My thoughts were so loud I couldn't hear my mouth

bostonwalkforchoice:

These stories explain why we need late-term abortions to be available everywhere and why we need more men like Dr. George Tiller.

 On Sunday May 30th, a man walked into a church in Wichita, Kansas and shot to death Dr. George Tiller. Dr. Tiller was volunteering as an usher that Sunday, so he was standing in the lobby of the church when the gunman entered. Unfortunately, Dr. Tiller’s death didn’t really come as a surprise; his medical practice centered on performing abortions, particularly late term abortions, and he’d been attacked before. Regardless of the near constant threats and harassment he received, Dr. Tiller was committed to his work. Why? Because he believed that “abortion is a matter of survival for women.”

It was for me. In October of 2004, I was pregnant with my sons Nicholas and Zachary. With great joy and expectation, my husband, my best friend, and I visited my doctor for a normal growth ultrasound. I was nearly 23 weeks pregnant, hovering at the start of the third trimester. Within moments it was clear something was wrong; one of the boys was still and had no heartbeat. When I met with my doctor, routine screening revealed the worst: the symptoms I’d been experiencing that I thought were normal with a twin pregnancy were actually evidence that I was sick — very, very sick. I was immediately admitted to the hospital with severe preeclampsia, and though my doctors tried mightily to slow the progression of the disease, by the morning of October 27, 2004 a group of doctors stood at my bedside and delivered the worst news I’d ever received.

I was in advanced kidney failure. My blood pressure was skyrocketing, and it could not be controlled with medications. My liver was beginning to decline. The horrific headache I was experiencing could no longer be treated with pain medications because they were afraid it would depress my ability to breathe when I began to have the seizures they expected at any moment. I would soon likely suffer a stroke or a heart attack. In other words, I was going to die unless the pregnancy was terminated. Immediately.

Stories like this are why I can’t help but laugh when people call themselves pro-life. If the pro-lifers had their way, 3 lives would have been lost in this situation rather than 2, and another child would never have been conceived. People can’t seem to see beyond the babies when the fact is, the mother’s life is important too. No one wants a late-term abortion. No one wakes up in their sixth month of pregnancy and says, “nope, I’ve changed my mind.” What Dr. Tiller did was necessary and he did not deserve to die for it. And you know what? When you start killing people to stop abortions, you really can’t call yourself pro-life. It just doesn’t work that way.

(via keepyourbsoutofmyuterus)