UTERUS POLICE?!
I'm sure most of you have heard by now that A GA representative wats to create Uterus Police to investigate every miscarriage as a possible homicide.
Uterus Police.
I know that there are many people out there who call anyone who wants equal rights for women "manhaters." I know that some people truly feel that women should simply be considered the property of men. I know that there are people who resent the fact that women were ever allowed to vote. That doesn't make them right.
While I believe that a woman has a right and a responsibility to determine her own fate when faced with pregnancy, this issue goes way beyond abortion.
Every person out there who may have previously thought that the government has the right to make decisions about a woman's uterus needs to stop and think about what would happen if this bill were to pass. People who can't even grasp the concept of what it is like to be a woman in our society or what it is like to be pregnant want to legislate the female reproductive system. If you miscarry, you will be a murder suspect.
I have had two miscarriages in my life. I did not try to conceive until after I was married. I went to a doctor to consult on what I needed to do to be able to conceive. I was very careful about what I was doing, eating, and even watching on TV (I didn't want to spike my blood pressure getting stressed about the local news). I lost a baby in December of 2002, two months after getting married. I was so ashamed and depressed and disheartened that I didn't tell my husband for a very long time. I cried myself to sleep every night for over a month. I was weak and anemic and it took a long time for the bleeding to stop. I was devastated.
The second time, it was toward the end of the first trimester. We hadn't realized I was pregnant at first because my bloodwork was mixed up with someone else's at the hospital. I had been in the hospital for the sudden onset of seizures, and was put on epilepsy medication that was known to be capable of stopping regular cycles. We had discovered that I was actually pregnant only weeks before. I miscarried on an airplane heading home from a trade show. I was in terrible pain, and I was terrified. I had to tell the flight attendant what happened, and they called for a doctor on the plane. Someone - I don't know who - told other passengers what had happened. Total strangers were looking at me with curiosity, concern, fascination and - worst of all - disgust. It was a very painful and miserable three hours. The weather was terrible, and our plane was one of the only ones not diverted to PA that day. An ambulance was waiting for me, and people on the plane didn't care, pushing and trying to get off the plane that wouldn't even have landed at the destination had it not been for me. They were actually pissed off at me for being taken off the plane first.
I was very lucky with that miscarriage. First, that I did not lose too much blood in the time I had to sit on the plane, and second that I lost a twin, and the other twin is now a healthy seven-year-old. This did not change the extreme physical and emotional pain and exhaustion that followed the miscarriage. If I'd been required to be investigated as a murderer after going through that ordeal, it would have been more than I could bear.
Any proponent of this terrible bill in GA does not know what it is like to endure the pain and emotional devastation of a miscarriage. If they truly had any concern for human life, they would consider the way they want to treat the living human women who have to endure what is already a painful and often life-shattering experience.
ETA: I have posted about my own experiences because they are the basis I have for how difficult it is to go through a miscarriage. I appreciate the kind messages from everyone, but I hope I did not come across as asking for pity. I am just hoping that, by putting my story out there, I might be able to somehow help prevent other women from having murder investigations added on top of what is already a frightening and painful experience. Perhaps having these stories out will make more people aware of just how cruel and unusual this bill truly is.
Uterus Police.
I know that there are many people out there who call anyone who wants equal rights for women "manhaters." I know that some people truly feel that women should simply be considered the property of men. I know that there are people who resent the fact that women were ever allowed to vote. That doesn't make them right.
While I believe that a woman has a right and a responsibility to determine her own fate when faced with pregnancy, this issue goes way beyond abortion.
Every person out there who may have previously thought that the government has the right to make decisions about a woman's uterus needs to stop and think about what would happen if this bill were to pass. People who can't even grasp the concept of what it is like to be a woman in our society or what it is like to be pregnant want to legislate the female reproductive system. If you miscarry, you will be a murder suspect.
I have had two miscarriages in my life. I did not try to conceive until after I was married. I went to a doctor to consult on what I needed to do to be able to conceive. I was very careful about what I was doing, eating, and even watching on TV (I didn't want to spike my blood pressure getting stressed about the local news). I lost a baby in December of 2002, two months after getting married. I was so ashamed and depressed and disheartened that I didn't tell my husband for a very long time. I cried myself to sleep every night for over a month. I was weak and anemic and it took a long time for the bleeding to stop. I was devastated.
The second time, it was toward the end of the first trimester. We hadn't realized I was pregnant at first because my bloodwork was mixed up with someone else's at the hospital. I had been in the hospital for the sudden onset of seizures, and was put on epilepsy medication that was known to be capable of stopping regular cycles. We had discovered that I was actually pregnant only weeks before. I miscarried on an airplane heading home from a trade show. I was in terrible pain, and I was terrified. I had to tell the flight attendant what happened, and they called for a doctor on the plane. Someone - I don't know who - told other passengers what had happened. Total strangers were looking at me with curiosity, concern, fascination and - worst of all - disgust. It was a very painful and miserable three hours. The weather was terrible, and our plane was one of the only ones not diverted to PA that day. An ambulance was waiting for me, and people on the plane didn't care, pushing and trying to get off the plane that wouldn't even have landed at the destination had it not been for me. They were actually pissed off at me for being taken off the plane first.
I was very lucky with that miscarriage. First, that I did not lose too much blood in the time I had to sit on the plane, and second that I lost a twin, and the other twin is now a healthy seven-year-old. This did not change the extreme physical and emotional pain and exhaustion that followed the miscarriage. If I'd been required to be investigated as a murderer after going through that ordeal, it would have been more than I could bear.
Any proponent of this terrible bill in GA does not know what it is like to endure the pain and emotional devastation of a miscarriage. If they truly had any concern for human life, they would consider the way they want to treat the living human women who have to endure what is already a painful and often life-shattering experience.
ETA: I have posted about my own experiences because they are the basis I have for how difficult it is to go through a miscarriage. I appreciate the kind messages from everyone, but I hope I did not come across as asking for pity. I am just hoping that, by putting my story out there, I might be able to somehow help prevent other women from having murder investigations added on top of what is already a frightening and painful experience. Perhaps having these stories out will make more people aware of just how cruel and unusual this bill truly is.