Aftermath Story

“Human rights include women”

This is an aftermath story. After the abortion, and how it all adds up. Or doesn’t.

I had my abortion some 50 years, right here in Idaho. It was not easy or particularly safe but it was necessary, efficient and successful. So many of the details have been blocked or forgotten or expunged. But it was available, thanks to Roe v. Wade. I am not in favor of abortion as birth control but research for safe birth control—for women OR for men—has not been fruitful. So, access to abortion is necessary.

Let's face it, men's plumbing systems are SO much simpler! Women are built to conceive, nourish, gestate, and bring to life an entire, living being—ALL inside this system made for reproducing humans! A very complex, miraculous undertaking. This total environment has been toyed with in order to AVOID conception. Wouldn't it make more sense to alter the ONE thing that, if barred from entry, conception would be impossible???

YES!! If sperm was NOT allowed access to this temple of procreation, women could be spared ALL the experimental alterations to their entire systems that have been endured forever!!

Now, blessings to the men who favor the use of condoms or vasectomy in order to play their part in avoiding conception when enjoying sexual encounters.

Consent counts!

Responsibility rules!

Responsibility, indeed!

Too often, however, the response from men (if heard at all) has been along the lines of the old NIMBY refrain: not in MY backyard! (or in this case, not in my FRONT yard!)

Where has the research been for male contraception? Where has the money been for this research?

Isn't it time for more gender equality in medical care? Isn't it time for Common Sense to prevail in this age old question of Conception??

Isn't it time for the these external systems, like government and medicine and education, to name a few...

Isn't it time for these externals to take better care of our internal systems?? After all, we were all BORN of these women’s bodies. Don't we owe them better care??

Well. Until then, access to abortion is necessary. 

I had tried the available birth control methods but they failed me. 50 years later my daughter was able to have an abortion that was successful and safe, thanks to Planned Parenthood in Washington state. Because if she lived in Idaho it was not available. Not legally, not safely or efficiently. Just not available.

But back to birth control. She had tried more of the available birth control than I even knew about—she’s a good researcher.

Like me, she found the pill, even at the lowest dose, had horribly undesirable impacts on her, both psychologically and physically. That experiment didn’t last for long.

She also tried the IUD twice. Both were rejected by her body. (Do we need to be reminded of the Dalcon Shield which rendered countless women infertile after its perilous use?) She  was successful in avoiding pregnancy until she was in her mid-30s. Then, despite her efforts at doing her math and tracking her fertility conscientiously with her calendar, she got pregnant. Because she had never had any desire to have children, she inquired about having a tubal when she was in her 20s, but her MD told her she was way too young to make a permanent decision like that. So, after her safe and successful  abortion in Washington, she still wondered about the option of a tubal in order to prevent future pregnancy.

Now there’s a tubal ligation which "ties" the fallopian tubes and creates a kind of dam. It’s reversible but also carries the risk of allowing for conception to occur in the fallopian tube, which is called an ectopic pregnancy; a dangerous situation for the fetus and for the mother. There’s also a tubalectomy which involves cutting the fallopian tubes and cauterizing them. It is not reversible. This is what she opted for,  considering her lifelong desire to not bear children. Her own research &  her medical professionals' told her that she would not experience any particular side effects or drawbacks from this fairly simple and common procedure.

This is where it all starts to add up, which is not really math, but simple addition. The aftermath of her abortion, her unsuccessful attempts with birth control, and her desire to prevent future pregnancies gets complicated.

Most women who have had a hysterectomy or a tubal are told that if they choose to keep their ovaries when faced with removal of their uterus, they will continue to have the benefit of these  hormones available to their body. This is not true. The uterus is the blood supply for the ovaries and so, when that blood supply is not available, by either having been removed or cut off via the fallopian tubes having been severed, "ovarian dysfunction" results. Having lost their blood supply, the ovaries are altered, causing production and/or release of estrogen and progesterone to be interrupted, leading to other possible malfunctions: endometriosis, vascular congestion, etc, etc. It's a complex system, after all.

Again, without the funding for research and the availability of factual information for women’s health care, such misinformation will continue to spread.

So despite her own research, her hormone supply will be and has been affected, effectively putting her into menopause in her mid 30s.
Those of us who have experienced menopause know that it carries its own  version of “aftermath” effects. The visceral roller coaster of managing "thermostats," both physical and psychological!

So, at menopause, reproductive hormone therapy is often suggested, and except for some women who are considered high risk because of extenuating cancer risk, hormone replacement therapy, known as HRT, has helped many women's  bodies. Bodies that have or have not borne children, bodies that may have had fibroids, cancer or other “irregularities.” HRT can help with ALL the many functions that our bodies were built to enjoy, such as sleep, temperature regulation, sex, the ability to focus, to play, and to enjoy mobility with ease. Basics like our sense of identity and the ability to function to our full potential.

Hormones—all of the endocrine system (also known as the Chakra system in other cultures)—HORMONES are here for us. Please keep in mind that hormone therapy also comes under the heading of “gender affirming care,” and depending on who is interpreting the Law, this type of therapeutic health care for humans is at risk of legislative control, along with IVF & transgender care.

Again. It’s about CHOICE.

When it’s all added up, the ongoing AFTERMATH of legislating personal decisions only leads to more control & less freedom. 

Human rights include women.