Abortion

My Perfectly Legal Abortion

My decision to have an abortion was personal not political. Or was it? Is it my time to pay it forward?

I’ ve always been a believer in things unseen. That has never changed. I have always believed. The years have changed the way I look, but not the way I look at myself or my life or at the inherent right of a woman to rule over her own body. When push came to shove and life challenged my belief, I let it ring off the hook. Then, I answered that call. Belief turned into action, legal action. I took my own life in hand and went ahead with the perfectly legal and heartbreaking abortion. Over twenty five years ago I was a new wife to a devout mormon man and mother of two children from my first marriage. And then one day I brought home the good news. The next day the loving, devoted mormon husband and his family rolled up with a truck, loaded all his stuff, and left us in a cloud. Never mind that he came crawling back weeks later. It was too late. I had already said goodbye. It was a heartbreaking decision, one that I made on my own. It was an excruciating season of separations. I was not surprised when the elders kicked me out of the congregation, knew that they would. I knew exactly what I was doing. I was doing the right thing for myself as well as my two children. I have no regrets, only gratitude for the work of others before me who created a law that kept a bunch of strangers, and do gooders out of my womb. But now they want back in. What surprises me is the casual manner of the new attempts to recruit me. I am polite. But is that politeness enough? My decision was personal not political. Or was it?