9 Comments

Thank you so much for this, Christine. I had a 41-year Social Work career, including 7 years as an adoption social worker, 18 years in a hospital in Women's Health, 2 years in a general hospital, and 14 years as a mental health therapist. I have worked with thousands of girls and women having unplanned pregnancies, also many with pregnancy losses and tragic pregnancy outcomes. Your experiences and thoughts mirror my own and reading them led me to think of specific clients, some of whom I worked with 30 to 40 years ago. I'm so grateful that you are doing the work that you are doing and that you articulated the thoughts we share in your post!

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What rich experiences you bring to the table! You have seen firsthand so many of the traumas - coming from all kinds of situations - around pregnancy, pregnancy loss, or pregnancy termination. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts! Glad to have you here. :)

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I, too, am looking forward to meeting my three children's souls in heaven - two through miscarriages and one through abortion.

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Love that. You saying that makes me think how much I wish women's ability to be moral agents/decision-makers was more respected - that we were trusted to make the best decisions we need to for ourselves - as you obviously care about the abortion child, too!!

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I wish this piece could run in the New York Times, Christine. Not only because it is very well written, but because it deserves to be widely read. As a therapist you have shared here the many difficult and sometimes heart-wrenching nuances of pregnancy and abortion. Draconian laws written by ignorant men determined to control women and restore the patriarchy never take any of those nuances into account (nor do those writing them seem to care). I wish those same ignorant men promulgating such laws could read your article and get a clue. And I also long for the day when we have as many women writing laws as men to help ensure some balance. Thank you for a very sensitive article.

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Thanks so much, Chuck! It's not the NYT, but I'm submitting it to An Injustice! mag so you can be on the lookout for that. :) I think the ignorant men know exactly what they doing and they're pretty cunning about it. I know plenty of anti-abortion women too though and I'm much more sympathetic towards their position because it seems to me to be coming from a more heartfelt position - the policymakers though, not at all!

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That's great, Christine! I love An Injustice and publish most of my stuff there. I hope your article goes viral!!

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Very well-written and insightful, Christine. It’s amazing when I find things we have in common through your writing…such as having a miscarriage and never really having a chance to feel “pregnant”. Keep up the great work!

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I love and appreciate that. I say things in writing *looks around* that I don't so much say in person! Thank you for reading.

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