The Stupak Amendment must go!

Saturday evening, the House of Representatives passed an Amendment, sponsored by Democratic Representatives Bart Stupak (MI) and Joe Pitts (PA), to the House Health Care bill. This Amendment, which passed by a vote of 240-194, will result in the elimination of insurance coverage (both public and private) for any abortion other than those done to save the mother's life, or as a result of rape or incest.
This amendment, if it remains in full or in large part in the final bill, will hit those women who terminate for medical reasons particularly hard.
Prenatal testing has made great advances over the past 30 years, with women sometimes being able to find out as soon as 11 or 12 weeks that something is seriously wrong with their unborn baby. However, most women don't find out something is seriously wrong with their baby until they are well into their 2nd trimester. Add onto that the time it takes to get second and third opinions, definitive diagnostic testing, and the agonizing process of decision-making and you are looking at many women not knowing they will be terminating until they are close to 24 weeks (if not later). Terminations at this late stage can cost anywhere from $2000 to over $10,000, depending on the gestation and the type of procedure.
I've come across several women over the years who, for one reason or another, didn't have insurance coverage for their terminations. Making the decision to terminate is tortuous enough, but having to then re-tell one's devastating story over and over again, usually to complete strangers, in order to arrange for payment is insulting. Most women were able to scrounge up the money needed by asking friends and family members for loans, by calling their credit card companies to ask for credit limit increases, by searching out other medical facilities with the hope that one of them would be less expensive, and by having to negotiate a billing schedule with hospital billing clerks.
Asking women, who are already heartbroken and devastated by having to say goodbye too soon to their much-wanted and much-loved babies, to also magically come up with thousands of dollars out-of-pocket in order to obtain a legal and common medical procedure, one which has been covered by many insurance companies for YEARS, is just adding insult to injury. The Stupak Amendment is completely unneccesary and needs to go.

The blurred line between fiction and real events

Last Friday, NBC aired an episode of "Law & Order" which involved a supposedly fictitious story of a late-term abortion provider being murdered in his church. Sound familiar? Obviously, the episode was based on the story of Dr. George Tiller who was murdered in his church last May. But being that "Law & Order" is a Hollywood production, the line between fiction and reality was horribly blurred throughout the course of the episode. What was left was an obviously biased and UNrealistic view of the work Dr. Tiller committed himself to, and the heartbreak felt by his patients who more often than not had no where else to turn. Here are some fantastic reviews of the episode:

Salon.com - "Law & Order's Anti-Choice Propaganda"

RH Reality Check - "Dr. Tiller Murdered Again by NBC's Law & Order"

Women & Hollywood - "Law and Order Episode Imparts No 'Dignity" for Women"

Ms. Magazine - "No Dignity for NBC"

RH Reality Check - "The 'Law and Order' Abortion Disaster and the Wasteland of TV"

Huffington Post - "Misremembering Dr. Tiller: How Law & Order Got it Wrong"

Here is a sample letter from NOW where you can voice your concerns to NBC over this poorly produced and written episode - "Tell NBC to Stop Showing Propaganda Regarding Abortion Rights for Women!"

It's clear the writers and producers of this episode have never themselves faced a tragic pregnancy with a poor prenatal diagnosis. They are blessed that way, I suppose. But for them to take that ignorance and try to shove it down our throats is insulting, offensive, and hurtful to those of us who have experienced a pregnancy with a poor prenatal diagnosis.

"Our Heartbreaking Choices" wins 2009 Best Books award!

USA Book News recently announced the winners of the National "Best Books 2009" awards, and "Our Heartbreaking Choices," a book where 46 women shared their stories of interrupting a much-wanted pregnancy, won in the Women's Issues category! We're raising awareness, one step at a time.

Best Books 2009 results

DeMarcus Ware and wife share about their termination for medical reasons

ESPN recently aired a segment where DeMarcus Ware (a linebacker with the Dallas Cowboys) and his wife bravely shared their story of making the difficult decision to interrupt a pregnancy due to a poor prenatal diagnosis in 2006. I commend the Ware's for having the courage to speak up about such a controversial subject. They certainly didn't have to share all the details with ESPN, but they did, and in doing so they have given a voice to all of us who have made the same devastating decision. I'm sure their angel Omar is very proud of them.

ESPN Video

September issue of Marie Claire magazine

There is a great article in the September issue of Marie Claire magazine. It is a two-part article which explores both sides of the debate on late-term abortion due to fetal anomaly. In the first part of the article you are introduced to a woman who found out that her unborn baby had Trisomy 13, an almost always fatal chromosomal defect. She decided to carry her baby to term. The baby lived for 4.5 hours. In the second part of the article you are introduced to a woman who found out that her unborn baby had Trisomy 2, a fatal chromosomal defect. She decided to terminate her pregnancy and was forced to have her procedure done in a clinic with dingy couches and other patients who talked about getting their nails done after their procedure.
Both women were able to follow their hearts and make the decision that was best for THEIR family. No one was forced to carry to term, and no one was forced to terminate. That's what CHOICE is all about.

The online version of the article can be found here - http://www.marieclaire.com/world-reports/news/latest/abortion-debate

The death of a hero

I was shocked and saddened Sunday to hear the news about Dr. George Tiller being shot and killed inside of his church. Dr. Tiller was one of only a few doctors brave enough and caring enough to provide abortion services to women who had nowhere else to turn.
I have spoken with numerous women over the years who had to travel to his clinic in Kansas, either because they had passed the gestational limit in their own state or because they were unable to find a doctor or hospital to help them in their own state. These women were devastated and desperate for help. They had gotten the news about their unborn baby that no parent ever wants to hear, "Your baby is very sick." None of these women took their circumstance lightly or made the decision to terminate flippantly. They struggled with their decision, sought out second and third medical opinions, consulted with their clergy, and eventually made the decision they felt was best for THEIR family.
For some women that meant traveling hundreds of miles from home, leaving their living children in the care of other family members, and putting all of their faith in one man--Dr. Tiller.
Everything I've heard about Dr. Tiller was that he was a savior, a beacon of light, a compassionate, kind, and understanding soul who knew just what each of these families were struggling to deal with and what they needed from him. He didn't just provide medical services, he provided emotional support, counseling, and rituals to help the families find closure.
He was a tireless advocate for women, and the world will be worse off without him.

Ayelet Waldman

The famed author Ayelet Waldman has published a new book, "Bad Mother," in which she chronicles many different aspects of motherhood, including her second trimester termination for medical reasons. In 2000, her baby boy was diagnosed in utero with a chromosomal abnormality. She and her husband made the heartbreaking decision to interrupt the pregnancy.

I haven't read the book yet, but I plan to very soon. From the reviews I have read online, it is clear that Ayelet talks very candidly and honestly about her termination in the book. Which in my opinion is fantastic. Many people might not agree with her choice (which is very evident by reading the posted comments to the NPR interview noted below) but we need more brave women like her to speak up and pull back the curtain of silence on this issue. It's this kind of information sharing that is necessary in order to open society's eyes to the complexities of making the decision to abort due to fetal anomalies.

There is an audio interview from NPR where she discusses in detail getting the diagnosis, her decision-making process, her termination experience, and her healing.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103794433

New article

I posted a link to a recent article from the Boston Globe. It's about prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. It profiles two couples--one who decided to carry to term after getting a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, and one who decided to terminate.
I wasn't surprised to see that the article focused mainly on the couple who decided to carry to term. Very little coverage was given to the couple who terminated and their agonizing decision-making process. Even many of the reader comments that were posted after the article completely glossed over the fact that those who choose to terminate DON'T do so based on screening tests alone. There were a few anecdotal stories of "My best friend's sister's doctor told her that her baby would have Down's and it doesn't!" Blah, blah, blah. Then obviously she didn't have a CVS or amnio, because those are like 99% accurate.
It's assumed that those who terminate just don't want "that" baby and they must have made the decision to terminate out of fear. The truth of the matter is that those who choose termination do so not out of fear but out of love and concern for each and every member of their family. It's NOT a selfish decision. At all.