old daughter. Could she have carried long enough to where her child may have survived, yes. BUT, by that point she would have had a very low chance of survival.
I’m so glad I live in a civilised, democratic country in Africa and not in the backward, barbaric USA. We have human rights here, and abortion IS a human right! We have FREE abortion on demand for anyone 12 years old and up, without parental involvement. It is just crazy that the USA is going back to the Dark Ages.
I LOVE how this article starts and ends! I was raped. 30+ years later I am still dealing with the mental/emotional trauma that rape inflicted on me. Luckily the rape did not result in pregnancy- I could only imagine the h3ll that 9 months would have been if I was reminded every second of every day of the torture I was put through during the rape. Why does the mental health of a pregnant woman not get taken into consideration as a health risk? Like Dr Jones says, there is no legal justification for anyone to endanger their own health (be it physical or mental) to keep someone else alive.
I worked with the unwanted children in a residential treatment center. The children who were not adopted were disproportionately people of color, had developmental disabilities due to abusive home lives, had attachment disorders due to neglectful parents who could not or didn’t want to take care of the unwanted child, many had FAS or other disorders due to maternal substance abuse, so SO many had been molested in foster care or during their time in foster care, and the list goes on. These fetuses were not wanted and weren’t perfect white babies, thus not adopted as they weren’t what adoptive parents wanted, so they became unwanted children and then extremely damaged adults who went on to have children they couldn’t care for at the time.
“It happened in Poland. It happened in Ireland.” I remember that it also happened in the US. I’m a senior citizen who was a young adult when Roe v. Wade was decided. None of the three young women I know who had abortions before 1973 died, but one was nearly dead on her drive home to LA from Tijuana. Bleeding out, she stopped at a hospital in San Diego. Though my friend recuperated, I wonder how many others didn’t.
Having children isnt really worth the risk anymore. My partner and I where thinking about trying for a second baby in a few years from now but now theres no way in hell. Instead I’m going to pray birth control stays legal long enough for me to qualify to get my tubes tied… I wish I could have a full force hysterectomy now. Im terrified for my daughters future. Absolutely terrified.
I was raped at 19 and got pregnant from it. I was emotionally, financially and support wise secure enough to keep the baby. However, way too many out there would not be able to put themselves through that. In any way. How is this not a concern to them. Pregnancy does not just come from situations where everyone is happy and having sex because they want to. A lot of pregnancies come from abuse, rape or from one night stands, that people don’t want.
Thanks MDJ. I have some very mixed feelings about this whole situation. I was uneasy perusal this article when It first came out and thought I would never watch it (mainly because I didn’t want to get involved in the drama) but after a while and after perusal her more recent article, I came back to it and I’m glad I did. You put a great medical light on the whole situation.
I live in a country where abortions are banned unless “the life of the mother is in danger”, but still, if the medical institution is religious or bc of stigma they might not give you an abortion if your life is in danger. There was a case of a 13 year old that became pregnant because of rape, and she attempted suicide. She survived but needed spinal surgery, but doctors didnt do it bc they didn’t want to perform an abortion (that she wanted). So she became quadriplegic bc she didn’t get the surgery on time. Please don’t let the USA become like us.
As a Christian, I have feelings about when life begins, BUT my personal, religious views should never ever ever be used to tell someone else what they should believe or what they should do with their body. As someone who struggled with infertility and was trying to adopt, I would have rather waited years than force a pregnant person who didn’t want to carry a pregnancy to do so in order for me to adopt. I love the way you word it, adoption is a solution for parenting not for pregnancy. As a person who conceived finally via IVF, who has embryos on ice for hopeful future transfers, and lives in a trigger state, I’m terrified of how this will impact our future family growth once we are ready to do so. As a human, I’m scared for every person who finds themselves in need of an abortion and who doesn’t have the ability to get one safely due to this change. I’m not ignorant enough to thing this will stop anyone who needs an abortion. It will however make that abortion unsafe.
I absolutely do not understand how a state can legally punish a woman for going to another state to get an abortion. If I live in a state that criminalizes marijuana, can my state punish me if I go to Colorado and smoke a joint, then return to my state? How could that be legal? Can someone explain that to me, please?
“Pro-choice” does not mean “I would get an abortion in that circumstance.” It means you’re leaving that decision to the people who are directly involved — the person with the uterus, their surrounding family, and the doctor(s). There is no higher moral ground if you’re removing someone else’s ability to make such a personal decision for themself.
I honestly believe that religion should stay out of lawmaking. A lot of the arguments against abortion are emotionally-charged and/or talking about “God’s will.” It’s no more “God’s will” to make a woman carrying a baby to term against her wishes than it is for a woman who wanted a child to have a miscarriage.
I was adopted. I was not loved. It has tainted my entire life, leaving me with lasting issues of self-worth and an inability to value myself. At 43, I was faced with an unplanned pregnancy. I did NOT “kill my baby.” I nearly died twice to bring my much loved child into the world, and had very difficult complications from the pregnancy and emergency C-section birth. When I was released from the hospital, unable to work because my incision did not close and remained open for 5 months, I was IMMEDIATELY left to my own devices and was actually told by Catholic Charities of America that “it was God’s will” and that, if we starved on the street, our “suffering would have meaning.” None of this hideous obscenity is about preserving life. It is about punishing people that are not “Christian.” I am Jewish. So, … My daughter and I deserve to suffer and die because, what? Because we crucified Jesus? They DO! NOT!! CARE!!!
In Jewish Law a mother is required to terminate a pregnancy if it endangers her life, wellbeing, or that of her family. In a situation where another child will endanger the health and wellbeing of her existing children, she should terminate. In Judaism life begins with the Breath (Ruach) which carries the soul and the spark of life as per Gen 2:7. What I’m interested to see is how the constitutional right to religious freedom will apply. It’s so weird to me that the US leans heavily on the Tanakh for justifying their laws, then ignores that book when they decide what constitutes life.
I’ve had multiple conversations with pro forced birth people, who really have no idea about abortion, and why it is dangerous to make it illegal. They genuinely think that the majority of the USA don’t want legal abortions. They genuinely don’t know about Casey v planned parenthood. They genuinely don’t know about fetus development other than “heartbeat at 6 weeks”. They genuinely think most abortions are after 15 weeks. They have no clue what they are talking about either the woman’s point of view or even the fetuses/sciences point of view. The ignorance is outrageous. I used to be anti abortion after heartbeat. I used to be that ignorant. And then I started studying. I realized so much once I started reading all the articles I could find, not just the ones that confirmed my bias. It’s never too late to learn and change.
I’m a survivor of domestic abuse, and after 14 years I’ve finally shared my story. When I was 15 I started dating my ex bf and slowly overtime he became very controlling over me, and I grew distant from everyone around me that were my support systems. He became addicted to drugs, and the mental abuse really became serious. Then, right after I turned 17 years old we discovered I was unexpectedly pregnant (I was past 6 weeks pregnant when I found out). The next day he pushed me off a chair I was standing on reaching for my belongings he threw on the roof. Then, he punched me. The physical abuse escalated during my pregnancy and eventually I said I didn’t want to keep the pregnancy. He threatened to kill me and my family, and he then tried to hit me with brass-knuckles but he missed and hit my car. I drove off and at the moment I finally decided to terminate the pregnancy. I first tried to cause a miscarriage at home but it was ineffective, and I became very Ill!! Every time I tried to leave him he’d stalk me. It was the hardest decision for me as I loved children. But I was in high school and also taking college classes in nursing school. I worked so hard and I also was an honor student and worked part time. I’m so thankful I was able to have an abortion with my moms approval. My parents supported me fully and they helped pay for it. We traveled far away, and I was able to cut off all communication with him afterwards. He also tried to rape me by drugging me with date-rape drugs but I noticed and stumbled home after kicking him in the gonads.
Tw: discussion of r*pe In 2018, I was r*ped while on a date. I was on hormonal birth control at the time but this event was so traumatic for me that I skipped my period. I was convinced that I was pregnant and that if I were to go through with the pregnancy that my r*pist would have parental rights to my child and I’d have to see him again. I seriously considered abortion and decided that if I were to have a positive test, I would not keep it. Luckily, I was not pregnant but just the fact that I knew my right to have an abortion was protected at the time saved me from spiraling further than I already was.
I had an assisted miscarriage (tfmr) in 2018 due to a spontaneous rupture and placenta rupture at 15 weeks. My baby was not going to survive the pregnancy and I was at risk of sepsis. Had I not gone through with it my own life was at risk, I’ve heard of people who have died in the exact same situation as they were not able to have the tfmr. My baby was much wanted & loved but I am here today and she is never forgotten xx
I had a fellow, recently uninsured EDS friend in TX who passed away two months ago after her second ectopic pregnany from a failed IUD. we had to fundraise several thousands of dollars to get her to another state in order to get the pregnancy terminated because of the TX laws. Total BS. Especially since she quite literally did everything “right”. And it costed her life because of a non viable “baby”. A lot of us with EDS can have our lives threatened by pregnancy. Many of us take birth control, but because of GI malabsorption, we think we’re safe on birth control when in reality it’s not. We don’t usually know until we all of sudden have an accidental pregnancy. It’s so scary that there isn’t even a safe guard in these kind of situations.
In the early 1950’s when my grandmother was pregnant for the first time, the fetus (wow, my keyboard think I misspelled fetus and I even checked how it’s spelled in a dictionary) grew outside of her womb. My grandmother had no choice but to have an abortion. The doctors removed one of her ovaries along with the fetus. That surgery saved her life. If she didn’t had had that surgery, my dad wouldn’t have existed and neither would I. After the surgery she had 6 healthy children on one ovary.
1) Life: Bearing a child carries with it an inherent risk of death of grievous bodily harm.\r 2) Liberty: A person cannot be forced to use their body at the service of another; that’s called slavery.\r 3) Security of the Person: A person cannot be forced to endure medical risk, physical pain, and mental suffering; that’s called torture.\r These are INALIENABLE rights, which means they are mine, and cannot be taken from me, even unto the death of another, without my consent. Thus, how is abortion anything other than self defense?
Thank you for all of the work that you make to educate people on this. I’m from Poland, currently pregnant in a very wanted pregnancy, but I know I play a very dangerous game being pregnant now – I do not believe I would receive appropriate care in case there would be a life threatening situation to me that would involve my baby. The change of law that occurred in Poland should not EVER happen anywhere in the civilized world. I keep my fingers crossed that the US will not make the same mistake as we did. Thanks once again, your work matters and is very appreciated! 🙂
I am currently pregnant and while my pregnancy has been healthy, it definitely hasn’t been easy! I would never force this on anyone who didn’t explicitly want it. It is a choice that my partner and I made together to conceive and thank goodness for his support through this process! I cannot imagine doing this potentially alone with maybe another child at home to take care of. Prioritize the people who are actually living/breathing humans! That’s what is actually pro-life.
About adoption, I’m adopted and used to be a literally starving baby in an orphanage that couldn’t afford to feed all the kids. I was lucky to be adopted, but I, an outlier, can’t represent the whole population of orphans, but I will ask a serious question, is life worth living if you can’t afford to be fed/have medicine/be loved by anyone?
Thank you so much for this article! Such a fabulous and thorough discussion, especially outlining the medical ethics of bodily use. I’m not of reproductive age, however spillover consequences effect us all. I pray for everyone who WILL experience tragic consequences from this ruling. It is a tragic ruling that is absent of thorough thought on the legal aspects, very short sighted.
I’ve struggled to explain the full impact of overturning Roe vs. Wade to my LGBTQ+ teenage daughter when she comes to me worried about she is seeing on social media. I will be perusal this with my daughter as soon as possible! Thank you Dr. Jones for a very comprehensive and compassionate explanation of this issue and the ethics involved.
Thank you for this article! We have been divided by ignorance. We have lost our ability to respectfully agree to disagree. All of us are human & far from perfect. I’ve never been faced with deciding about an abortion. I can’t imagine how hard that is for a woman to do. But I believe it is something very personal between her & her doctor. Not something any of us should have a damn opinion about. Life happens to us all. I’ve never met someone who has had a happily, no problem plan go exactly as they dreamed. I hope all of you are doing the best you can. Love & Light to you all. MamaDoctorJones thank you for sharing your knowledge and your light!
10/10 for your closing statements. When I was anti-choice, that was the exact, and only, statement that got through to me. You’re absolutely right that by framing this discussion for what it is, a debate surrounding whether it should be legal to force someone to sacrifice their body to save someone else’s, then no opinion on abortion matters. You can hate abortions, hate people who get abortions, hate people who give abortions, but if you believe that a person legally and medically has autonomy over their own body, then you cannot support laws that prevent people from accessing abortions.
I’m a sexual assault survivor. I was drugged when I was out one night only 18 years old and then taken off against my will and beaten and raped by a grown man. I became pregnant and tried to carry but it was too much on me mentally and physically as I was recovering from anorexia and was having to quit my lexapro I was on for chronic depression cold Turkey to carry the baby. It was hard for my fiancé at that time as well and he struggled to look past the rape. I did succumb to the hard decision nobody should ever have to face. Some women are raped and are comfortable carrying the child and I truly happy for them but then their are those who cannot physically or mentally do it. I’m pro choice for those women.
Although Justice Alito seemed concerned about the low inventory and the scarcity of adoptable babies for rich white Christian infertile couples in his market based draft opinion, the reality is reflected in a documentary I saw recently where black and brown children were actually being offered for “rehoming” at an “adoption fair” as though they were older puppies people had gotten tired of. It was heartbreaking.
Even when I started being pro-choice it wasn’t until I was presented with it from the perspective of bodily autonomy, that you can’t make someone donate their organs even after they are DEAD, that I fully understood. A corpse would have more rights than me if they overturn Roe v Wade and that’s horrifying.
I remember something that Sara Haines had said on The View : “Every abortion begins with the male orgasm,” And it just infuriates me that we as women have to fight so hard for such basic rights and needs. And so many people their only argument is “you’re killing a baby” with total disregard for people who are victims of rape, who are victims of incest, whether or not it’s the mother’s health is in jeopardy, whether the fetuses in jeopardy, they don’t want to hear the nuances of this whole situation. They just have that one talking point that they repeat over and over and over
I have a six-week-old baby. He is very wanted, and the pregnancy was planned. BUT having gone through a traumatic pregnancy that took a huge toll on my health and now taking care of an extremely demanding infant, I can’t even begin to imagine being forced into this situation if I had an unwanted pregnancy. Having a baby is life-altering, it is difficult, it requires enormous sacrifice–and that’s for women who choose to enter into motherhood. It is simply monstrous to force a woman to go through with an unwanted pregnancy and give birth to and raise an unwanted child, and it has the potential to ruin the lives of the mother and child.
Frankly, as a 22yr old young woman, this scares me to my core. I grew up and went through puberty knowing the laws we have now. Growing up in a world with a choice, the threat of having it taken by force, and on top of that knowing that these people who make these decisions could care less what the rest of us need/want so long as they can sleep at night. People we’ve never met, who wouldn’t know us from any other ‘low income civilian’ can now sleep better at night. It’s not something I thought was possible one TECHNICALITY
i just want to share my experience here. when i was 19 i was in a relationship that i recognized was quickly escalating toward violence. about the time i had this realization, i discovered i was pregnant. i was hit with a sensation of 1. having a foreign invader in my body. it felt WRONG, almost dysphoric, and 2. a sense of dread that if i continued this pregnancy and had this child, whether it be a week from then or years from then, eventually this man would kill me. i ended the relationship and had an abortion. 4 years later i was with my soul mate and became pregnant again. pregnancy was horrific, labor nearly killed me, and my lack of resources meant that my post partum depression developed into post partum psychosis. my child and i are lucky to be alive. i would not trade my kid for anything. they are worth it. i have had conflicting advice about another pregnancy. some docs say it will be fine and others advise against it. when my kid was 3 i had a pregnancy scare (despite taking ALL reasonable steps to prevent pregnancy) and even though i wanted another more than anything i knew i could not survive another pregnancy and we couldn’t afford another baby. my child has several medical problems that are expensive and likely hereditary. we can’t afford another kid with even some of these issues. now i’m facing a reality where llawmakers are basically telling me to die or subject my children to poverty b/c they think a fetus should have special rights.
This situation has given me such anxiety that I don’t think I can seek care for my Endometriosis and PCOS in the foreseeable future. Well, it’s partially this situation and partially how violated I felt when I woke up after excision surgery in 2019 to be told that yes, they’d removed my endometriosis, but they hadn’t been able to put in the IUD as we’d agreed upon because after I’d been put under anesthetic, the hospital board interrupted my procedure to force the surgeon to not insert the IUD because it went against their religious beliefs. The surgeon said I need an IUD for quality of life and managing my symptoms (I’d wanted to get a hysterectomy but we compromised with the IUD) and it had been approved by insurance. Yet they waited until I was unconscious, which feels cowardly to me, couldn’t use their religion to my face. It’s risky for me to go under anesthesia. The surgery was supposed to have lasted an hour but lasted over 3 because the surgeon had to waste time arguing with the hospital board. I’m grateful for the surgeon fighting for me but that violation makes me hesitant to pursue further treatment. I’ve been trying to get myself to call to make an appointment for over a year and I get so anxious that I freeze up with dread. This situation just makes it worse.
I’m genuinely scared about these new laws. I live in Oklahoma and they passed this under our nose. My family only found out from a card in the mailbox. I do not want children. I am not fit to be a parent. The fact that if I get pregnant and am not able to do anything about it without jumping boarders to get to a state that will do it scares me and makes me angry. Some people know when they’re not meant to be a parent and the fact that the state is like “well we don’t care you’re having this child” makes me so angry.
I used to be pro-life but your article has made me rethink things. I now consider myself pro-choice, anti-abortion. And before anyone freaks out, it means I don’t want government banning abortions. It should be between the woman and her doctor. By anti-abortion I mean I want the government to do things that will actually lower the rates of abortion like expanded Medicaid for pregnant women, paid paternal leave, better education, better access to contraceptives (because let’s be real, condoms won’t cut it and they are what are accessible), improving adoption agencies and foster care, and improving the economy. All of these would lower abortion rates but not endanger the lives of women or the unborn babies pro-life (and myself) are wanting to protect so bad. Your article was very educating and had no insulting language which was very helpful for me. Also thank you for not saying a fetus isn’t a life or something which is what I will sometimes see from pro-choicers on the internet. As someone who has had a couple miscarriages, it very much was a loss of life to me. But the lives of the mothers are important too. I’d say even more important because the baby depends on them.