Aside: I'm sorry about the hurtful responses you received in response to the article. I am really baffled that anyone could read your writing on abortion and conclude that you are being insincere or misleading.
You wrote: "All current laws include either an explicit note about care for women whose children are ectopic or a life-of-the-mother exemption, though people are concerned that any ambiguity or uncertainty about the laws could disrupt care." I am really glad you're planning to write about this! I would really like to see pro-lifers engage meaningfully with the fact that a woman from Texas was denied an abortion for ectopic pregnancy and told to drive to New Mexico for treatment (https://www.reformaustin.org/womens-rights/texas-abortion-law-already-putting-people-in-danger/), not to mention cases like Savita Halappanavar and several woman in Poland who died of sceptic shock after being refused abortions. It is perhaps tempting to dismiss cases like this as medical malpractice and explain that the law didn't really prohibit treatment in those cases--but I think this ignores the fact that in the absence of laws restricting abortion, these tragedies would not have happened. What is it about the law that needs to be fixed in order to stop these cases from happening?
Thank you for your courage, and your witness of truth and vulnerability. Sharing your stories is an incredible act of love. I’m sure you were well aware of the smothering blanket of criticism you would receive, seemingly from all sides! Your ability to analyze and find the humanity behind the criticism is truly a gift- a beautiful gift. Thank you for your good and important work.
I just want to say how much I appreciate your work, and as a mother who has lost two babies through miscarriage, I am appalled at the vitriol you’ve received. Thank you for writing about Camillian. Thank you for your vulnerability and honesty. And thank you for your writing in this substack. It gives me much to think about.
Pro-choice tweeters did a pretty swift 180 from "LOL pro-lifers consider ectopic surgeries abortions" to "LOL pro-lifers don't consider ectopic surgeries abortions."
This is a question of factual inquiry, not a means to prove any particular point - other than yourself and Alexi, where else have you read or heard the word “deliver” in reference to the ultimate/potential result of an ectopic pregnancy?
I hear and appreciate your deep compassion, and agree that more compassion in healthcare settings (and all settings!) is a vital good to be maximized.
But does “pro-life” legislation somehow get us there?
Your mistreatment in a Catholic hospital suggests no.
The practical application of these laws, in the US and elsewhere where we have much more data, suggests no.
The laws legislators (pro life or pro choice) pass also suggests no - with far more compassionate legislation done by pro choice legislators, or blocked by pro life ones.
There’s also the counter factual I think you should wrestle with: the deep compassion of many doctors and other staff who perform abortions. It’s easy to imagine them as worse than the worst Twitter commenters. But in practice staff at abortion clinics are on the whole deeply caring. They help patients (who desire it) hold their child, prepare their child for burial, etc.
There are also many implications to the way you see a stark difference between how a pro choice person performs an abortion and the way a pro life person does a “delivery” in the same circumstance. Do we want a world where the law attempts to dictate and discern intent? One where the law makes the same assumptions you do? Does a world of fetal personhood mean Jewish doctors are banned from becoming OBGYNs?
As one doctor wrote on Twitter, portraying all doctors who perform abortions as heartless could be the most damaging part of your piece, since they already receive a deluge of very real threats of violence. It’s easy and dangerous to perpetuate a stereotype of them being heartless butchers. It’s harder to believe that myth when you extend them compassion and understanding, and hear their stories and the stories of women they’ve cared for.
Aside: I'm sorry about the hurtful responses you received in response to the article. I am really baffled that anyone could read your writing on abortion and conclude that you are being insincere or misleading.
You wrote: "All current laws include either an explicit note about care for women whose children are ectopic or a life-of-the-mother exemption, though people are concerned that any ambiguity or uncertainty about the laws could disrupt care." I am really glad you're planning to write about this! I would really like to see pro-lifers engage meaningfully with the fact that a woman from Texas was denied an abortion for ectopic pregnancy and told to drive to New Mexico for treatment (https://www.reformaustin.org/womens-rights/texas-abortion-law-already-putting-people-in-danger/), not to mention cases like Savita Halappanavar and several woman in Poland who died of sceptic shock after being refused abortions. It is perhaps tempting to dismiss cases like this as medical malpractice and explain that the law didn't really prohibit treatment in those cases--but I think this ignores the fact that in the absence of laws restricting abortion, these tragedies would not have happened. What is it about the law that needs to be fixed in order to stop these cases from happening?
Thank you for your courage, and your witness of truth and vulnerability. Sharing your stories is an incredible act of love. I’m sure you were well aware of the smothering blanket of criticism you would receive, seemingly from all sides! Your ability to analyze and find the humanity behind the criticism is truly a gift- a beautiful gift. Thank you for your good and important work.
I just want to say how much I appreciate your work, and as a mother who has lost two babies through miscarriage, I am appalled at the vitriol you’ve received. Thank you for writing about Camillian. Thank you for your vulnerability and honesty. And thank you for your writing in this substack. It gives me much to think about.
Pro-choice tweeters did a pretty swift 180 from "LOL pro-lifers consider ectopic surgeries abortions" to "LOL pro-lifers don't consider ectopic surgeries abortions."
Leah, thank you for having the courage to share your story on this difficult topic. I'm sorry you received those bad-faith responses. Best wishes!
This is a question of factual inquiry, not a means to prove any particular point - other than yourself and Alexi, where else have you read or heard the word “deliver” in reference to the ultimate/potential result of an ectopic pregnancy?
I hear and appreciate your deep compassion, and agree that more compassion in healthcare settings (and all settings!) is a vital good to be maximized.
But does “pro-life” legislation somehow get us there?
Your mistreatment in a Catholic hospital suggests no.
The practical application of these laws, in the US and elsewhere where we have much more data, suggests no.
The laws legislators (pro life or pro choice) pass also suggests no - with far more compassionate legislation done by pro choice legislators, or blocked by pro life ones.
There’s also the counter factual I think you should wrestle with: the deep compassion of many doctors and other staff who perform abortions. It’s easy to imagine them as worse than the worst Twitter commenters. But in practice staff at abortion clinics are on the whole deeply caring. They help patients (who desire it) hold their child, prepare their child for burial, etc.
There are also many implications to the way you see a stark difference between how a pro choice person performs an abortion and the way a pro life person does a “delivery” in the same circumstance. Do we want a world where the law attempts to dictate and discern intent? One where the law makes the same assumptions you do? Does a world of fetal personhood mean Jewish doctors are banned from becoming OBGYNs?
As one doctor wrote on Twitter, portraying all doctors who perform abortions as heartless could be the most damaging part of your piece, since they already receive a deluge of very real threats of violence. It’s easy and dangerous to perpetuate a stereotype of them being heartless butchers. It’s harder to believe that myth when you extend them compassion and understanding, and hear their stories and the stories of women they’ve cared for.