'We had abortions': 5,000 on Ms. [magazine] petition

NEW YORK -- As the abortion debate rages, Ms. magazine is releasing its fall issue next week with a cover story titled ''We Had Abortions'' that lists names of thousands of women who signed a petition making that declaration.

The publication coincides with what the abortion-rights movement considers a watershed moment.

Abortion access in many states is being curtailed, activists are uncertain about the stance of the U.S. Supreme Court, and South Dakotans vote Nov. 7 on whether to ban virtually all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest.

''All this seems very dire,'' said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Ms.-publishing Feminist Majority Foundation. ''We have to get away from what the politicians are saying and get women's lives back in the picture.''

Even before the issue reaches newsstands Oct. 10, anti-abortion activists have been decrying it. Judie Brown, president of the American Life League, wrote in a commentary that when she saw a Ms. announcement of the project, "the evil practically jumped right off the page."

Ms. executive editor Katherine Spillar said more than 5,000 women have signed the petition so far -- heeding its appeal to declare they are unashamed of the choice they made. The magazine itself had room for only 1,016 names, she said Tuesday, but all of them will be viewable online as Ms. encourages other women to continue adding their signatures.

Ms. says it will send the petition to Congress, the White House and state legislators.

The signatories include Ms. founder Gloria Steinem, comedian Carol Leifer, and actresses Kathy Najimy and Amy Brenneman, but most are not famous names.

Tyffine Jones, 27, of Jackson, Miss., said she had no hesitation about signing -- although she lives in a state where restrictions on abortion are tough and all but one abortion clinic has been closed.

Jones said she got an abortion 10 years ago -- enduring harassment from protesters when she entered the clinic -- in order to finish high school. She went on to become the first member of her family to graduate from college, and hopes at some point to attend law school.

"I wanted to do something bigger with myself -- I didn't want to be stopped by anything," she said in a telephone interview.

Another signatory, Debbie Findling of San Francisco, described her difficult decision last year to have an abortion after tests showed that she would bear a son with Down syndrome.

"I felt it was my right to make the decision, but having that right doesn't make the decision any easier," she said. "It was the hardest decision I've ever made."

Findling, 42, is married, with a 5-year-old daughter, and has been trying to get pregnant again while pursuing her career as a philanthropic foundation executive.

She says too many of her allies in the abortion-rights movement tend to minimize, at least publicly, the psychological impact of abortion.

"It's emotionally devastating," she said in a phone interview. "I don't regret my decision -- but I regret having been put in the position to have to make that choice. It's something I'll live with for the rest of my life."

Findling strongly supports the Ms. petition, and believes women who have had abortions need to be more open about their decisions. She has written an essay about her own experience, and plans to include it in an anthology she hopes to publish next year.

Ms. mounted this kind of petition drive when it was first published. Its debut issue in 1972 included a manifesto signed by 53 women -- many of them well-known -- declaring that they had undergone abortions despite state laws outlawing the procedure.

The next year, the Supreme Court issued its Roe v. Wade decision establishing abortion rights nationwide. Some abortion-rights activists are concerned that Roe could be overturned, either by the current court or if President Bush has the opportunity to appoint one more justice.

Smeal said Ms. staffers called the women who signed the petition to verify their information and be sure they were willing to have their names in print.

"The women thanked us for doing this," Smeal said. "They wanted to tell their stories."

Another signatory, Debbie Findling of San Francisco, described her difficult decision last year to have an abortion after tests showed that she would bear a son with Down syndrome.

I was disgusted after reading this last night, then I read about this in the paper today and found it on the internet to share with some of you.

The Springs Makes a Splash for Kids with Down Syndrome and Other Special Needs"

Water Park Welcomes Children’s Groups
Mondays, 4-6 p.m. Beginning Oct. 2

Down Swimmer Beginning October 2, The Springs Water Park at the Country Springs Hotel invites groups of special needs children to experience the developmental advantages of its many water play areas Mondays from 4-6 p.m. Just in time for October’s Down Syndrome Awareness Month, The Springs has teamed with Down Syndrome of Wisconsin, Inc. to provide discounts for children and their families or therapists.

"Water parks like The Springs are great for disabled children, especially those with Down syndrome and autism," said Robbin Thomas Lyons of Down Syndrome of Wisconsin, Inc. "Children can strengthen muscles all year in the indoor pool and play areas, and the variety of shapes, colors and stimuli can create cognitive, physical and social development opportunities."

Lyons and her daughter Kelly, who has Down syndrome and is batting cancer, began visiting The Springs and the water park extended a special rate for them to invite fellow members of Down Syndrome of Wisconsin to visit every week during the summer. Now, the offer is extended all year, shifting to afternoons to accommodate school-aged children.

The Springs hopes other groups, such as the Milwaukee Center for Independence and the Autism Society of Wisconsin, will participate in the weekly "play dates." Special needs families are invited to experience the water park during an official kick-off party October 2, 4-6 p.m.

"Kelly has found her time at The Springs to be very special," said Lyons. "It’s a time when her siblings are off doing other activities and she gets my undivided attention. And it’s an enjoyable way for her to get physical therapy."

Lyons also noted that The Springs provides opportunities for parents to socialize and discuss raising children with developmental issues.

"Our lifeguards look forward to these days all week," said Nancy Richards, general manager of The Country Springs Hotel. "Our water park is already full of excitement, but you can feel the joy of these children when they arrive every week."

The Country Springs Hotel has a commitment to children’s charities in the Waukesha County area, and conducts a variety of activities throughout the year to give back to those organizations.

I'm currently writing (not emailing) The Country Springs Hotel in Waukesha county (just west of Milwaukee) and thanking them for having this wonderful event for kids with special needs.

“Population control is too important to be stopped by some right wing pro-life types. Take the new influx of Hispanic immigrants. Their lack of respect for democracy and social order is frightening. I hope I can do something to stem that tide; I'd set up a clinic in Mexico for free if I could ... When a sullen black woman of 17 or 18 can decide to have a baby and get welfare and food stamps and become a burden to all of us, it's time to stop.”

Abortionist Edward Allred quoted in The San Diego Union, California, USA, who has become a millionaire 12 times over from the abortion industry

"It's not that obvious to some black women that abortion is the right decision. It's only later on that poor or black women realize they don't want more children tying them down. They need more pressure to abort."

Abortion advocate Michael Bracken quoted in The Ambivalence of Abortion by Linda Bird Francke

"Some think that the legalization of abortion has opened a Pandora's Box of faulty decision making. When abortion was illegal, here was a common enemy in the form of the law. Now that abortion is primarily a matter of choice, the decision rests squarely on the shoulders of the woman, a decision many would rather not have to make. Some blame their husbands or boyfriends for "forcing" them to have an abortion. Others point their anger at parents, who insisted on the abortion, or, who the patients maintain, would be furious if they found out their daughter was pregnant. Often, its the doctor who takes the blame for the abortion. "He did it to me" is a phrase heard often in the clinic or hospital corridor. That's moving the responsibility. Women are very good at that."

Martha Mueller, a Brooklyn Planned Parenthood counselor. Quoted in Rachel Weeping, and Other Essays About Abortion. James Tunstead Burtchaell, editor. New York: Universal Press, 1982. Pg 14

From Abortion at Work: Ideology and Practice in a Feminist Clinic by Wendy Simonds, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ., 1996 p 42-43:

"Before coming to work at the Center, Risa lost a job at Pavillion [another abortion clinic] She said, "I know it was because I was very vocal about how I felt about the way they treated the women...They were real quick to make people feel stupid, and real quick to talk down to them, and just really disrespectful. Just like, "I got something you need, thefore you have to kiss my butt to get it."

On page 42, Anne, a supervisor in the abortion clinic, tells about her abortions somewhere else:

"[The] people [at the clinic] really didn't care about your emotional setting. They didn't care what happened a week after that. You know, you read the forms, you have your abortion, you leave. And I mean, there was no personal - there was no one there to listen to me... There was no support before, during, or after the procedure. I thought I was having a possible complication about three days later; there was no one to call. The office was closed. You know, and then me trying to keep it away from certain family members, and then not being able to do that because I thought I was having a medical emergency. I mean, there was no one to tell me, "This is nothing to worry about. This is normal. This is what you need to do." . . It's an alone feeling. Being a woman, and having to make that decision at that particular point in my life, it was already making me feel alone. And then to get to this place where I needed support or where I could possibly talk about it - because you can't talk about it too many places and be accepted - the place that I went to, there was nothing. You couldn't talk about it there either."

Sarina, an abortionist at the clinic, describes her experiences working at Planned Parenthood on page 58:

"Sarina's first job as an abortionist was with Planned Parenthood. She had not learned how to perform abortions in medical school, so she learned how to do first-trimester abortions on the job. The environment at the Planned Parenthood clinic was not much better than her prior experiences. "It was a rude awakening for me to go into a job where I was the only female physician...and to basically be discriminated against....I got disillusioned very quickly with the place."

Planned Parenthood, whose mantra is safe, legal abortion, hires a doctor who does not know how to do abortions? She had to learn "on the job?" I would hate to be one of the women she learned on!

A worker at the "Abortion at Work" clinic was quoted saying:

“They [the administrators] have this pin that says… “The Woman’s Care Center: Working for the Lives of Women,” or something. They do, but not for the lives of the women that work there. They exploit women who work there, and they abuse them…It’s just like working for someone who’s sexist. You have to be ‘in’ to be treated fairly…which I think is not right.”

This was said by clinic worker Ilene on page 146.

Another telling point was the clinics' treatment of pregnant staff. Clinic workers Janice discusses the treatment of pregnant workers (page 152):

"Audrey hasn't been getting the support she needed after she got pregnant, and she felt like people didn't want her to be pregnant by this guy because she was a lesbian before, and that she was totally confused, and just all that kind of stuff....and then Glenda, before she got her job as supervisor, apparently they asked her if she was planning to get pregnant or not, because she was going to have to take leave, and it was going to totally mess up the supervisors...It's just like, please, if somebody wants to have a baby, then we need to be supportive and work around that, you know, but not let it interfere with their career tracks."

On the same page the author states:

"Though the center directors took pride in their acceptance of 'choice' as a central tenant of feminist health care practice, the Center had no policies that demonstrated support for employees who decided to procreate...when it became [an impediment to work] administrators disapproved. Women typically took two or three months of unpaid leave after their babies were born...some women complained that the managers were not willing to accommodate...their responsibilities to their children."

From:
http://www.clinicquotes.com/

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