Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The Safe Abortion Project

The other day, Steph Herold (founder of IAmDrTiller.com) released the Safe Abortion Project, a response to the recent Kermit Gosnell case. The message is clear: women deserve better than Gosnell and there are not nearly as many Gosnells in abortion care as antis would like you to think.

Women went to Gosnell's clinic for a reason. Some went to him because he was less expensive. Others went to him because it allowed them to dodge restrictive abortion laws. Some simply did not know about the awful conditions at the clinic. One of the clinic workers in the video makes a great point; had this been any other kind of medical facility, people would know not to go there. Why? Because with (almost) any other type of surgery or treatment, people will freely speak about their experiences. If a person has a bad experience at a clinic, they will tell people. They will go to their friends, their family, and even the internet to get the message out that you should not go to this clinic. This is not true for abortion. Women are shamed into silence. Women do not feel welcome to tell their friends, family, and the internet about their positive or negative abortion experiences if they please. Abortion is one of the most common medical procedures, yet no one speaks of it.


I implore Herold and the other people who are working on this project. Not only will this project raise awareness that most providers are not like Gosnell, but it will also help women find safe clinics to receive abortion care so they do not end up in the same position that Gosnell's patients were. The six principles of the Safe Abortion Project really say it all:

1. Historically, women will do whatever it takes to end a pregnancy they feel they cannot carry to term, including risk their lives.
2. If full insurance coverage for abortion were available, poor women and girls would not have to settle for the least expensive medical care.
3. Until abortion services in the United States are fully accessible to poor women, women will be vulnerable to those who seek to exploit their poverty with unsafe practices.
4. In a nation where more than 1 in 3 women will have an abortion at some point in her life, the culture of silent shame that surrounds the decision to end a pregnancy allows those who would provide poor quality and sometimes dangerous care to thrive.
5. Until abortion services are affordable and accessible to all women who need care, women will continue to be vulnerable to exploitation and harm by those who offer substandard, dangerous care.
6. Strict laws limiting women and girls’ safe access to abortion care does nothing to protect women.


Thank you so much, Steph, for doing this!

4 comments:

  1. PCG, I just want you to know that I think of and pray for you often. I hope all in your life are treating you with the love and kindness you deserve. God Bless.
    Praxedes

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow. This sounds like a great initiative. Whenever a friend of mine has told me she's had an abortion, it's always been in hushed tones, like it's a shameful secret, like she's the only woman who's ever gone through this experience. And as loudly pro-choice as I am, I can't guarantee that I wouldn't feel the same way if I needed an a abortion.

    We need to do something to end the stigma surrounding this very common procedure! Is there some way to help out the Safe Abortion Project, or at least to donate?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey Suze. Thanks for the comment :)

    Thank you so much for offering to help! If you could get in touch with Steph to talk about donating/helping that would be great. Her email is info@iamdrtiller.com . This project can't run itself, so it's really generous of you to offer to help :)



    Much love,
    ProChoiceGal

    ReplyDelete

***PLEASE READ***

Due to constant spam and derailing coming from a few antis, I am now making this blog a "safe place". This does not mean that I won't allow opposing views. It means that I'm not longer going to allow hateful or unrelated/spammy comments. This will continue on until the anti-choice spammers get bored with harassing me and the people who post here, and is especially relevant when it comes to the topic of rape. I hope this doesn't deter any respectful people from commenting. :)