“S., who was turned away from an abortion clinic because she was too far along in her pregnancy, with her daughter, born in May 2012.” Photo by Michele Asselin for The New York Times.
Our bodies, our choices, right? I’m always amazed when people try to sanction what women do with their bodies and lives, especially when it comes to the life-altering decision as to whether or not to birth another human being. Here’s an interesting article recently published by The New York Times about the effects of being denied an abortion:
- “Foster saw that most abortion studies failed to acknowledge that women seeking abortions are likely to have mixed emotions — regret, anger, happiness, relief. They also often failed to separate the reaction to pregnancy from the reaction to the abortion. She has designed her study to do both, relying on a series of questions and periodic interviews, and initial results, to be published in the fall, show that the emotion that predominates right after an abortion is relief.” (What Happens To Women Who Were Denied Abortions? New York Times)
…And here’s another published by The Atlantic about the pressure to have kids during ones (supposed?) peak childbearing years:
- “The widely cited statistic that one in three women ages 35 to 39 will not be pregnant after a year of trying, for instance, is based on an article published in 2004 in the journal Human Reproduction. Rarely mentioned is the source of the data: French birth records from 1670 to 1830. The chance of remaining childless—30 percent—was also calculated based on historical populations. In other words, millions of women are being told when to get pregnant based on statistics from a time before electricity, antibiotics, or fertility treatment. Most people assume these numbers are based on large, well-conducted studies of modern women, but they are not. When I mention this to friends and associates, by far the most common reaction is: “No … No way. Really?” ” (How Long Can You Wait To Have A Baby? The Atlantic)
