Posted on 6.18.2012 by Kelly
On Friday the New York Times published an article in the Fashion & Style section entitled, "The Midwife as Status Symbol." The article discussed the growing trend of well-heeled pregnant people, including supermodels such as Gisele Bündchen and Christy Turlington, choosing the services of a midwife for their pregnancy care. As quoted in the article, "midwifery is no longer seen as a weird, fringe practice favored by crunchy types, but as an enlightened, more natural choice for the famous and fashionable." Indeed, the women, midwives, and doctors interviewed for the article celebrated the less medicalized midwifery model of care as "empowering" and "holistic," a consumer choice similar to buying organic produce or herbal beauty products. As a future midwife, I am certainly happy to hear that more people are discovering the midwifery model of care. However, access to safe, appropriate, empowering health care during pregnancy and childbirth is a fundamental human right, not simply a trendy choice for the wealthy and privileged few.
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Posted on 6.13.2012 by Lily
So I was super excited about Girls, HBO's new comedy series that's been critically acclaimed, roundly condemned, examined from every angle, and then written about some more. And I'm going to do the same thing, but from the perspective of a sexual and reproductive health provider analyzing TV's depiction of these subjects.
I started to watch Girls because I like women, and funny women, and women-centered shows. I think we need more of them on TV. I also loved Sex and the City and will defend it wholeheartedly, and Girls had been called the updated version. (Probably because there are so few women-centered shows on TV that anything surrounding a group of female friends has little else to be compared to, but anyway.) Long story short, I read a lot of criticism and then I wanted to see for myself.
I watched the first episode simultaneously with my brother who lives in another state. He'd been even more excited about it than me, and we planned to watch it "together" like we had watched Popular back in the day.
Then, about halfway through the episode, he texted me: "I think I hate it." I could only agree, sadly. My lip had been curled up in disbelief since probably that first painful scene where Hannah's parents tell her that two years out of college is long enough to have supported her as she writes her "memoir" and works an unpaid internship, and Hannah reacts with a temper tantrum.
My distaste wasn't even really about the whitewashing of New York City or the showcasing of privileged white people problems when the show's title falsely connotes a universality of experience. It was just that the characters, in my brother's words, were all so odious. Seriously, these are not likeable people. And not even in a funny way. More like in a "what's the point and why am I watching this" kind of way. At least that was my first impression.
But the second episode was called Vagina Panic and supposedly had an abortion storyline. And that's pretty much all I need to know to be there.
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Posted on 6.08.2012 by Amy
The Provider Project and Abortion Gang have concluded a series remembering George Tiller on the third anniversary of his murder. Many thanks to everyone who contributed. As we wrap up, I wanted to re-post the comments National Abortion Federation President and CEO Vicki Saporta made about George Tiller on Democracy Now. Her comments about Tiller's willingness to serve patients without charge seem particularly relevant after Chantal's post Wednesday saying abortions should be free. For some of Tiller's patients, they were. You can watch the full video interview here.
Here's how Vicki Saporta remembered George Tiller:
"He was a remarkably generous and compassionate physician, and we heard stories in memorial services all over the country from people who referred patients to him.
"NAF runs a toll-free hotline, and we referred one woman in the winter. She was from a Southern state. She couldn’t afford the care that she needed. And he offered to provide the abortion free of charge if she could get to Wichita. And so she drove there, and he found out she was sleeping in her car without a coat. And he instructed his staff to find her a hotel room, to provide her with a coat, with shoes, with food. And so, not only did he provide his care free of charge, he also provided her with lodging, food, and treated her with the dignity and compassion that she deserved.
"In another case, there was a young rape victim, Annie, who lived in a large Eastern city where she should have been able to receive the care that she needed. Her care was delayed. She couldn’t receive the care in her home state. And when Dr. Tiller heard about her case, he offered to take care of Annie. And when this very young rape survivor went to Wichita with her parents, she was greeted by Dr. Tiller and his entire staff wearing pink T-shirts with purple lettering that said 'Friend of Annie.'
"And these are not isolated stories. We hear story after story about the incredible compassion that people were treated with, the excellent care that they received from Dr. Tiller and his staff. He was a remarkable physician, and we miss him every day."
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Posted on 6.06.2012 by Chantal
This week I've been thinking about late term abortion* and late term providers. I went back and forth for a while about whether to join my fellow aborto-bloggers in celebrating the life and work of Dr. George Tiller, who was murdered on May 31, 2009. I'll admit that I don't remember where I was or just how I reacted to the news of Dr. Tiller's death. Although I was certainly outraged, I don't think I truly grasped the ramifications of the event until I myself became a member of the abortion providing community. Only then did I begin to understand what it meant on a deeper level. Having worked in a clinic that provides abortion services up to 21 weeks and 6 days of pregnancy (the farthest in my state), I've had a lot of time to think about second trimester abortion. I've heard the fear, the desperation, and above all the shame that so many women facing a second trimester procedure express. I've been the person who has to break the news to a woman younger than myself that she is too far along and that her next best option is a clinic hundreds of miles away. Through all of these experiences, my feelings toward second trimester abortion have been and continue to be complex. But not for the reasons you might think.
I've always been a firm believer that abortion should be available on demand with little to no restriction. And while I consider myself a staunch advocate for greater access to abortion services, I find myself consistently frustrated with the way in which access has been framed by the larger pro-choice community. As Amy alluded to in an earlier post, much of the pro-choice community has been quick to minimize the importance of late term abortion. As most of us have heard by now, the vast majority of abortions in the US, 88% in 2006, occur in the first trimester. But just because second and third trimester abortions are less frequent, doesn't mean they're any less important or in any way less worth fighting for. If we're really pro-choice, I mean, if we really really believe that abortion is one of many acceptable options for a woman faced with an undesired/unplanned pregnancy, then why is it so hard for us to say that out loud? I think we're afraid to tell the truth about late term abortion (It exists! And we support it!) because we're afraid that, if we do, somehow the antis will win. Well, guess what! They're already winning. Because we're letting them.
What comes to mind immediately when thinking about late term abortion is actually something else that's rarely mentioned: cost. In fact, cost is what I think of most when I think of any type of abortion procedure, be it at 8 weeks of pregnancy or 18. In the interest of full disclosure, I believe that abortion should be free. Or at the very least, as close to free as possible. It's the only way to begin to bridge the gaps in access, so many of which are socioeconomic in nature. For those of you who may not be familiar, first trimester abortions are expensive. Second and third trimester abortions are just absurd. According to the Guttmacher Institute, the average cost of a first trimester surgical abortion is $451. Having seen it so many times before, I'm already somewhat desensitized to that number. But then I ask myself, at any given point in the month do I have an extra $500 lying around? I wish. And then I remember the countless women I've talked to who were forced to reschedule their appointments over and over again because they could barely raise the $75 needed just to have an ultrasound. I remember the women who hadn't even thought about the cost because they were still trying to figure out how to get a ride to the clinic or who was going to watch their other children for the duration of their 4-5 hour appointment. Abortion should be free.
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Posted on 5.31.2012 by Lily
Cross-posted at Abortion Gang.
May 31 marks the third year since Dr. Tiller, an abortion provider in Wichita, Kansas, was brutally murdered while serving as an usher in his church. Dr. Tiller was known worldwide as a provider of compassionate, kind, respectful later abortion services that focused on preserving the dignity and integrity of his patients.
To honor his legacy, we and the Abortion Gang asked folks to respond to this question: How can the pro-choice and reproductive justice movements better support the people who have later abortions and providers who perform them? Below is a list of posts taking on this topic and thinking about Dr. Tiller. This list will be updated as the day and week go on:
Patient first
May 31, 2009: Welcome to America
What Would George Tiller Do?
Keep Late-Term Abortions Available
The Good Samaritan
Dr. Tiller Would Trust Women
Thoughts on the Anniversary of Dr. Tiller's Death
Thinking about Dr. Tiller
I Write Letters
An anniversary of a loss
We are the moral side
Remembering Dr. George Tiller
The Terrorism That Killed Dr. Tiller Remains a Threat
This Clinic Stays Open: Remembering Dr. Tiller
Honoring Dr. Tiller
Three Years Later
If you’ve written a post for the collective remembrance and don’t see it above, please email the URL to lily@theproviderproject.org, tweet the link to @ProviderProject, or leave it in the comments.
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