I had not paid that much attention to the gift certificates that some Planned Parenthoods in the Midwest made available this holiday season. There was such a furor over them, so many silly accusations ("they can only be used for abortions!"), so much angry anti-abortion chatter. I tuned out the news stories about them. Today, though, when I met with Rachel, it struck me what a practical and responsible thing they might actually be.
In her last year in college, Rachel was working two part time jobs to make ends meet. Applying to graduate school had eaten up a good chunk of her usual monthly budget--traveling for an in-person interview, a $40 application fee to this school, a $50 one to that one. Soon she needed to pay this month's credit card and next month's rent. She looked for somewhere to cut back. One of the expenses she cut out were her pills. "They're almost $60 a month. I just figured that I'd skip a few weeks until I had more money and it would probably be okay. I could start back up with my next paycheck." She and her boyfriend used either condoms and withdrawal through the first weeks of the month. She started her pills about two and a half weeks later, starting halfway through the pack. "I assumed that because I had been on them for so long, it would just be okay and that I couldn't possibly get pregnant so soon after stopping them."
When her period didn't come, she knew immediately that something was wrong. She and her boyfriend were certain that they did not want to start a family yet. They were each preparing to graduate college and move to separate states.
What if Rachel had a gift certificate or a pharmacy gift-card tucked away in the back of her wallet exactly for an unexpected birth control budget-crunch? A friend of mine's parents had always stuck condoms in his stocking when he was a teen--a teasing reminder to be prepared and responsible in his sexuality. A gift certificate that could be used to get an extra month of pills when your bank account runs dry is a really responsible gift, the more I think about it.
-Nell
If Rachel would have considered abortion, where exactly can you find some help to fund your abortion?
Posted by: Meg | Monday, February 23, 2009 at 09:04 AM
it seems that another issue here is that rachel felt the only way satisfy the healthy need for sexual intimacy with her partner was by vaginal intercourse. there are plenty of other ways to be sexual that don't result in an unplanned pregnancy, and we would all do well as a society to de-stigmatize them. promoting sexual health and well-being is, i would offer, a way of promoting a culture of life.
Posted by: h. | Sunday, January 25, 2009 at 08:43 AM
It does seem that the right choice for her was to have an abortion. How do you come to think that you are a better judge than Rachel about Rachels choices?
Besides, you are confusing issues here. Rachel should have just contraceptives if she didn't want to get pregnant, on that no one disagrees, my guess is that Rachel thinks this to.
The fact is though, that once she is pregnant, that issue becomes moot.
So now she had some choices, and she chose an abortion. She did something to take responsibility for her situation. That you disagree with her choice does not change the fact that she did take responsibility for her situation.
Posted by: Soren | Tuesday, January 13, 2009 at 11:35 PM
It's likely that she listened to her doctor when she said that birth control takes some time to work its way out of the body.
Pandora, you are saying quite a lot of hateful things. Do you have anything to add that doesn't sound like an anti-abortion broken record?
Posted by: Diatryma | Tuesday, January 13, 2009 at 07:57 AM
No, the right choice would have been to abstain until she could pay for her contraception. It would also be responsible to forego graduate school, as if she hasn't learned by now that birth control pills don't work if you don't take them why waste a graduate degree on such a twit?
Ditto for her dullard boyfriend.
Posted by: Pandora | Monday, January 12, 2009 at 06:24 PM
Seems to me Rachel accepted the responsibility? She made the right choice for her.
Posted by: Soren | Saturday, January 10, 2009 at 04:43 AM
Actually Bristol Palin accepted more responsibility than many. She chose to give birth. I suspect Rachel and her boyfriend will next be looking for gift certificates to pay for her to terminate her pregnancy.
Posted by: Pandora | Friday, January 09, 2009 at 05:45 PM
Because all your panty-sniffing moralizing has done such a great job of "teaching responsibility." Just ask Bristol Palin!
Posted by: BJ Survivor | Friday, January 09, 2009 at 03:26 AM
What if Rachel and her boyfriend practiced abstinence for a month? That would have been responsible, the more I think about iit.
Last I heard, it won't kill anyone.
Posted by: Pandora | Tuesday, January 06, 2009 at 07:40 AM