Legal and Safe: Too Much to Ask?

I have drafted this blog in my head a few times since we started our FBF community, and always stop myself. The reason that I pause is based on fear. Fear of sharing what I really think about an ugly topic. Fear of losing people in my life when they know how strongly I feel about this. Fear of far-right folks and being on their target list. But that already happened during the Centerville School Board campaign, so all good.

I am tired of being afraid, and I am more afraid now of the state of politics in our country and the ramifications in my own state.

Abortion.

Would anyway say they love it?

I mean – how could they?

But abortion is a fact of our lives, and it needs to stay legal and safe.

Is that too much to ask?

Here are the simple truths about abortion.

There are many life situations that necessitate access to legal and safe abortions.

Incest.

Rape.

Significant risk to either mom or fetus if brought to full term.

Teens – children really – not at all ready to be a mom.

Did you know that 59% of women seeking abortions are already mothers?

For millions of people, having an abortion is the best, most responsible reproductive decision they can make.

Each one of you – whether you know it or not – have someone in your life that you love who has been inside an abortion clinic. Maybe for themselves or maybe as a support person.

How can anyone deny that experience be anything but legal and safe?

There were a lot of things that happened when I accompanied a dear college friend to the abortion clinic in Kettering in 1999.

Walking through a group of hateful and judgmental protestors, trying to shield her from their wrath.

FBF friends – that is never what God intended for Christianity to look like in real life.

Of that, I am certain.

Having the nursing staff explain to her just what would happen – the details and what to expect. She was there because she had accidentally become pregnant while taking a prescription that is basically toxic to a fetus. There was no chance that the baby would develop normally and there would be serious and fatal birth defects. Her boyfriend wasn’t interested in helping her past giving her some cash.

So there we were – two young twenty somethings, nowhere near equipped in any way to handle the situation.

But it happened, and she was sent home. I helped her get situated and then did the supply run for boxes of maxi pads, Advil, a new heating pad, and comfort food.

I tried to be what she needed during the weeks afterward, but I really had no idea what to do or how to support. Because we have made this such a taboo topic, we don’t even remotely do right by women that have to endure this experience.

My point in sharing this is to paint a picture of what women in YOUR life have undoubtedly experienced – and you might not even know it.

Yes – pregnancy should be an informed decision with heathy and happy people involved. Being a mom is the best part of my life, but I planned the arrival of each child and was lucky enough to have the capacity and resources to – by and large – handle it well.

But it is a fact of life – has been from the beginning of time – that not every child is planned.

Those who want to make abortion illegal and unsafe are ignoring a few facts about life, including sex, the outcomes, and that the woman who ends up pregnant bears all the burden of figuring out the next steps.

For anyone pro-life, what solutions are you bringing to the table? Do you know what it feels like to be scared, alone, and without support? Feeling judged and ostracized? Do you really think we have a great plan for single moms with our social support system? Or options with foster care?

I will never understand why we want to go back in time to women trying to abort themselves with wire hangers behind locked doors.

We all knew this would happen with the bias currently on the Supreme Court, even though they all said what they needed to get their seats.

We can’t go back in time, but we are going to have to organize, be smart, not rely on either political party, and fight for this fundamental right for females in our country. And then our state.

The mantra is simple.

Legal and Safe.

Legal and Safe.

Legal and Safe.

Is this too much to ask?