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Truer words. @Rewire_News/809838256028143617Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 6 Retweets ❤️ 9 Favorites Mood 0
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Have I ever told y’all the story of my abortion? Well I’m gonna.Permalink On twitter.com
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When I was 18 I was making minimum wage at a part-time job. Couldn’t make ends meet, especially when my cohabitating boyfriend was laid off.Permalink On twitter.com
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I found out about a prescription drug study that paid like $1200. That’s a lot of money now, but in 2003 making $5.15/hr it was a FORTUNE.Permalink On twitter.com
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The study was one week, in-patient, so all my meals were covered too. All I had to do was take this medicine and have my blood drawn.Permalink On twitter.com
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Women couldn’t qualify if they were on prescription birth control, so I quit taking mine about two weeks before the study started.Permalink On twitter.com
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I needed that money badly. What else could I do?Permalink On twitter.com
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A couple of days after getting home from the study, I got together with some friends and I dropped acid for the first time in my life.Permalink On twitter.com
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About a week later, I had to go back to the clinic for one last out-patient visit and my final check.Permalink On twitter.com
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While I was there the doctors informed me I was pregnant. They asked me what I was going to do.Permalink On twitter.com
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The answer seemed so obvious I was almost surprised they asked. I’d just taken experimental drugs & dropped acid. Obviously get an abortion.Permalink On twitter.com
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The doctor in charge, a wise, kind, grandfather-type, told me that if I was his daughter, he’d be proud of me for that decision.Permalink On twitter.com
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I’m pretty sure he was talking about weighing all the factors & making the “tough” choice, but I didn’t understand why I *wouldn’t* do that?Permalink On twitter.com
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Not to mention, I was so poor that I’d stopped taking my medication so I could qualify for this drug study. And kids are expensive af.Permalink On twitter.com
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Anyway, it took *months* for me to save up the money to get the abortion. And every week it just got more and more expensive.Permalink On twitter.com
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Ultimately, wmfwisconsin.org/ helped me out with a grant over three times their normal amount.Permalink On twitter.com
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I had to take time off work to go to the clinic and talk to a doctor. Then I had to wait 24 hours to prove I was serious or something?Permalink On twitter.com
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Meanwhile the clock was ticking on being able to actually get the abortion bc it took me a long time to get that cash together.Permalink On twitter.com
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When I went back to the doctor, they gave me a medication that, iirc, was meant to induce my water breaking.Permalink On twitter.com
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And lord, it did. While I was at work that night. I was scared and confused and embarrassed and I didn’t understand what was happening.Permalink On twitter.com
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The next day I went back to the clinic for the actual procedure. They put me under twilight anesthesia so I don’t really remember anything.Permalink On twitter.com
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Except relief. I remember relief. I spent so many months terrified that I couldn’t get the healthcare I needed…Permalink On twitter.com
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…that I would be forced to carry a child I didn’t want to term. That I’d lose my job bc I hadn’t been there long enough for parental leave.Permalink On twitter.com
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To this day I feel relief. Clarifies this for any of y’all who weren’t getting it: theverge.com/2016/12/14/13958962/abortion-turnaway-study-denied-rights-mental-healthOn twitter.com
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So that’s the story of my abortion. I used to not talk about it, not because of shame, but because it makes other people uncomfortable.Permalink On twitter.com
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idgaf about that shit anymore 😘Permalink On twitter.com
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Oh also I’ve been paying wmfwisconsin.org/ back, $50/month, for a year now. And I’m gonna keep going. Because interest.Permalink On twitter.com
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Also they like saved my life so i’m probably gonna keep paying forever unless I lose my career or something.Permalink On twitter.com