After our father passed away several years ago, my sister wanted to have a child more than anything, but at nearly 45 was having problems becoming pregnant. She underwent two IVF attempts, the first of which ended in an ectopic pregnancy– a life-threatening condition in which a pregnancy implants outside of the uterus – and for which she took methotrexate, an abortifacient drug.
Her life could have ended if there were a ban on abortion at 6 weeks, such as HR 490 introduced by woman-hating Republican representative Steve King (R-Iowa), who is neither a medical professional nor a member of my family, and should not be introducing legislation that jeopardizes people’s choice of medical treatment as well as their lives.
Luckily for my sister, she was able to get the treatment she needed. She felt confident trying IVF again, and on her second pregnancy using the procedure, she was successful! She is now the happy and proud mom of a lovely baby boy, probably the most wanted child on the planet!
This happy outcome would not have happened if a ban on abortion was in place.
In this culture of hatred toward women hellbent on limiting our choices, it is my fear that women who’ve tried unsuccessfully to have kids will not undertake IVF due to the added risk that these thoughtless, woman-hating abortion bans pose to those undergoing the procedure. An abortion ban at 6 weeks could mean not only dashed hopes of motherhood, but serious injury or death for lots of wannabe moms who try IVF and find themselves with a high-risk ectopic pregnancy or other unanticipated condition for which they need abortion care.
Bans on abortion are death panels for women. And no one — not anyone in the Senate, or House of Representatives, or the White House or any other political or religious body — can snap their fingers and make problem pregnancies go away. This is mythology, it is magical thinking, and it has no place in modern society.
To all those who state on the internet that they “would never have an abortion” themselves, yes, you would. If your survival depended on it, you would. Some others would say, oh, well, “they” would never allow an IVF pregnancy gone wrong to endanger women, right? Because that’s just unthinkable...kinda like having a woman-hating sexual predator in the White House.
Through some stunning and completely unanticipated events, my sister had to take an an abortifacient drug to treat a non-viable pregnancy in order to become a mom later on. Bans on abortion not only endanger women and society as a whole, they endanger would-be moms enough to discourage them from seeking the help they need to bring a new loved one into the world. This flips the usual script, but choice means choice in all directions. Not one of us knows what the future holds. Let’s not forget that.
Please call your MoCs and tell them you fiercely oppose HR 490...Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121...and that Steve King should mind his own business (and his business, according to his bio, is agribusiness and construction, not women’s health).
Yours from Proud New Auntie,
IonGirl