Thank you, Jessica, for all that you do to support the pro-abortion community. Your work is invaluable to us. I have two thoughts with regard to this current newsletter:
1) Coercion - I think it is a lot more common for women, and especially girls, to be coerced into staying pregnant and having a baby, than it is for them to be coerced into an abortion. It would be great to study this and have some data that proves it. The case you address is specifically about a mother being accused of coercing her teenage daughter into having an abortion. There's never any mention of all the parents who coerce their teenage daughters into staying pregnant and having a baby against their will. The right focuses on "parental rights" with regard to being informed that their daughter is pregnant and being fully within their rights to prevent an abortion. We should be shouting from the rooftop that parental rights also means that parents have the right to decide that their daughter is not emotionally mature enough to have a child and that she should have an abortion. Legally, parental rights cannot only apply to parents who make one decision for their child and not protect their rights to make a different decision. (Personally, I do not support coercion in either case, but as a legal argument against these charges, I think it has some merit).
2) ER visits of women who have taken medication to cause an abortion - There are thousands upon thousands of people across the country who show up at hospitals feeling like they are having a heart attack, but they are actually having a panic attack. I have to assume that when a hospital collects data regarding how many heart-related patients they have treated, they do not include panic attack patients who have no diagnosed heart related problem. The panic attack patients go into another grouping, such as, mental health problems. Similarly, when a woman presents to the ER because of fear regarding how much she is bleeding after taking abortion medication, this does not mean she is having a complication from the medication. Her level of bleeding may be normal and expected but caused enough fear in the patient to go to the ER to have the situation checked out. As you report, many or most of these patients are not "treated" at the ER, presumably because they were not in medical distress. If Texas and other states are going to inaccurately include these patients on a list of complications caused by the medication, we have to get data to prove this, and we have to engage in a PR campaign getting this misinformation our there for all to hear.
I’m sorry for any pain that you went through but I do not consider it coercion just because you had several people with strong opinions influencing your decision. You may have been frightened by their doomsday opinions but you still had the freedom to make your own decision. Being influenced and being coerced are different.
Yet again the anti-choice movement politicizes and doublespeaks what is a fundamental part of the human experience -- abortion and pregnancy termination-- along with its various complexities and complications. As a rabidly pro-abortion human who has been coerced into abortion, I'm completely disgusted to see policymakers and pundits perverse an actual concern for the purpose of arresting mothers protecting their children's reproductive rights. People are far more often coerced into giving birth by their parents, partners, religion and now states. If I had even a penny for how many coerced abortions occur at the hands of abusive partners, I'd be retired by now.
They sky is blue and the day is beautiful. Big fist bumps for New York, way to punch the fascists.
"As a rabidly pro-abortion human who has been coerced into abortion ..." Could you briefly explain the circumstances into which you were coerced into an abortion?
Yes, with the caveat that I'm responding in good faith. I was coerced by three people. My boyfriend, who convinced me to come home from abroad and terminate my pregnancy instead of staying abroad and becoming an intentional single parent. He did this by gaslighting me about my previous childfree and-- as I would realize over time-- antinatalist position, by continuously insinuating that I was a liar at worst or at best morally ambivalent about the issue which made me an unfit parent, and by repeatedly reminding me that he had no money-- I had no intention of him contributing in any way-- and that both his mother and sister, his only family members, were completely unsupportive and felt I was a "gold digger". These were thinly veiled threats to smear me should I continue the pregnancy.
The second person was and is a close friend who was a maternal figure at the time and whose position was that my mental health issues-- unresolved trauma-- and lack of financial resources made me unfit to be a parent and that in choosing to do so there was an unspoken assumption that I would be judged harshly if not rejected. And the third person was a roommate who had a romantic interest in my partner and took for granted that I wouldn't continue the pregnancy because of my aforementioned political stance before becoming pregnant.
In other words, with both these friendships there was a real threat of losing them.
As an aside, the boyfriend became a husband then ex-husband who would smear me for leaving him years later. The roommate didn't stay friendly for long and though I still maintain a close connection with my close friend it is a conversation that I've been hard pressed to gain any traction with.
But I have greatly benefitted since then from safe, accessible abortion procedures in situations that were not coerced and that in one case were life threatening (ectopic pregnancy initially thought to be molar) and I've helped many others do the same.
I've also, after many years of research, discussion and introspection, arrived at my pro-abortion stance by recognizing the natalist/antinatalist binary and seeing it for what it is-- a masturbatory dialectic between elites, policymakers, religious authorities and all other misogynists about whether women and those who suffer misogyny by proxy have a right to body autonomy.
All this to say, I wrote an essay about true choice and what the conversation about abortion has to gain from body autonomists, community and Feminists working outside mainstream politics.
I have a 10 minute podcast summarizing the essay on my own Substack.
I am also suggesting to my blue State politicians not only that they call for Impeaching and Imprisoning Trump, and Deporting Musk in their current coup, but that they organize a boycott of Red State products, so that Red State Citizens pressure their leaders to take on Trump. A recall vote would be in order for those states.
People should be marching too. A South African native has taken over important parts of the US government illegally.
One has to act right away, or like in Nazi Germany, the fascists will get too comfortable, and so will we with their illegal take over of our government which the Republican dominated Congress and Supreme Court are letting them do.
The exact same legal argument Paxton is using against medication abortion can be put forth against the harm and death coming to women through their abortion bans. Where are those cases?
Proud to be a native new yorker today and every day. even if I have to live in idaho and watch this dumpsterfire of a state criminalize women for their mere existence.
Worth it for the photo of Hochul's press conference alone: Women! Making decisions about their reproductive health! In public! (instead of a room full of men presuming to make decisions for all of us).
Thank you, Jessica, for all that you do to support the pro-abortion community. Your work is invaluable to us. I have two thoughts with regard to this current newsletter:
1) Coercion - I think it is a lot more common for women, and especially girls, to be coerced into staying pregnant and having a baby, than it is for them to be coerced into an abortion. It would be great to study this and have some data that proves it. The case you address is specifically about a mother being accused of coercing her teenage daughter into having an abortion. There's never any mention of all the parents who coerce their teenage daughters into staying pregnant and having a baby against their will. The right focuses on "parental rights" with regard to being informed that their daughter is pregnant and being fully within their rights to prevent an abortion. We should be shouting from the rooftop that parental rights also means that parents have the right to decide that their daughter is not emotionally mature enough to have a child and that she should have an abortion. Legally, parental rights cannot only apply to parents who make one decision for their child and not protect their rights to make a different decision. (Personally, I do not support coercion in either case, but as a legal argument against these charges, I think it has some merit).
2) ER visits of women who have taken medication to cause an abortion - There are thousands upon thousands of people across the country who show up at hospitals feeling like they are having a heart attack, but they are actually having a panic attack. I have to assume that when a hospital collects data regarding how many heart-related patients they have treated, they do not include panic attack patients who have no diagnosed heart related problem. The panic attack patients go into another grouping, such as, mental health problems. Similarly, when a woman presents to the ER because of fear regarding how much she is bleeding after taking abortion medication, this does not mean she is having a complication from the medication. Her level of bleeding may be normal and expected but caused enough fear in the patient to go to the ER to have the situation checked out. As you report, many or most of these patients are not "treated" at the ER, presumably because they were not in medical distress. If Texas and other states are going to inaccurately include these patients on a list of complications caused by the medication, we have to get data to prove this, and we have to engage in a PR campaign getting this misinformation our there for all to hear.
I’m sorry for any pain that you went through but I do not consider it coercion just because you had several people with strong opinions influencing your decision. You may have been frightened by their doomsday opinions but you still had the freedom to make your own decision. Being influenced and being coerced are different.
but I thought the right was big on 'parental rights'??? (I'm kidding, I know these assholes will say absolutely anything to oppress and demean women)
Yet again the anti-choice movement politicizes and doublespeaks what is a fundamental part of the human experience -- abortion and pregnancy termination-- along with its various complexities and complications. As a rabidly pro-abortion human who has been coerced into abortion, I'm completely disgusted to see policymakers and pundits perverse an actual concern for the purpose of arresting mothers protecting their children's reproductive rights. People are far more often coerced into giving birth by their parents, partners, religion and now states. If I had even a penny for how many coerced abortions occur at the hands of abusive partners, I'd be retired by now.
They sky is blue and the day is beautiful. Big fist bumps for New York, way to punch the fascists.
"As a rabidly pro-abortion human who has been coerced into abortion ..." Could you briefly explain the circumstances into which you were coerced into an abortion?
Yes, with the caveat that I'm responding in good faith. I was coerced by three people. My boyfriend, who convinced me to come home from abroad and terminate my pregnancy instead of staying abroad and becoming an intentional single parent. He did this by gaslighting me about my previous childfree and-- as I would realize over time-- antinatalist position, by continuously insinuating that I was a liar at worst or at best morally ambivalent about the issue which made me an unfit parent, and by repeatedly reminding me that he had no money-- I had no intention of him contributing in any way-- and that both his mother and sister, his only family members, were completely unsupportive and felt I was a "gold digger". These were thinly veiled threats to smear me should I continue the pregnancy.
The second person was and is a close friend who was a maternal figure at the time and whose position was that my mental health issues-- unresolved trauma-- and lack of financial resources made me unfit to be a parent and that in choosing to do so there was an unspoken assumption that I would be judged harshly if not rejected. And the third person was a roommate who had a romantic interest in my partner and took for granted that I wouldn't continue the pregnancy because of my aforementioned political stance before becoming pregnant.
In other words, with both these friendships there was a real threat of losing them.
As an aside, the boyfriend became a husband then ex-husband who would smear me for leaving him years later. The roommate didn't stay friendly for long and though I still maintain a close connection with my close friend it is a conversation that I've been hard pressed to gain any traction with.
But I have greatly benefitted since then from safe, accessible abortion procedures in situations that were not coerced and that in one case were life threatening (ectopic pregnancy initially thought to be molar) and I've helped many others do the same.
I've also, after many years of research, discussion and introspection, arrived at my pro-abortion stance by recognizing the natalist/antinatalist binary and seeing it for what it is-- a masturbatory dialectic between elites, policymakers, religious authorities and all other misogynists about whether women and those who suffer misogyny by proxy have a right to body autonomy.
All this to say, I wrote an essay about true choice and what the conversation about abortion has to gain from body autonomists, community and Feminists working outside mainstream politics.
I have a 10 minute podcast summarizing the essay on my own Substack.
So much for brief. Was this useful?
I am also suggesting to my blue State politicians not only that they call for Impeaching and Imprisoning Trump, and Deporting Musk in their current coup, but that they organize a boycott of Red State products, so that Red State Citizens pressure their leaders to take on Trump. A recall vote would be in order for those states.
People should be marching too. A South African native has taken over important parts of the US government illegally.
https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/demonstrating-in-the-face-of-fascism?r=f0qfn
One has to act right away, or like in Nazi Germany, the fascists will get too comfortable, and so will we with their illegal take over of our government which the Republican dominated Congress and Supreme Court are letting them do.
My governor ❤️
Can my local League of Women Voters post your list of resources on our website?
The exact same legal argument Paxton is using against medication abortion can be put forth against the harm and death coming to women through their abortion bans. Where are those cases?
Excellent point.
Proud to be a native new yorker today and every day. even if I have to live in idaho and watch this dumpsterfire of a state criminalize women for their mere existence.
Worth it for the photo of Hochul's press conference alone: Women! Making decisions about their reproductive health! In public! (instead of a room full of men presuming to make decisions for all of us).
Donald Trump's and Elon Musk's worst nightmare- women exercising their right ro make their own decisions.