Two days ago, a woman who has decided to have an abortion wrote an open letter to her unborn child on the website Reddit.
The woman, who writes under the screen name ‘Scaredthrowingaway’, says that although she would love to be a mother, she wants the best thing for her child in the future.
Despite the love she feels for the being she affectionately calls “Little Thing”, she wants her child to have the happiness that she didn’t have – and that means bringing a child into the world when she is in a place where she can be the best mother she can be.
If you have ever thought that abortion was an easy option.
If you’ve ever thought it is a convenient solution to an awkward situation.
If you have ever thought that abortion is selfish, uncaring or cold.
Even if you have never thought any of these things:
You need to read this woman’s letter to her unborn child:
Little Thing:
I can feel you in there. I’ve got twice the appetite and half the energy. It breaks my heart that I don’t feel the enchantment that I’m supposed to feel. I am both sorry and not sorry.
I am sorry that this is goodbye. I’m sad that I’ll never get to meet you. You could have your father’s eyes and my nose and we could make our own traditions, be a family. But, Little Thing, we will meet again. I promise that the next time I see that little blue plus, the next time you are in the same reality as me, I will be ready for you.
Little Thing, I want you to be happy. More than I want good things for myself, I want the best things for the future. That’s why I can’t be your mother right now. I am still growing myself. It wouldn’t be fair to bring a new life into a world where I am still haunted by ghosts of the life I’ve lived. I want you to have all the things I didn’t have when I was a child. I want you to be better than I ever was and more magnificent than I ever could be. I can’t do to you what was done to me: Plant a seed made of love and spontaneity into a garden, and hope that it will grow on only dreams. Love and spontaneity are beautiful, but they have little merit. And while I have plenty of dreams to go around, dreams are not an effective enough tool for you to build a better tomorrow. I can’t bring you here. Not like this.
I love you, Little Thing, and I wish the circumstances were different. I promise I will see you again, and next time, you can call me Mom.
-h
Some Reddit commenters have responded by saying that Reddit is not the appropriate place to be debating the moralities surrounding abortion.
Others have commended her words, and some have even shared their own abortion stories:
There have also been offers of adoption from some Reddit users.
The woman replied to just one user, who wished her the very best of luck. She said:
“Thank you, thank you, thank you. It is hard. I feel sick and awful for not wanting something that, at the same time, I want so badly. But I feel better knowing I’m not alone and now that I see it all written out, there’s less madness bumping around in my head, which is nice. Thank you, again.”
What do you think of the letter?
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Top Comments
It's really none of our business what she does. Her having a termination affects none of us and all of this impassioned language would be better reserved for other matters I feel. Of course this will upset people and for that reason, she should not have posted it on Reddit, I think she would have been better off just keeping this a private matter because now she will be undoubtedly reading all the harsh judgement which will have a psychological impact on her of some kind no doubt. I had a termination at 19, I am now married and have other children. I could give advice but it would always be wrong because only she can really decide and I guess that's the core of what it means to be Pro Choice.
She posted it on the Internet and made it everyone's business.
I am with the above mother, and all mothers who decided to allow it to become a human or let it go. And sad for all those who think they have the right to use the word "murderer" without knowing they must be one themselves too.