January 29, 2006
Then is now.
Via Feministe, a blast from the present, abortion in the USA circa 2006: Our Word. Perhaps the most poignant bit:
… Only Saturday I took a call from a young woman who has been pregnant for 16 weeks, one week too many for a woman who wants to have an abortion in a Texas clinic. I explained that restriction, and offered her the only help I could: referrals to three ambulatory surgical centers in a state the size of France. She asked, "How much will it cost, about $700?" I told her that the cost in any of the ASCs to which I could refer her would be about twice that much. And then she very softly said, "Thank you, but if it's that much, don't even give me the numbers. I'm going to get rid of this no matter what I have to do, but at least when I do it myself it's gonna be free." She didn't sound upset or angry, only quietly and absolutely determined. Then she said goodbye. And then, with my face in my hands, I cried.
That young woman will likely appear in an emergency room somewhere in the Dallas area sometime within the next few days. If she's lucky, she'll survive with no long-term harm. This is no thanks to the so-called "pro-life" people, who are only "pro-life" when the individual hasn't been born yet; after you're born, they'll happily condemn you to a lingering, miserable death.
In much of the United States, abortion is already inaccessible. The days of the illegal, botched abortion are here. We don't have to wait for Alito to vote to overturn Roe v Wade, the Culture of Death has already put abortion out of reach of those who most need it in large parts of the country.
Soon, this will once more be a common occurrence:
That was Gerri Santoro. She died in 1964, when she was 28. She was a mother of two and she bled to death from a botched abortion attempt. Read her story here.
The so-called "right-to-life" people want more Gerri Santoros. And they'll get them.
Posted by Frank at January 29, 2006 9:21 PM