Reclaiming Our Children: A Blog About Healing After Abortion

Ok, so why do I continue to let myself, after 20 years of this stuff, be amazed by some people and their responses? I guess, because there is still a part of me that does not want to believe people actually think this way….but, sadly they do. Here is an article by the ACLU regarding the abortion on Grey's Anatomy…

Grey's Anatomy: Breaking the Silence on Abortion

Thank you to Grey's Anatomy for daring to speak the A-word (abortion) in its two hour season premiere. In the episode, skilled hospital resident Cristina Yang (played by Sandra Oh) declares, in the clearest of terms, that she does not want to be a mother; she does not want children; she wants her career as a surgeon; and she wants to have an abortion.

Today, in 2011, long after abortion has been legalized, long after discrimination against women in many arenas became illegal, long after calls to end gender stereotyping, the Grey's Anatomy episode is — sadly — radical stuff.

In it, the word abortion could be spoken. A woman could want one. And perhaps most remarkable, a woman could want a life without children. We don't today, as a culture, send the message that that's okay.

We at the ACLU, can and do, challenge the laws that further restrict and stigmatize abortion — laws that require women seeking abortions to go to an anti-abortion group for counseling; laws that stigmatize abortion by banning it from insurance plans; and laws that punish charitable organizations like domestic violence shelters for even referring for abortion services.

the rest is here: http://www.aclu.org/blog/reproductive-freedom/greys-anatomy-breaking-silence-abortion

To quote a section in the article, "In it, the word abortion could be spoken. A woman could want one. And perhaps most remarkable, a woman could want a life without children. We don't today, as a culture, send the message that that's okay."

No one is arguing the fact that a woman may want an abortion, or a life without children. I may want a lot of things, but that does not make them all acceptable. You can want a life without children, but, it is not ok to kill a child once it has been conceived.

"Today, when it comes to abortion, women are judged, not heard. There is little room in the debate for our dreams and our needs — our need to care for existing children, our dream of the life we could give our child, our goal to finish school, a need to repair a marriage. There is no room for our visions of our lives. Cristina, on Grey's Anatomy, opens some space, by giving voice to her needs and hopes."

Her needs and hopes??? The fact that the ACLU thinks a fictional character will provide an opening to change the culture may seem like a positive to them, but I wonder how they would feel about a show where thousands of us who are post abortive and share the damage it has caused in our lives, the lies we were told, the dreeams shattered, the needs umet by those who would pressure abortion etc etc Would that be as much of a positive opening to them? Never.

Over and over we see  attempts to destigmatize abortion, as if it is just a perception that brings stigma. Abortion is not a perception, it is the taking of life.

I pray we never destigmatize abortion just like I would pray it would not happen if a mother decided to kill her two year old, or any of her other children. It is a slippery slope which can esculate very quickly to life being totally disposable. We are already traveling that road.

Abortion has a stigma because it takes the life of an innocent unborn child…period. God help us if the stigma for that disappears and it becomes a commonly accepted event. Then we will not be worried about "needs and hopes", we will be fighting for our very existence.