Repairing the Damage, Before Roe

[Blue_Tires]

With the Supreme Court becoming more conservative, many people who support women’s right to choose an abortion fear that Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that gave them that right, is in danger of being swept aside.

When such fears arise, we often hear about the pre-Roe “bad old days.” Yet there are few physicians today who can relate to them from personal experience. I can.

I am a retired gynecologist, in my mid-80s. My early formal training in my specialty was spent in New York City, from 1948 to 1953, in two of the city’s large municipal hospitals.

There I saw and treated almost every complication of illegal abortion that one could conjure, done either by the patient herself or by an abortionist — often unknowing, unskilled and probably uncaring. Yet the patient never told us who did the work, or where and under what conditions it was performed. She was in dire need of our help to complete the process or, as frequently was the case, to correct what damage might have been done.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/health/views/03essa.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1212689560-VlDXGE7HSpJz/mkoUZLj5g

[texastoast]

1. The rights we have now

Were fought for in the private ways you mention above, in addition to the courtroom battles.

Those rights are in peril and never has it been more important to continue to demand the right to control our own bodies. It's time for the next generation to really get involved in this fight to maintain our right (and it is a fundamental humanistic right) to choose.

[yellerpup]

2. Widowers were made, children were orphaned

and women suffered from all kinds of complications that affected their fertility for the rest of their lives. Whether or not to have a child is not a decision that should be made by anyone except the person who is pregnant, especially not the government.

[DesertFlower]

3. i'm almost 67 and i remember those days.

my mother in law and aunts told me some horrific stories about the things they did.

i remember taking "hot mustard baths".

[Raster]

4. Reversing or repealing Roe v. Wade is NOT AN OPTION!

No one--NO ONE--is pro-abortion. And conversely, the pro-life moniker is just a smokescreen. You are either pro-choice or anti-choice. Nothing else. If your religious beliefs preclude abortion, THAN DON'T HAVE ONE. But to force others to not have a choice is wrong. And Roe v. Wade is about more than just choice. It's about whether a woman has the right to control her own body and reproductive destiny without religious or governmental interference. And make no mistake, the "killing the fetus is murder" crowd are only interested in forcing their warped view of morality on you. Don't let them. Today every woman has the right, guaranteed by law, to be able to make an informed, private choice. We must NEVER let that be taken away.

Wake up America!:kick:

[Chulanowa]

5. There are photos out there , as well

Of the damage, and the deaths caused by these DIY procedures. Reading this man's experiences horrified me. I can only imagien what it would be like first-hand, or to suffer it myself.

It needs to remain your choice, and not theirs.

[Raster]

6. Thank you!!!

Pro-choice and damned proud of it!