"Loving Grace" on The Moth Radio Hour This Week
/Hi friends (and a few family members!)
My story “Loving Grace” will be featured on The Moth Radio Hour this coming week, as part of their episode: “A Brave Front”. You can find local air times here:
https://themoth.org/radio-hour#listenOnAir
The episode will air from 5/30 - 6/5.
You can also access the full episode/my story a little later this week here: https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/281318-1911-a-brave-front-5-30-2023.
Don’t Fall For Viability/Gestational Abortion Bans
My story is joined by circumstances with that of baby Milo Dorbert who was diagnosed with Potter Syndrome (essentially what Grace was diagnosed with as well), and lived 99 minutes after his mother was denied access to abortion care and was forced to carry him only to watch him die upon birth.
Grace would have had to experience the same fate had I not been able to get an abortion, and it is important to note that I no longer would be able to get an abortion in Missouri today.
I started sharing my story 6+ years ago in the hopes that I could help improve policy and reduce stigma, but unfortunately, nearly a year ago the Supreme Court overruled Roe and eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion. And as you can see in Milo’s story, there are very real consequences to abortion bans. Florida’s 15-week ban kept Deborah Dorbert from accessing compassionate care for herself and her son.
Viability/gestational abortion bans harm people like me and babies like Grace. Exceptions to these bans rarely to never result in care for the people they espouse to cover. If you’d like to learn more about the circumstances that prompt people to seek out and obtain later abortions, please visit Who Not When, a people-centered resource for understanding abortions later in pregnancy.
OB-GYNs Don’t Want To Practice in Red States
These are dark and difficult times and have insidious long-term consequences. For instance, please check out these stories:
“New doctors applying to medical residency programs were likelier to avoid practicing in states with the most stringent abortion restrictions, an analysis from the Association of American Medical Colleges found.
Why it matters: The drop in applications, particularly for OB-GYN residencies, could exacerbate the lack of maternal health care in those states, which already have the highest maternal mortality rates in the U.S.”
This is really scary stuff, and not hypothetical.
Additional Resources
Eager for some quick ways to learn more and/or help?
Who Not When A people-centered resource for understanding abortions later in pregnancy.
I Need An A The most updated, personalized, and comprehensive online resource for abortion seekers looking for abortion options and support.
Reporting on Abortion Later in Pregnancy A resource for journalists from Who Not When.
Donate to your local abortion fund. You can find a listing here.
