UPDATED AND CORRECTED 6/6/2006 (see below)

This has got to be the worst example of the abdication of personal responsibility I’ve ever seen.

The conservative politics of the Bush administration forced me to have an abortion I didn’t want. Well, not literally, but let me explain.

I am a 42-year-old happily married mother of two elementary-schoolers. My husband and I both work, and like many couples, we’re starved for time together. One Thursday evening this past March, we managed to snag some rare couple time and, in a sudden rush of passion, I failed to insert my diaphragm.

The next morning, after getting my kids off to school, I called my ob/gyn to get a prescription for Plan B, the emergency contraceptive pill that can prevent a pregnancy — but only if taken within 72 hours of intercourse. As we’re both in our forties, my husband and I had considered our family complete, and we weren’t planning to have another child, which is why, as a rule, we use contraception. I wanted to make sure that our momentary lapse didn’t result in a pregnancy.

The receptionist, however, informed me that my doctor did not prescribe Plan B. No reason given. Neither did my internist. The midwifery practice I had used could prescribe it, but not over the phone, and there were no more open appointments for the day. The weekend — and the end of the 72-hour window — was approaching.

But I needed to meet my kids’ school bus and, as I was pretty much out of options — short of soliciting random Virginia doctors out of the phone book — I figured I’d take my chances and hope for the best. After all, I’m 42. Isn’t it likely my eggs are overripe, anyway? I thought so, especially since my best friend from college has been experiencing agonizing infertility problems at this age.

Weeks later, the two drugstore pregnancy tests I took told a different story. Positive. I couldn’t believe it.

You read that right — this lady acted irresponsibly by engaging in sex without using contraception, and now it’s the President’s fault that she’s pregnant and will chose to have an abortion. Apparently, a serious lack of judgment such as this is only a “momentary lapse” as far as she’s concerned, therefore the pregnancy is not her fault. She is unable to see that her actions, along with her husband’s actions, are responsible for the predicament she’s in. In short, she’s a perfect example of a liberal feminist.

I felt sick. Although I’ve always been in favor of abortion rights, this was a choice I had hoped never to have to make myself. When I realized the seriousness of my predicament, I became angry. I knew that Plan B, which could have prevented it, was supposed to have been available over the counter by now. But I also remembered hearing that conservative politics have held up its approval.

Every drug sold in the United States goes through a lengthy process at the FDA prior to it’s approval.

Moreover, they aren’t even required to tell the patient why they won’t provide the drug. Nor do they have to provide a list of alternative sources. I had asked the ob-gyn’s receptionist if politics was the reason the doctor wouldn’t prescribe Plan B for me. She refused to answer or offer any reason, no matter how much I pressed her. By the time I got on the phone with my internist’s office and found that he would not fill a Plan B prescription either, I figured it was a waste of time to fight with the office staff. To this day, I don’t know why my doctors wouldn’t prescribe Plan B — whether it was because of moral opposition to contraception or out of fear of political protesters or just because they preferred not to go there.

In any event, they were also partly responsible for why I was stuck that Friday, and why I was ultimately forced to confront the decision to terminate my third pregnancy.

No. No. No.

You were forced to confront this decision because you acted irresponsibly, plain and simple. Had you acted responsibly, none of this would have occurred. It isn’t the doctor’s fault that you had sex without contraception. It isn’t the President’s fault that you had sex without contraception. It’s your fault.

All the while, I was thinking that if religion hadn’t been allowed to seep into American politics the way it has, I wouldn’t even be there. This all could have been stopped way before this baby was conceived if they had just let me have that damn pill.

Now it’s God’s fault! Just a suggestion, lady: if you really think God’s responsible for your pregnancy, you’d better call the press. The last time that happened over 2000 years ago, it was a pretty big deal.

Not only is this lady ignorant of her situation, she’s also ignorant of her history. Religion has been apart of our politics since before this nation existed. Just because she and her liberal buddies don’t think it should be doesn’t make it so.

It was a decision I am sorry I had to make. It was awful, painful, sickening. But I feel that this administration gave me practically no choice but to have an unwanted abortion because the way it has politicized religion made it well-nigh impossible for me to get emergency contraception that would have prevented the pregnancy in the first place.

And to think that, all these years after Roe v. Wade became the law of the land, this is what our children have to look forward to as they approach their reproductive years.

One more time for those of you who ride the short bus: If you had acted responsibly, by using contraception, you would not have needed “emergency” contraception. If you had taken a moment and used your diaphragm, you would not have gotten pregnant in the first place. You are an adult. You are responsible for your own actions. It is not the government’s place to provide you with a means to allow you act irresponsibly without having to face the consequences of your actions.

As for what your children have to look forward to, at least they’re alive. It’s hard to imagine that, given the fervor that you display towards allowing anyone to kill their unborn child for any reason, including inconvenience. I only hope that someone who can teach them about personal responsibility crosses their paths before they act as stupidly as you did.

UPDATE: As pointed out in the comments, I confused the Plan B pill with RU486. The Plan B pill is used to prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterine wall, and thereby preventing pregnancy, while RU486 is the pill which causes an abortion. The language in this post which referenced RU486 has been removed. My apologies for the error.

Hat Tip: The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler

This entry was posted on Monday, June 5th, 2006 at 12:24 pm by Nick, and is filed under Conspiracy, Culture War, Health Stuff, Life, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.