Response to “Women deserve the Right…”

Ms. Stroll was wrong when she said that her article, “Women Deserve the Right to Informed Choice,” was the most shocking piece she ever wrote. It was the most absurd. Apparently an informed choice involves scaring the crap out of a pregnant teenager who is considering an abortion. How does throwing around the ideas of breast cancer, depression, drugs, and suicide to a 18 year old girl going to help her make an “informed choice?” I am all for girls talking to their parents about their potential abortion. But lets be realistic. Most 18-year old girls are not going to want to tell their parents they got pregnant and now want an abortion. I am 20 years old right now and I had an abortion when I was 18. After the abortion I was not depressed, lumps did not all of a sudden pop out of my breasts, and I did not all of a sudden have a need to experiment with illegal drugs. (In fact, I have never even smoked pot.) Did I drink afterwards? Of course I did… I’m in college. But I did drink in order to deal with overwhelming feelings of guilt? Nope. I was raised catholic, but I was never really a true catholic. When I made my decision to terminate my pregnancy, I knew that I could never tell my parents. I truely dont know if they would have agreed with me to have an abortion, but I do know that they would have been horribly disappointed in me. I was already making a tough decision… seeing the disappointment on their faces would have been too much. Did I think about adoption? I did for about a minute. I’m a poor college student and my parents have themselves and my 2 younger siblings to worry about financially. I could not expect my parents to literally pay for my irresponsiblity. We all make mistakes. But those mistakes only matter if we let them overwhelm our lives. I’m writing this to show other girls, who are potentially considering an abortion, that you can have an abortion and still be a normal person afterwards. Your parents, husband, boyfriend, or even one-night stand does not to know about your decision. Ms. Stroll needs to give women more credit. We are strong and we can survive an abortion. Do not let outrageous, conservative preaching scare you away from a decision that you want. -Anonymous