Dymphna@BPAL on the State of Choice in the United States

[gwydion]

So, to recap:

IF you're not sexually assaulted and/or the victim of reproductive coercion,

IF you can afford to go to a doctor or clinic, or have insurance that will help pay for it and you can afford the copayment,

IF you can get your doctor to prescribe birth control (some won't; it's against their religion and they feel their female patients should have to abide by their religion's rules),

IF you can afford to pay for it, either the whole thing or a copayment IF you have insurance that offers prescription coverage,

IF that prescription coverage includes contraception, since some don't,

IF your body and health can handle birth control and it doesn't make you sick or cause an infection or worse,

IF you have received adequate sexual education or are able to educate yourself sufficiently to use it correctly,

THEN...

IF that contraception fails and you choose to have an abortion, you can do so because it's "still legal" supposedly,

IF you can find a provider, whether individual or clinic, and are not in a "no woman's land" where abortion providers are non-existent, which may cover most of your state,

IF you can pay for it, or IF you have insurance that pays for some of it,

IF you can get time off work/off school/away from home without having to worry about a disapproving partner or parents,

IF you are old enough not to have to worry about parental consent laws, and IF you have a doctor who doesn't feel you should get your partner's permission,

IF you don't have to go through a mandatory waiting period/sonogram/counseling by a religious group,

IF you have a support system that includes (hopefully) someone who will come with you for moral support and to make sure you get home okay afterward and have whatever you need, and not scold you or shame you or judge you,

THEN (drum roll, please!)...

you may choose the supposedly perfectly legal, constitutionally protected medical procedure that so many people believe women run out and have on the spur of the moment, in between buying bubblegum and getting a pedicure. Congratulations, your rights are being respected and protected!

Just remember that if you ever run for political office, or are raped and testify against your attacker in court, or sue a doctor for malpractice, this perfectly legal, supposedly private medical decision WILL come up. Also, be sure that you're careful who you choose to share this information with, lest someone you'd least expect decide to inform you that you're an evil, baby-killing whore who's going to burn in hell.

Oh, and if you're ever discussing it on a message board, be prepared to be told that the embryo's life was worth exactly as much as yours.