For those of you who support a woman's right to choose

[Frank M 181]

What do you think of this?

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/abortion-counselor-films-operation-article-1.1781689

 

 

An abortion counselor wanted to tell a positive abortion story by filming her own procedure.

Emily Letts, 25, a patient advocate at the Cherry Hill Women's Center in Cherry Hill, N.J., produced an online film of her abortion in November.

 

She wrote in an essay for Cosmopolitan that she wanted to discuss the feelings women who get the procedure feel — especially the guilt.

 

"I know there are women who feel great remorse. I have seen the tears. Grieving is an important part of a woman's process, but what I really wanted to address in my video is guilt," she wrote. "Our society breeds this guilt. We inhale it from all directions. Even women who come to the clinic completely solid in their decision to have an abortion say they feel guilty for not feeling guilty. Even though they know 110% that this is the best decision for them, they pressure themselves to feel bad about it."

 

The video shows Emily the night before the procedure as she informs the audience she is pregnant but not ready to have children.

 

"I feel lucky. I'm completely comfortable with the decision. I feel supported by everyone," she says. "I just want to share my story to show women there is such a thing as a positive abortion story."

The former actress said she became a counselor as a way to help women and support them after years of feeling competitive with other women because of her former profession.

But Letts, who did not return messages seeking comment, became pregnant in November because she said she didn't use birth control.

 

"Once I caught my breath, I knew immediately I was going to have an abortion," she wrote. "I knew I wasn't ready to take care of a child. The guy wasn't involved in my decision."

 

She opted to undergo a surgical abortion with local anesthesia, meaning she would be awake the entire time. The first trimester operation takes three to five minutes and she decided to film it to show an abortion from the woman's experience.

 

The video shows her conscious, holding someone's hand as she hums at the end of the procedure.

 

"You did great, you're a trooper there," the doctor remarked.

 

"You guys are my heroes," replied the relieved Letts.

 

Letts said she selected the procedure because it seems most scary for patients she deals with.

 

"Women come into the clinic all the time terrified that they are going to be cut open, convinced that they won't be able to have kids after the abortion," she wrote. "The misinformation is amazing, but think about it. They are still willing to sacrifice these things because they know that they can't carry the child at this moment."

 

During the abortion, she focused on staying positive and "feeling the love from everyone in the room," she said.

 

"I am so lucky that I knew everyone involved and I was so supported. I remember breathing and humming through it like I was giving birth," she wrote. "I know that sounds weird, but to me, this was as birth-like as it could be. It will always be a special memory for me. I still have my sonogram and if my apartment were to catch fire, it would be the first thing I'd grab."

Letts appears in the video again a month and a half after her abortion to address her feelings.

 

"I don't feel like a bad person. I don't feel sad. I feel in awe of the fact that I can make a baby," she said. "I can make a life. I knew that what I was going to do was right because it was right for me and no one else."

 

Letts said she receive hateful responses from her video. She mentioned comments like “you deserve to die,” and “you killed your baby.”

 

Many of the commenters on the video expressed support and thanked Letts for sharing her story and showing that abortions can be safe to the woman.Though others were appalled at seeing the film and not adding the full context of her decision.

 

“Abortion is not a medical procedure, it is ending the life of an unborn baby,” write one poster. “You have proven, once again, that the womb is not a safe place. That life you ended would have one day called you mommy... through childhood to teenager and to become an adult to fulfill his or her dreams. And how about the father? Did he even have a say in what you were going to do?”

 

Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, a pro-life advocacy group, said in a statement to the Daily news the video is a “sad commentary” that “someone can be rewarded for filming an event that takes the life of an innocent unborn human being.”

 

“Ms. Letts says that she is ‘in awe of the fact’ that she ‘can make a life,’ and she writes that if her apartment were burning, the sonogram of her unborn child is the first thing she would save. We pray that in the coming years, she will understand and be able to accept the ramifications of her actions,” she said.

 

Anne Scheidler, vice president of the Pro Life Action League, said she felt the film was very sad.

 

“She’s certainly ignoring the life she just destroyed in an effort to have an experience and show how positive a thing it is,” she told The News. “You can’t end someone’s life like that.”

 

Scheidler took exception to many things Letts said including her not informing the father and likening her abortion to a birth-like experience.

 

“No, wait until she does gives birth,” Scheidler said. “It’s a whole different experience than death.”

But despite a lot of negative feedback she received, Letts said she is still glad she did it.

 

"Every time I watch the video, I love it. I love how positive it is. I think that there are just no positive abortion stories on video for everyone to see. But mine is," she wrote.

 

Her one regret was not using birth control, which she said made her feel "irresponsible and embarrassed." After the abortion she said she had an IUD inserted so she would not get pregnant again until she was ready.

But Scheidler said she hopes Letts will ultimately regret her decision.

 

“I would hope the day will come when she realizes encouraging other women to blithely kill their children without any remorse at all is an irresponsible, juvenile and immature thing to do.”

 

I think this woman deserves all of the negative feedback that she's getting. The idea that having an abortion is an easy decision akin to deciding where to go for dinner is something that abortion foes like to trumpet, and this type of video plays right ino their hands. For many women, it's an agonizing, guilt-ridden decision that alters them forever. This video makes it seem almost flippant. If her idea was to destigmatize and demystify abortion, it fails. It turns it into a small thing, a small part of this woman's or any woman's life.

 

Also, it really detracts from the idea that abortion should be safe, legal and RARE

[Mungwater 601]

I don't care about this except for the attention whoring she's doing.

 

Let her get an abortion, so what? But this just seems tacky

[cyclone24 1,935]

Can size?

[drobeski 3,061]

What a hero, sooo brave to murder a helpless baby, she should go protest the death penalty to complete her cycle of loserness

[TimmySmith 2,783]

Is it possible to get negative returns at the box office?

[DankNuggs 305]

I agree. There should be alot of guilt, and to pretend that guilt has its roots in stigma i think is disingenuous. No matter how sure you convince yourself that you are, if it is being done out of pure election and not wanting to put the effort into caring for the baby, you should have a lifetime of guilt. you'd have to be inhuman for it to be otherwise.

[MDC 7,881]

The approach seems tacky to me, especially the part about grabbing the sonogram first and comparing the abortion to a birthing experience.

 

I think if you're going to do this kind of thing you need to think very carefully about the way the info is presented. It sounds to me like this woman is immature and a bit of an attention , and definitely not the person you want representing this POV.

 

Overall the idea is valid though IMO. There is a lot of misinformation out there and presenting a realistic view is a good way to counterbalance. I think this would be better as a documentary approach though where the woman either remains anonymous / pixelated and she is not also the documentarian.

 

Finally, the idea thy women who have abortions are or should feel guilty forever is a laugh. I've met dozens of women who have had abortions and not one if them expressed remorse or regret it at all. So yeah: the guilt is a social construct.

 

I suspect you guys who think women should let this haunt them forever are in denial and the people in your life just don't tell you.

[cyclone24 1,935]

Is it possible to get negative returns at the box office?

 

 

Liberals in Hollywood could probably get her an Oscar for this.

[edjr 6,898]

I support the man's right to choose.

 

Why does no one give a fock what the man thinks?

 

This country sucks

[NorthernVike 2,095]

What a hero, sooo brave to murder a helpless baby, she should go protest the death penalty to complete her cycle of loserness

 

I agree. There should be alot of guilt, and to pretend that guilt has its roots in stigma i think is disingenuous.

 

 

[TimmySmith 2,783]

I think if you're going to do this kind of thing you need to think very carefully about the way the info is presented. It sounds to me like this woman is immature and a bit of an attention ######, and definitely not the person you want representing this POV.

 

She sounds a bit off to me also. A "former" actress. It was almost as if she was playing a role. I am not sure if she realizes what she has gotten herself into.

[cyclone24 1,935]

I support the man's right to choose.

 

Why does no one give a fock what the man thinks?

 

This country sucks

 

 

Luckily in these situations the man is needed to actually have secks with a woman to get her pregnant.....so the odds YOU would find yourself in this situation is not very high.

[Frank M 181]

The approach seems tacky to me, especially the part about grabbing the sonogram first and comparing the abortion to a birthing experience.

 

I think if you're going to do this kind of thing you need to think very carefully about the way the info is presented. It sounds to me like this woman is immature and a bit of an attention ######, and definitely not the person you want representing this POV.

 

Overall the idea is valid though IMO. There is a lot of misinformation out there and presenting a realistic view is a good way to counterbalance. I think this would be better as a documentary approach though where the woman either remains anonymous / pixelated and she is not also the documentarian.

 

Finally, the idea thy women who have abortions are or should feel guilty forever is a laugh. I've met dozens of women who have had abortions and not one if them expressed remorse or regret it at all. So yeah: the guilt is a social construct.

 

I suspect you guys who think women should let this haunt them forever are in denial and the people in your life just don't tell you.

 

My experience is the same, but many of those same women who are comfortable with it post-abortion didn't come to the decision to have an abortion without guilt. You're right, they shouldn't feel guilty, but lots of them do.

[NorthernVike 2,095]

 

My experience is the same, but many of those same women who are comfortable with it post-abortion didn't come to the decision to have an abortion without guilt. You're right, they shouldn't feel guilty, but lots of them do.

 

 

You're pathetic.

[patweisers44 865]

I would have rather seen video of the conception.

[Googballz 39]

MDC knows "dozens of women" who have had abortions? Tells you a lot about the crowd he runs with.

[NewbieJr 541]

I'm pro-choice but this seems like going a bit too far.

[drobeski 3,061]

 

 

You're pathetic.

guilt should be saved for things you cant control, like skin color.

[Frank M 181]

 

 

You're pathetic.

 

Why?

[edjr 6,898]

 

 

Luckily in these situations the man is needed to actually have secks with a woman to get her pregnant.....so the odds YOU would find yourself in this situation is not very high.

 

You haven't been paying attention

[cyclone24 1,935]

 

You haven't been paying attention

 

 

No time.

[Frank M 181]

I would have rather seen video of the conception.

 

She could have saved herself a lot of trouble by letting all those potential babies die on her face.

[Brad GLuckman 519]

I've met dozens of women who have had abortions and not one if them expressed remorse or regret it at all.

 

Do you work at Planned Parenthood or something? How in the hell do you meet dozens of women who've had an abortion?

[MDC 7,881]

 

Do you work at Planned Parenthood or something? How in the hell do you meet dozens of women who've had an abortion?

Sorry, I should've said met maybe 5-6 who've had abortions at some point including several girlfriends (only one was mine), none of them expressed any regret or guilt, they all knew several other women (friends of theirs) who'd had abortions and none of them expressed any guilt either.

 

So based on my admittedly limited experience the idea that many or most women experience regret about having an abortion doesn't seem to be true.

[edjr 6,898]

 

 

No time.

 

http://www.fftodayforums.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=361184&hl=abortion

[NewbieJr 541]

Sorry, I should've said met maybe 5-6 who've had abortions at some point including several girlfriends (only one was mine), none of them expressed any regret or guilt, they all knew several other women (friends of theirs) who'd had abortions and none of them expressed any guilt either.

 

So based on my admittedly limited experience the idea that many or most women experience regret about having an abortion doesn't seem to be true.

This. I can see a bit of sadness in some cases. But not guilt. If there were to be guilt, I'd assume she'd be pro-life.

[wiffleball 4,797]

I don't even support a woman's right to speak.

[Mungwater 601]

This. I can see a bit of sadness in some cases. But not guilt. If there were to be guilt, I'd assume she'd be pro-life.

That makes sense, I think in order for someone to feel guilty they'd have to be doing something wrong. Nothing wrong with a lady having an abortion.

 

Now a former actress doing it to get a story out? That's focked up

[Frozenbeernuts 2,332]

Do all of you hypocritical people preserve your sperm every time you masturbate? Didn't think so. Good for her for making the choice. This world is moving toward over populated as it is. We don't need any more children unwanted by their biological parents. Poor kid may have gone from foster home to foster home.

[NewbieJr 541]

Do all of you hypocritical people preserve your sperm every time you masturbate? Didn't think so. Good for her for making the choice. This world is moving toward over populated as it is. We don't need any more children unwanted by their biological parents. Poor kid may have gone from foster home to foster home.

Correct. Not to mention the added strain on the welfare system in a lot of cases. And crime rates if all these unwanted/unloved kids hit the streets.

 

Women having abortions are doing us all a favor.

[edjr 6,898]

 

 

Women having abortions are doing us all a favor.

 

 

[Brad GLuckman 519]

Sorry, I should've said met maybe 5-6 who've had abortions at some point including several girlfriends (only one was mine), none of them expressed any regret or guilt, they all knew several other women (friends of theirs) who'd had abortions and none of them expressed any guilt either.

 

So based on my admittedly limited experience the idea that many or most women experience regret about having an abortion doesn't seem to be true.

 

I don't know many women who've had an abortion, although I'm sure we all know a few who have had one but just don't advertise it.

The one girl I do know who had a tough time with it was in high school at the time. Not sure if its easier on them as they get older.

[MDC 7,881]

 

I don't know many women who've had an abortion, although I'm sure we all know a few who have had one but just don't advertise it.

The one girl I do know who had a tough time with it was in high school at the time. Not sure if its easier on them as they get older.

I don't doubt there are women who have a tough time with it but I think 1) that's mostly due to the social stigma and 2) the vast majority, even if they feel some sadness etc., do not regret the decision.

[porkbutt 897]

 

but i shouldn't laugh....what a sad sad state of affairs.

 

only a person who would kill a baby would be able to try to make a positive out of killing babies

 

and mdc and you kooks saying "all the women i know feel no guilt" . gimme a fockin break

[MDC 7,881]

 

but i shouldn't laugh....what a sad sad state of affairs.

 

only a person who would kill a baby would be able to try to make a positive out of killing babies

 

and mdc and you kooks saying "all the women i know feel no guilt" . gimme a fockin break

It's true.

[Phurfur 70]

 

and mdc and you kooks saying "all the women i know feel no guilt" . gimme a fockin break

Don't under estimate the power of mind control.

- MK-Ultra

[NewbieJr 541]

 

but i shouldn't laugh....what a sad sad state of affairs.

 

only a person who would kill a baby would be able to try to make a positive out of killing babies

 

and mdc and you kooks saying "all the women i know feel no guilt" . gimme a fockin break

How many abortions have been performed in the last, say...20 years? Now what percentage of them were given to low income women? Are you refuting that a very high percentage of them would have been on welfare? Or ended up juvies and/or criminals? There's no denying it, a kid who isn't wanted is a drain on society.

[KSB2424 3,173]

I think that there are just no positive abortion stories on video for everyone to see. But mine is

 

 

 

This quote from the article is all I needed to hear. There is no such thing as a postitive abortion story. Either you were raped, were careless/ignorant (not use BC), or something went wrong. So either something bad happened or you were not responsible and thus it resulted in a pregnanacy. None of that is positive. An abortion, for even pro-choice people, is solution to a problem. Just because there is a solution doesn't mean its a good thing and is "positive".

 

There should be guilt (unless in the case of rape or the 0.5% of the people who were on BC but got preggos). You and your partner were irresponsible. It's your fault this happened. You should feel guilty.

[NewbieJr 541]

 

This quote from the article is all I needed to hear. There is no such thing as a postitive abortion story. Either you were raped, were careless/ignorant (not use BC), or something went wrong. So either something bad happened or you were not responsible and thus it resulted in a pregnanacy. None of that is positive. An abortion, for even pro-choice people, is solution to a problem. Just because there is a solution doesn't mean its a good thing and is "positive".

 

There should be guilt (unless in the case of rape or the 0.5% of the people who were on BC but got preggos). You and your partner were irresponsible. It's your fault this happened. You should feel guilty.

For someone to feel guilty, they'd have top assume they were causing pain to someone or doing something wrong. As a pro-lifer, obviously you think they should feel guilty. If a woman is pro-choice, she doesn't believe the embryo is an actual person yet and has no reason to feel guilty. You're trying to force your beliefs on other people.

[Brad GLuckman 519]

For someone to feel guilty, they'd have top assume they were causing pain to someone or doing something wrong. As a pro-lifer, obviously you think they should feel guilty. If a woman is pro-choice, she doesn't believe the embryo is an actual person yet and has no reason to feel guilty. You're trying to force your beliefs on other people.

 

I agree with you to a point, but I don't think it's that black & white.

 

A woman can be pro-choice and still feel guilty about an abortion. I think a lot of people fall into the category of not wanting to restrict a woman's rights while still feeling like abortion is morally wrong.