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"Before
abortion was legal, a friend of mine had German measles at
a very sensitive time in her pregnancy. A physician took a chance at losing his license in order to
abort a baby who was severely deformed. It was frightening
back then. I had a pregnancy scare before abortion was legal.
Thank goodness, it was a false alarm. It would have ruined
my life. Many women I knew had unwanted children. Marriages
and children suffered. Abortion services (illegal and therefore
unregulated) killed or maimed women every day. If we don't
have the rights over our own bodies, what does that say about
us as independent women?" (Hockessin, age 70) |
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"Personally,
I don't know if I could have an abortion. Still,
with ignorance about contraception, contraceptive failure,
and rape and incest, I think abortion must remain legal. The
right to choose means women don't have to be 'barefoot and
pregnant,' i.e. we can control our own destinies."
(Philadelphia,
age 36) |
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"A
woman's right to choose means that mistakes and/or accidents
have a way of being fixed, if the woman chooses so. Having
a choice helped me continue developing a relationship with
my boyfriend instead of jumping into being parents without
knowing everything about each other. It also means that I
can further my education without extra responsibilities.
"Unfortunately,
the first time my boyfriend and I made love, the condom slipped
off inside of me. I was two months from getting my BS from
Penn State. If abortion wasn't legal, I wouldn't be planning
to go to graduate school. My boyfriend and I would not have
gotten the chance to get to know each other better. Also,
my parents would've been completely disappointed.
"My
grandmother had an abortion. I don't know all of the details,
but I think she took the hanger and water bottle method.
"If
abortion wasn't legal, I would feel as if the government had
control over issues that should only concern myself and my
partner." (Claymont, age 23) |
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"Men
and women must have the right to determine when they will
have children - how many, based on their ability to care financially and
emotionally for those children. Planned pregnancy is the ideal
but as we do live in a less than ideal world, continuing a
pregnancy is not always the best option for all involved.
During
a rough spot in my marriage I became pregnant (by my husband).
WE agonized over what to do. Though I chose to continue the
pregnancy, it was comforting to have the choice." (Age
46, Selbyville) |
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"I
never had a pregnancy scare before abortion was legal, but
have had enough friends who went through it to have a sense
of how frightening it would be. I
had one friend whose family was wealthy. They took her to
an Asian country to have an abortion. I have another friend
who was pregnant in my dorm. We all chipped in money. I gave
her most of the money my grandmother had sent me to buy a
new coat. She met a man in Philadelphia on a street corner.
He was wearing a carnation. She had the abortion and then
started hemorrhaging. She could have died if they hadn't gotten
her to a hospital.
"In
those days, people 'had to get married.' I knew a number of
women who got married because they were pregnant. Some were
just teenagers. There was an assumption you would get married.
Single parenthood was not the norm at least in my community.
When birth control pills first came out, it was like a miracle
cure. " (Hockessin, age 53)
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"I
was very lucky to have grown up in the wake of Roe v. Wade. Though
I have never had a pregnancy scare myself, I have always felt
a little more secure (even during the worst of my teenage
years) knowing that if I were faced with an unwanted pregnancy,
it would be my DECISION whether or not to continue it, and
not a fate that had already been decided by others. The right
to choose is symbolic of the freedom and rights for which
our country was founded - the ultimate right being to govern
one's own body." (Wilmington, age 28) |
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"I
have been in a pregnancy scare. Abortion
was discussed, as were all other options (adoption, sharing
custody, marriage, living together to raise a baby). If abortion
had not been a legal alternative, perhaps the decision would
be more difficult because I would have to bring a life into
the world at a time when neither myself nor the father was
prepared.
The right to choose is high in my belief system. I think it
is a private issue between a woman, her body, and her conscience.
I strongly believe that politicians do not have a voice in the decision."
(Wilmington, age 31) |
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Behind
every choice is a story...
"The
right to choose means a great deal to me -- I have exercised
that choice once. It was not a positive choice, but rather the lesser of two
evils, given where I was in my life. If abortion were not
legal, I would have had the child, and I don't think anyone
-- me, child, or the father -- would have benefited from it.
I have other children now, and know what a huge strain they
are. In anything but a very settled life, a child creates
almost unbearable strain. If abortion were illegal I would
have been too afraid to seek out illegal operations. I would
hate for my daughters or nieces not to have the alternative
to have time to grow up themselves if they make a thoughtless
mistake, or if they were raped." (Wilmington, age 43) |
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Tell
us your story...
This
is an anonymous email form - your information will
not be revealed. Contact information at the end of
the questionnaire is completely optional.
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"Before
Roe v. Wade, a friend who was married but did not want and
should not have had a child for some emotional problems she had at the time had to go
through an examination by a panel of doctors before she got
permission for the abortion. I remember her telling me how
difficult it was. And she was an intelligent, married woman
with the support of her husband. I also remember a young woman,
maybe 15 or 16, who was taken to some private facility in
Philadelphia for an abortion. No one knew where she had gone,
but she came back looking terrible and it was only many years
later that we heard what had really taken place. She was lucky-
her father was a doctor and knew the right places to go.
"If
abortion were not a legal option, I would feel that we have
taken a giant step backward and that the cause of women's
rights has been negated and diminished. If abortion were illegal,
there would be the obvious consequences- more unwanted children,
more back alley and more botched abortions, more young women
whose education would be halted, more women trapped in lives
that do not allow them to achieve and grow etc.!" (Wilmington,
age 72) |
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