Happy Mother's Day and Maternal Mental Health Week from the wrong side of history!
Ever since the Supreme Court document leak, I have been so heart-racingly angry. All of this is a giant middle finger to women in this country, during a time when we're supposed to be honoring women who are mothers. Your true colors are clearly showing, and every single Mother's Day honor just feels so disingenuous.
In the wake of this abortion bill in Louisiana, created by a MAN, advancing, I am even more angry. The article mentions, "Some fear this could lead to charges against women for homicide or battery in cases of miscarriage or infertility treatments like in vitro fertilization." PLEASE tell me how miscarriage could be considered illegal. It's illegal that our bodies don't work as they should? Tell me how I should be arrested for having two failed pregnancies?
I am a survivor of two miscarriages. I'm lucky that those miscarriages didn't endanger my life. Because if one of my pregnancies would have threatened my life, I would have chosen to save my own life any day.
I'll never forget my miscarriage experiences. When, during my first one, I was at the pharmacy filling a prescription in preparation for my D&C, and the male pharmacist came over the drive-thru intercom to gruffly ask, "Are you pregnant???" and I didn't even know what to say except for, "I'm about to not be?" When, during my second one, I passed out in the bathroom while my child slept in the room next door, and it took weeks for it to pass fully.
I'm lucky that after those miscarriages, I had two healthy girls, whom I love more than anything.
I ALSO know that I am 1,000% done with having children. I'm not getting any younger, life isn't getting any cheaper, my job is demanding, and my mental health could not handle any more on my plate. The thought of a surprise third child gives me so much anxiety.
I'm lucky that I have a great family, a stable home, a great job, insurance and a wonderful OBGYN. Not everyone has that support.
I'm thankful for birth control so I can actually live the life I want. Not everyone has the access or insurance coverage for that.
To have any of those rights taken away is a complete slap in the face.
If you're pro-life, are you only pro-fetus/pro-fertilized egg, or are you pro-women's-lives too?
And in case it's not clear to you - taking away access to abortion, yet
ALSO taking away access to birth control is completely ass backwards.
You can't take away methods to prevent pregnancy but still force women
to be pregnant and give birth. Don't also get me started on maternity leave in the United States.
What I can't fathom is telling another woman, "Sorry, I don't care about
you or your situation, you can't protect yourself from getting pregnant, you have to keep this pregnancy and you can't do
anything about it."
In case you didn't realize, life is expensive. In case you didn't realize, pregnancy is hard - physically, emotionally, mentally and financially. In case you didn't realize, the postpartum period is extremely difficult. In case you didn't realize, children are expensive.
And you know what else? Birth control can still fail.
I would never force someone to go through one of the most difficult things in life if it's not something she can handle. Why do you feel the need to force that on a woman, who for MANY reasons, may not want to be pregnant or give birth?
If you haven't experienced it yourself, sit down and go ask someone who HAS been through it.
My last pregnancy was the hardest one on me physically and mentally. I'm grateful that everything turned out healthy, but you know what sucks? Having a chronic yeast infection for the majority of a pregnancy. I didn't know that was a thing, but oh, I learned it alright.
Women terminating pregnancies come in all shapes, sizes, colors and backgrounds. Please get the singular stereotype out of your head and realize that there are so many more situations where a termination comes into play.
If you are a woman who disagrees with abortion at all costs, you are extremely lucky that you have never been in a situation where it could have been your best option. And I sincerely pray that you or your daughter or granddaughter is never in that situation.
There are many different scenarios where a pregnancy, like an ectopic one, can be life-threatening to a woman. It's mindblowing to me that women would have no options while faced with that scenario.
What's pro-life about telling a woman that she can't do anything about a condition that could kill her?
I'm a married woman, in my mid-30s, with two amazing children, a job that I love, and a salary that my family depends on. It should be my choice AND MY RIGHT whether or not I want to have a pregnancy.
Just like everyone screaming that mask mandates violated their rights - that was a piece of cloth on your face at the grocery store. If you couldn't stand the thought of being required to wear a mask for an hour, how can you stand the thought of forcing a woman to carry a pregnancy and give birth? It's a little more inconvenient and detrimental to your health than a mask.
And when it comes to my reproductive health, there are two people that get an input - my husband, and my gynecologist. Not the government.
If Roe v Wade is overturned, we do know that it won't be the only change. I am scared for what could fall next.
I'm very scared for the future of my daughters, who may get zero control over their bodies and how they want to live their lives as they grow up.
"You can be anything you want to be" ... except in control of your own body.
