Jezebel 
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New York, 6:03 AM
Sun Nov 8
22 posts in the last 24 hours
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01/05/09
01/05/09
Maybe with a visiting medical professional to do the checkup and deliver the medication. They could remain on-call attending others nearby so the woman can can if anything off the norm happens. Give incentives/tuition subsidy to med students for volunteering x hours per semester in the program?
Child care, if necessary, could be provided by the sister program that has volunteer properly-screened caregivers so that the adults in the community can get medical attention.
01/05/09
Having said that, I also know about distant relatives (Granddad is eldest of thirteen SURVIVING children), one of whome lost a daughter to a backstreet abortion. She had planned to travel to England and get it done over here, and they destroyed her passport and took most of her money. She was fifteen. FIFTEEN. And people wonder why I've cut most of that side of the family out of my life?
01/05/09
For me, I want somebody with professional training to choose the antibiotic I need for bronchitis, or counsel me on the potential gastric bleeding I might get with the pain killer I've been given for my knee. Learning all of the ins and outs, indications, contraindications, side effects, adverse events, potential interaction, etc, of drugs takes a long time, and that is training I haven't had. Maybe my awesome relationship with my own doctor has given me an unusual perspective on the issue.
What do you think?
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Not a lot of people have those privileges or the ability to understand medical jargon. And unfortunately there are many doctors that do not explain with detail what does the patient has, what are they gonna do to solve it, and how the medication works in their bodies. Which would make the patient understand what secondary effects they might have and why they might have it.
Additionally, physiology is fucking complex and some part of the population has no use for the amount of excruciating detail it takes to properly explain what is going on.
I know, kind of rambly of me but that's what I got so far :/
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Even buying a goddamn pregnancy test is to risque for some.
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I've heard the ol' "drinking hot malta will make women miscarry!' my whole life.
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I went into my abortion expecting to be shamed into it, and I had the greatest most relaxed procedure I could have asked for, all this in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
01/05/09
In a Planned Parenthood facility, I might add.
01/05/09
Almost all the folks I know that have used Cytotec for abortions was when I was in my late teens, so it was mostly a lack of information and fear of authority figures type of thing.
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Stupid teknoligeez.
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And, fwiw, I don't want to sound like I'm saying "who cares about the poor people." I'm from a well-off family and my sister likes to call me "the witch doctor" (which I am not, but I wish I was!). I bring on my periods with parsley tea, and I would almost certainly try inducing an abortion with vitamin c or something before going to a clinic if the need ever arises, knock on wood it doesn't.
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Sorry for the harsh tone, but you wouldn't take herbs that affected your heart that way--why do you mess around with your uterus?
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But, maybe you're missing a key point. You don't have to be a fan, but you sure as shit should hope we all have proper access to them, as opposed to when my mother, 45 years ago. She was sent to a doctor with a coat hanger.
TRUE FUCKING STORY.
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I am also, however, disappointed abortion did not make the play-offs.
01/05/09
@meetballz: Then, as the bumper sticker says, don't have one! Work to support paid family leave, comprehensive sex education, work to de-stigmatize birth control methods, etc. Don't be a pig-headed jerk who just says "abrotions are bad, mmkay" and then does nothing to make the alternatives more feasable or workable.
01/05/09
When I was raped in the Bible Belt as a high schooler, I had NO ONE to turn to. I still think my miscarriage was a gift from God/Goddess. I hope you are never put in that situation.
01/05/09
Unfortunately, the financial obstacle is another huge hurdle. I think often that is the main reason many women opt to avoid abortion clinics or doctors. Making abortifacients/abortions more affordable would be much easier to achieve than taking away the stigma. Sadly though, the two play together so hand-in-hand (shame and cost) that finding financial donors or politicians to fight for that would be difficult.
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I'm glad to read earlier in these comments that some areas of NY do allow for medicaid to help cover the cost. That's unheard of here in TX, or most other states I would assume.
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Inside the minds of some of these women, abortion is bad. A sin. An act worthy of punishment. So, they take the risk with a cut-rate, DIY abortion because, in a twisted way, it gives God/the universe/karma the chance to punish them. It's a terribly risky, unfortunate way of dealing with the guilt.*
Take the pills and have complications? You sinned, sister, and now you're paying for it. On the other hand, pop 30 ulcer pills and have nothing worse happen to you than cramps and the trauma of going through this experience alone, and you're in the clear. God was watching and didn't see fit to dish out a bolt of lightning/hemorrhage, so you've been let off the hook.
*Disclaimer: I'm not saying every woman who has an abortion deals with guilt issues. I know a few personally that haven't. I just think guilt is likely to crop up as an issue here because of the prominent role religion and the Catholic church play in these women's lives.
01/05/09
As far as guilt goes, the idea of telling my mom is what kills me. She would probably pray for me. Sigh.
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Also, Planned Parenthood is the best thing since sliced bread. I wish people knew about it...and its anonymity. (Yes, I realize its a cultural/religious thing...but still)
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For those who feel like they can't be seen walking into a clinic at all, though, that's a hard problem that I can't deny. (I'd like to be able to say "Well then just go to your GP, because RU-486 is legal and FDA-approved so of course he'll give it to you, right??" but somehow I have this sinking feeling that the answer would be "wrong.")
I just felt like the availability of non-DIY at-home medical abortion needed to be made SUPER clear, in case any freaked-out soon-to-be-not-pregnant woman got the wrong idea...
01/05/09
Which also makes me wonder what the cost of these drugs are compared to RU-486. It may be a cheaper option.
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I'm so glad my parents aren't religious.
01/05/09
Another story about the social stigma of birth control and abortion: A friend of the family worked in Saudi Arabia for a while, as a teacher. Once, she decided to have a debate. This is not a concept Saudi women understand, apparently. So, M. decides, what to debate about: What if you could choose how many children you could have?
The women stare and you can just see "HARAM! HARAM!" flash across their foreheads. "We cannot decide! It is our husbands' decision!"
"Well, how many siblings do you have?"
The answers range from ten to twenty, and the discussion carries on, with the women absolutely horrified about the notion of someone suggesting they choose how many children they could have or use birth control. Until one woman, who sat silently in the back, says, "I would have two."
The others turn around and, again "HARAM!" and the whispers start. M. says, "Aha. And can you tell me why?"
"I miss my father." Silence. "I am one of sixteen children. When my father comes home, the others run faster than I. I never get to see him, and I miss him. I would spare my children this." (You could literally see light bulbs flash on above the class' heads at this point.)
My family is, thank God, liberal. My mom even worked for Planned Parenthood when she was fresh out of medical school! I would weep if I had been raised in such a society.
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