Usually a headline with the words “politician” and “abortion” in it, is followed by an article about ultra-conservative men preaching about sin and promiscuity.
But one thing we don’t often hear about in the media, is a female politician announcing she had an abortion.
Which is weird when you consider that, on average, one in four women will have an abortion in her lifetime.
And that’s why it’s so refreshing to hear US Democratic nominee Lucy Flores openly admit to having had an abortions as a teenager — not because the foetus was sick, not because it was a product of rape, but because she wasn’t ready to have a baby and had a different vision for her life.
It was during a hearing on a state sex education bill in April 2013, that the 34-year-old admitted she’d had an abortion, and revealed more of her story in an interview with MSNBC published yesterday.
Of the seven daughters in her family, she was ‘the only one who didn’t have kids in their teenage years,’ she told MSNBC.
“That’s because at 16, I got an abortion,” she explained.
As MSNBC writes:
Her eyes welled up and her voice caught as she described how she’d convinced her father to pay the $200 cost for the procedure. She didn’t want to end up like her sisters, Flores told him.
“I don’t regret it,” she said. “I don’t regret it because I am here making a difference, at least in my mind, for many other young ladies and letting them know that there are options and they can do things to not be in the situation I was in, but to prevent.”
Interestingly, given America’s political climate — in which abortions are typically taboo — Flores has actually become more popular since speaking out about her life experiences: polling data suggests 59 per cent of people like Flores more after hearing her life story, as Slate reports.
Indeed, the brave way she’s tackled the challenges she grew up with has become the centrepiece of Flores’ campaign, and women’s rights advocates and Hispanic activists in particular see her as “as a potential superstar for the Democratic Party”, according to Slate.
We’re a little disappointed Flores isn’t campaigning here in Australia — we could do with fewer rich, white, anti-choice men in power at the moment.
But on the whole, we’re so pleased Lucy Flores is brave enough to speak out about an experience that so many women can relate to.
Brava, Lucy. Brava.
Would hearing Flores’ life story make you more or less likely to vote for her? Do you think Australian politicians could do with being more honest?
Top Comments
Hypothetical (and why the debate about abortion needs to shift): A 27 year old woman becomes pregnant. She has always thought of children in her future but at the time of discovering she is pregnant she is not ready to be a mother. Off she goes to the abortion clinic and has counselling about the procedure. She is told there are no risks to fertility, the foetus isn't a living thing, she is doing the right thing and she is comfortable and goes ahead with the procedure. Two years later she marries and tries to start a family because now she is ready. The she finds out that the prior abortion caused infertility issues (of which it can). She can't get pregnant. How does she feel now? Or she gets pregnant and then when she sees her baby on the ultrasound she immediately thinks back to the one she aborted (and it doesn't happen for all women but it does for some!).
Option 2: She is counselled independently when she finds out she is pregnant. She is informed that fertility decreases the older you get. Given the facts about fertility. Given the risk factors of the abortion procedure (and I fully acknowledge that abortion doesn't always cause problems, but lets not keep denying that in some instances it does). Say she has polycystic ovaries or she already has a touch of endometriosis. So the risk to her "reproductive health" is greater by having the abortion. It may not affect her, she may be fine, but at least she is armed with all the facts. No surprises when the fertility specialist asks if she has every had an abortion (of which if it doesn't risk fertility then why the hell do they ask?). Then the woman has choice in what she does. She can still decide abortion is in the best interests for her given the variables around the decision. She might choose to keep the pregnancy though. She is making a fully informed decision though.
Option 3: She is counselled independently and is firmly of the belief that it is wrong to terminate a pregnancy. Is abortion really in that woman's best interests? What is wrong with finding other support structures for her?
Option 4: She is firmly of the belief that a foetus is not viable and adamant that the abortion is the best choice for her. How is her choice under threat because another woman decides abortion isn't the right choice for her individually? Where is the shame in her choice because another woman chose something different? There is none!
Option 5: The woman is conflicted. Doesn't know how she feels about abortion. Doesn't know how she will cope with a child. Doesn't have support. Is feeling pressured either way to abort or to keep the pregnancy. Wouldn't the best place for that women be in independent counselling to help her come to the right decision for her? How does that shame or threaten access to abortion for any other women?
The fact that abortion is right or wrong of one woman in no way is an indication of if it will be the right or wrong choice for another. It shouldn't be discussed in the political sphere. It shouldn't be celebrated or shamed. It should be a service provided to women with eyes wide open to all of the issues surrounding it, independently, free of anyone else's agenda. She is the only one who has to live with her choice and she will feel what she feels, not what another's response to abortion has been.
Nobody should be ashamed to terminate. It can be a good thing. Despite technology, the fact is it is not human it is still a clump of cells, and lets be honest, even amoebas and viruses have a heartbeat so that is no determining factor. It is not a human. And as the host, the mother has the right to determine what happens to her body, no one else. I long for the day abortion is seen as a mainstream health service. Because lets face it that is what it is and should be. Lets break down the walls, fear and ignorance on this issue!
That is your opinion about the existence of life. You cannot change how other's view it. How helpful is it to a young woman who holds firmly the belief that the existence of life begins at conception. That is her opinion and her right to view it that way. So she is pressured by her parents and her partner to abort the pregnancy. She is confused, she is vulnerable and she has people telling her that she should terminate for the sake of her and the baby's life because it isn't a real living thing anyway. The woman who firmly holds that view will be more likely to cope with her decision to terminate. What about the woman who doesn't hold that view though?
Shouldn't the most fundamental question of any woman contemplating abortion be how she personally feels about it? It shouldn't be a societal view (as has been argued by pro choice), it should be a choice respecting the individuals core beliefs.
I have no idea why so many people are against respecting and acknowledging that abortion isn't a solution for everyone because not everyone can cope with that decision. It will not prevent those who want an abortion, and for whom abortion is the right choice, from having an abortion, but it will protect women who it is not the right choice for. Aren't we about protecting ALL women?
Amoebas and viruses don't have heartbeats ...It's also debatable over whether or not a virus is actually alive.
As for abortion, I agree with many others that it should be legal, safe, without stigma, but rare.