I once did an unpaid internship at the St. Louis Planned Parenthood HQ. the woman who ran it was pregnant, & once she found out (but before she started showing), she went to a bunch of “pregnancy crisis centers” saying, “I think I might be pregnant & I don’t know what to do.”

they all gave her pregnancy tests, & they all said, “oh, good news—you’re not pregnant after all!” because obviously prenatal care is way less important than trying to keep someone in the dark until they’re past the cutoff for a readily attainable abortion.

— nonvolleyball. [via]

For the first time in New York City, federal prosecutors have used the Freedom of Access to Clinics Entrances Act to secure a conviction in a case where access was blocked to a clinic that provides abortions. . . Alejandro Miyar, a spokesman for the Justice Department, said that since 1994 the agency had filed 58 criminal cases across the country related to the FACE act, resulting in 80 convictions. In addition, he said, the department had filed 19 civil suits using the act.

— 2 Convicted of Blocking New York Abortion Clinic

i believe women would be best served if choice advocates did a better job at contesting the supposed immorality of abortion. too often even the best meaning of us paint abortion as a necessary evil, thereby shaming women who have abortions as people who did horrible things under duress. we say things like, “nobody thinks abortion is a good thing.” well i think abortion is a wonderful medical advancement. a miracle, even. and we should make it our business to help people see that having an abortion is a rational act, not an immoral one.

—

ericrobertsswagger

exactly.

The term pro-choice? Well, I suppose that’s just the default political label, but I don’t really like it. It’s a bit lame for my taste. Abortioneers are more than pro-choice. We’re pro-abortion and pro-woman and pro-motherhood and pro-adoption and pro-whatever-the-hell-a-woman-believes-is-best-for-her-at-this-point-in-her-life type/label/people. We’re out there doing the direct service work, day in and day out. We’re the real experts in this field (not to toot our own horns) because we’re the ones with our fingers on the pulse of women’s lives. And really, we’re not the experts. I was being coy. The women are the real experts. (Nearly one in four American women, to be exact!)

— The Abortioneers: Labels, Labels, Labels: The Best One? [via]

Either we all have the right to choose or none of us has it.

— The Answer to the Stupak? Overturn Hyde Now [via]

Most women I have spoken to never consider adoption as a real option. When I counsel women they typically weigh two options, parenting or ending the pregnancy. Adoption is not an option for everyone. Most often putting a brown or black child up for adoption means foster care, which may or may not ensure a stable home. On the other hand white women who bear healthy white children are able to set up private adoptions, have medical expenses paid and sometimes other expenses, and choose an open adoption if they want. We live in a society where race defines one’s life options. White people more often have resources and the ability to adopt children, and the demand for white adoptees is much higher than the supply. As transracial adoption becomes more popular this trend could change; however, the mental and emotional health of transracial adoptees is also a very complex issue. In addition to race as a factor, adoption or foster care means that after spending nine months carrying a fetus in her body a woman will not know if that child is safe, cared for, and happy. Most women I talk to immediately shoot down any suggestion of adoption.

— The Abortioneers: In You We Trust [via]

You see, this summer has been brutal for Operation Rescue,” Newman wrote. “Not only did George Tiller’s death throw everybody in the pro-life movement for a loop (and especially us), but the economic crisis our nation is suffering has brought our financial support to nearly a halt.

—

Operation Rescue says it’s broke, may shut down [via]

Here’s hoping!

By remaining silent about abortion, I contributed to the marginalization of abortion and, more important, the women who have had abortions. These women are our neighbors and teachers; members of our churches, synagogues, and mosques; sisters, mothers, and daughters. All of us know women who have had abortions (one in three women will have had an abortion by the age of 45). If you are not aware of any, it is only because they choose not to share their stories. It is also because we don’t ask or provide safe spaces in which to tell.

— Why I Provide [via]

I don’t know of anyone with a doctorate degree in abortion, nor of any programs where you can get a doctorate in abortion. “Abortionist” is also a problematic term for this reason. “Abortion provider” is the preferred term by most. Many doctors who provide abortions are OB/GYNs: they are obstetricians and gynecologists. Some nurses also administer medical abortions.

— How to (Un)pack for a Real Conversation About Abortion [via]