abortionclinicdays

Couldn't have said it better myself

I had a great interaction with Mindy today. At 16, I expected that she might be a challenging client to work with. Her chart indicated that she was in special needs classes for a learning disability and she noted that she was unsure about her decision to have an abortion. Maybe I was less worried about Mindy than I was about how her very stern-looking father and his nervous looking girlfriend would react to the outcome of our session. They already looked uncomfortable and ready for the day to be done. One of our intake questions is "whose decision is it for you to have an abortion?" Dad's was written in bubbly teenage script.

Mindy was wrapped up in a printed hoodie, fiddling with an ipod. I started our session by asking her what had brought her to the clinic today, considering that she was still pretty unsure of what she wanted to do.

"What brought me? My father brought me," she answered, with a tone that suggested I was a little bit dim.

"Okay," I said, trying to suppress a smile, "fair enough. Tell me a little bit about what's going on right now and why dad brought you down here."

"I made the appointment myself, because I wasn't sure what to do. My mom knows that, but my dad made me come today. He swapped weekends with my mom--I think so that he could be sure that I came down here. I told him the whole way down here that I wasn't sure and that you guys wouldn't see me like that."

"That's right."

"Here's what I think," she continued intently, "I think that this is a really big decision, you know?" I nodded in agreement. "I know it would be hard, and I know that I have a lot of problems in school, but I think I could have an abortion or I could have a baby and I'd be okay. But I'm just not sure what's right for ME yet. This is my decision. Nobody else has to live with it. The guy is no help, he was a MISTAKE. And I need to talk to my mom and my therapist and my sister and the important people in my life. You seem really nice, but they're the ones I should be talking to about this. They're the ones who are going to be there and they should be here today. Dad just woke me outta bed and said 'come on, it's time for your doctor's appointment.' That's not how this is supposed to happen."

"Mindy, I think you're absolutely right--that's probably the same advice I would have given." She beamed, glad to be taken seriously. We went on to talk about the research she was doing, reading stories on-line about abortion and parenting and watching lots of "16 and Pregnant." She had watched the adoption episode together with her mom. I gave her a copy of The Pregnancy Options Workbook and Mom, Dad, I'm Pregnant.

I also gave her some pamphlets for her dad to read over. I asked if she was safe going home with dad and if he would be angry that she wasn't seen today. "Oh, he's all bark, no bite, would never do anything" she said, "I know how to stand up to him. I'm going back to mom's house anyway." We made a plan for her to call in a few days to check in. I don't know if Mindy will come back or not, but I love that whatever decision she makes, she's committed to making it on her own terms. I wish that all our girls (and women for that matter) could have that presence of self. 

Two lesser heard perspectives on picketing...

I was really struck by two blogs that I read recently, the first by a husband supporting his wife through their abortion for a genetic abnormality and the second by the daughter of a anti-abortion picketer. Each gives a powerful 'from the sidewalk' perspective. As providers, we've known for years that the presence of picketers had little-to-no effect on the decisions women make when walking in the door. At our clinic, whether we have a very heavy picketing day or one completely absent of picketing, we always have a "show rate" of about 75% What this tells us is that IT AIN'T THE PICKETERS that are influencing our patients' decisions. A stormy day, in fact, probably has more of an impact on who actually makes it to the office.

What can change with a heavy picketing day is the mood inside the clinic. Most patients question the picketers mental health. Some are deeply hurt by the judgments of the picketers, others are furious. Partners often jump into a fiercely protective role. Needless to say, we often have to do a lot more comforting of patients and partners on heavy picketing days. Below are the two blogs:

The story of The Daddy Files starts here and it's really worth reading straight through, but if you want to get right to the picketing part, read here and here. 

The second blog post that caught my eye was entitled The Daughter of an Abortion Protester.

A Welcome Trend

For many years, abortion providers have been appalled at the treatment of imprisoned pregnant women.  Our efforts to have dignity restored to those women while in hospital giving birth have begun to see results.  Today PA agreed that it was both unnecessary and dangerous to have women shackled during labor and delivery, being the tenth state to do so.  Those of you who have gone through delivery yourselves can only imagine how much more painful it must be with your arms and legs in chains.

Abortion clinics, being pro-choice, have long championed a woman's right to choose whether to continue a pregnancy or not.  Incarcerated women are guaranteed that right too, but often receiving adequate prenatal care is difficult.  Getting an abortion can be even more so, with some states refusing to provide transportation for medical appointments as required by law, or delaying the permission until it's too late for her to have an abortion, only to have her child taken from her at the moment of birth.

We will continue our efforts in the remaining 40 states until all pregnant women can be treated with respect and deliver their babies safely.  We will also continue to defend the right of an imprisoned woman to have access to abortion if she thinks that is best.

Lu

Breaking News: Pennsylvania Passes Law against Shackling Pregnant Women

Today, the Pennsylvania Legislature gave final approval to a bill that restricts the shackling of pregnant women in jail or prison; it now goes to the governor for his signature. The bill prohibits using restraints on pregnant women when they are being taken to a medical facility, in labor, and after giving birth, absent “extraordinary” circumstances.

 

Once the bill is signed into law, Pennsylvania will join Colorado, West Virginia, and Washington as states that took action against shackling in 2010, bringing the total to 10 overall.

 

As these developments demonstrate, recognition is growing that restraining women in labor and childbirth is both cruel and unnecessary, given that corrections officers or jail deputies are always with women during their hospital stay. The American Medical Association and American Bar Association recently made clear their opposition to the practice of restraining women who are in labor, following the American Public Health Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and a host of women’s rights, human rights, and health organizations.

 

When it comes time to go on record and cast a vote, almost every legislator has voted in support of these measures. Yet, as is so often the case with social policy in the U.S., shackling women in labor is a problem that has primarily been tackled state by state, which means there is still a long way to go to ensure that all women in custody can give birth safely and with dignity.