Thursday, June 4, 2009

51 problems and having a baby isn't one of them

“For every woman, each pregnancy is an invited guest into her body and a welcome addition to her family. (Dr. George Tiller, The Declaration of Reproductive Independence)

Oh, merely a few reasons why a woman may seek an abortion beyond the limits of our commonly pointless fascination with conceptions of viability:

1) Lupus

2) Hypertension

3) Diabetes

4) Esophageal atresia

5) Gastroschisis

6) Hydrops fetalis

7) Placental abruption

8) Congenital heart disease

9) Chromosomal disorder

10) Down syndrome

11) Structural/neural tube defect

12) Spina bifida

13) Anencephaly (a condition in which the brain is incomplete or missing--picture vanilla pudding)

14) Metabolic disorder

15) Severe Rh incompatibility

16) Infection

17) Lung immaturity

18) Conjoined twins

19) Cancer

20) Pharmaceuticals

21) Freak accident or severe injury

22) She was raped by a stranger

23) She was raped on a date

24) She was raped by her boyfriend

25) She was raped by her husband

26) She was raped by her father

27) She was raped by her brother

28) She was raped by her cousin

29) She was raped by her uncle

30) She was raped by her grandpa

31) She was raped by her biological father

32) She was raped by her foster brother

33) She was raped by her priest/pastor/minister/rabbi/life coach

34) She was raped by her boss

35) She was raped by her coach

36) She was raped by her neighbor

37) She was raped by her teacher

38) She was raped by a soldier

38) She was gang raped

40) She’s nine

41) She’s ten

42) She’s eleven

43) She’s twelve

44) She’s thirteen

45) She’s fourteen

46) She’s fifteen

47) She’s sixteen

48) She’s seventeen

49) She’s pregnant with an extraterrestrial being

50) Fetal death

51) Other (also known as: none of your business unless YOU perform third trimester abortions)

artwork: The Fetus as Invader, illustration by Blair Drawson

*note to reality: trust us, fetal anomalies are not that purrrrdy

2 comments:

  1. I’ve been thinking about this—why we wish to be born in spite of our mothers

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love this.very.much. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete

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