Every Day Should Be National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers

To that end, I'm writing about this national day of appreciation the day after the actual day. Over the weekend I visited my undergraduate campus for the first time in years - a campus dedicated to educating women. I was reminded of the outdoor steps up a hill that are designed for a woman's body to run up. I remembered sitting in class with many other women and feeling empowered to speak as often and as loud as I wanted.I remembered my first visit to the health center where information on my reproductive health and choices was readily available - information I did not receive while attending a Maine public high school.  I remembered the nurse practitioner that asked me if I knew how to use condoms, and then insisted on showing me just to be safe.  She explained other methods of birth control, and options in the event that birth control failed. It's in this spirit that I want to acknowledge and appreciate abortion providers, who put their lives on the line for women the world over, so that we may exercise our reproductive freedom.  I'm grateful for the Maine providers, of whom there are several.  I'm also mindful of the states where abortion providers are few and far between.  When I was in Mississippi five years ago, I knew there was only one abortion provider in Jackson, meaning some women have to travel hours for abortion services.  For some women, it made more sense to travel north to Memphis.  For me and my colleagues, the costs of a trip to Memphis and the fee for services was feasible. For some of the young women I worked with, just travel out of state was an impossibility. So here's to all the abortion providers out there. Thanks for all that you do for women. You can support efforts to ensure abortion access by joining the ACLU here.  Read the ACLU's blog on the Day of Appreciation here.

March 11, 2010

To that end, I'm writing about this national day of appreciation the day after the actual day.
Over the weekend I visited my undergraduate campus for the first time in years - a campus dedicated to educating women. I was reminded of the outdoor steps up a hill that are designed for a woman's body to run up. I remembered sitting in class with many other women and feeling empowered to speak as often and as loud as I wanted.I remembered my first visit to the health center where information on my reproductive health and choices was readily available - information I did not receive while attending a Maine public high school. I remembered the nurse practitioner that asked me if I knew how to use condoms, and then insisted on showing me just to be safe. She explained other methods of birth control, and options in the event that birth control failed.

It's in this spirit that I want to acknowledge and appreciate abortion providers, who put their lives on the line for women the world over, so that we may exercise our reproductive freedom. I'm grateful for the Maine providers, of whom there are several. I'm also mindful of the states where abortion providers are few and far between. When I was in Mississippi five years ago, I knew there was only one abortion provider in Jackson, meaning some women have to travel hours for abortion services. For some women, it made more sense to travel north to Memphis. For me and my colleagues, the costs of a trip to Memphis and the fee for services was feasible. For some of the young women I worked with, just travel out of state was an impossibility.

So here's to all the abortion providers out there. Thanks for all that you do for women.

You can support efforts to ensure abortion access by joining the ACLU here.

Read the ACLU's blog on the Day of Appreciation here.