I’m shocked by how misinformed the men in my life are on abortion bans. Most of them support a woman’s right to choose - but they don’t understand that the bans put lives at risk. One said to me “I’m sure they don’t impact women who WANT to start a family”.

They do - and here’s why:

Abortion bans put lives at risk. When you criminalize abortion - you’re practically criminalizing pregnancy. It sounds harsh - but women have been arrested for having miscarriages. Doctors face jail time for intervening to save a woman’s life if she’s having pregnancy complications.

When a woman is having an early miscarriage - you can’t tell whether it happened naturally or was induced. The police should not be involved in making that call. Yet if they have ANY reason to suspect you wanted to end that pregnancy? You could be arrested.

Have an ectopic? An abruption? A fetus with lethal anomalies? Doctors are going to hesitate before intervening even IF your life is at risk. They have to consult the legal department, they have to fear for their licence and the possibility of jail time.

Pregnancy is NOT a health neutral state. Anything you can be at risk for - you’re higher risk for in pregnancy. When things go sideways - it can happen incredibly quickly. Waiting to intervene can and does cost the life of the mother AND the baby.

Doctors are also fleeing states with abortion bans - leaving women in those states with even less access to qualified care. They don’t want to practice somewhere that the government is going to dictate what happens to their patient. They don’t want to worry about criminal charges.

All of this adds up to bad news for women - many of who WANT children but will choose not to become pregnant in the face of these archaic and dangerous laws. It’s not “your body my choice”. It’s “my body my choice”. Until people realize that - we continue to be in danger.
#abortion #prochoice #abortionishealthcare #womenshealth #mybodymychoice #reproductivehealth

Misogyny in medicine is focusing more on what a man might WANT than what a woman NEEDS.

I NEEDED a hysterectomy and was told I wouldn’t survive pregnancy.

“Informed consent” for surgery looked like this:

“Don’t you want to be a Mom?”
“You may want BIOLOGICAL children”

“What if you meet a man who wants babies?”

“What if he leaves you because you can’t bear his children?”

“Men went their OWN babies - what if you can’t do that?”

“You will feel like less of a woman.”

Brought boyfriend in to try and change their minds. Them to him:

“Will you still love her if she’s BARREN?”

“Do you want kids?”

“What if you change your mind & want kids - will you LEAVE her?”

Him: “Save her life what I want doesn’t matter” (he understood the assignment)

The assumption through the entire process - as I got sicker and sicker - was that I should WANT to risk my life for the CHANCE to bear a child.

That if I didn’t WANT that - I would change my mind when I met the “right man”

Apparently the “man of my dreams” will be so spectacular and the love so all consuming that I will be all too happy to put my life on the line to give HIM babies.

Needless to say I found that incredibly offensive. I was dying. I was incredibly sick. I needed surgery.

This is NOT “informed consent”. This is misogynistic and patriarchal bullying.

Informed consent would have been ensuring I knew it wasn’t reversible and would mean I could never have children. Letting me know risks of complications. Risk of prolapse. Risk of early menopause

None of that was covered. It was ALL about men and babies.

I actually did have a severe post operative complication that I was woefully unprepared for because “informed consent” failed me.

We must do better. Women need autonomy over their body. Inform us. Work with us.

Don’t put the needs of a man before of our own. Don’t treat us like incubators.

We are MORE than our ability to bear children. I lost my womb at 24 and I’ve never felt like less of a woman, less of a person. I’ve never regretted it.

Medicine needs to do better

One of the worst parts was that when I ended up having a complication - I was gaslit & ignored again. Told I didn’t know my body AGAIN. I needed my boyfriend to get them to even run tests.

Now - decades later - I’m still dealing with issues from the surgery and complication.
I can never know how different things might have been had they acted faster - but I DO know I was never able to fully trust the medical profession again.

My article on this is below - and I’m working on a future one about informed consent (or lack thereof)

🧵 1/2

disabledginger.com/p/my-most-d…


#reproductiverights #reproductivehealth #prochoice #womensrights #womenshealth #misogyny #patriarchy #obgyn #hysterectomy #tuballigation #endo #endometriosis #chronicillness #mybodymychoice
#fuckthepatriarchy #ableism #discrimination

My Most Dangerous ER Experience and How My Advocate Saved My Life

A story of medical gaslighting, negligence and neglect that very nearly cost me my life - and how my accidental advocate (untrained and unprepared) saved me.

^{Broadwaybabyto (The Disabled Ginger)}