Anti-Choice Ads in Edmonton (Alberta)

Anti-choice ads have been placed in LRT (rapid transit) stations here in Edmonton. (See here and here and here and here).

I believe their intention is to guilt women into not having abortions as well as encourage women to contact one of their "pregnancy care centres" or call their toll free number (1 800 665 0570) so that women can hear misinformation about their reproductive choices and what abortion actually is. (By the way, they will NOT refer you to abortion services, no matter what. Knowing that having a 1800 number costs them money, I occassionally/gleefully call it asking for referrals to abortion providers).

There are a myriad of opinions on abortion and I am okay with that. But what I'm NOT okay with is someone's beliefs interfering with my reproductive choices, whether that be abortion, parenting or adoption.

It is true that most fetuses will continue to gestate and become babies. This is not misinformation. But the LRT ads are tacky, one sided and as one Facebooker pointed out, potentially and unnecessarily triggering to some women who have had abortions.

So here is my solution for alternate ads:

Facing an unplanned pregnancy? Call or visit a local agency which will provide emotional and practical support, and ACCURATE information on all choices available to you. In Edmonton, this includes Options Sexual Health Association, the Birth Control Centre and Woman's Health Options. (Woman's Health Options, bless them, also provides abortion services).

Let women decide what is right for their bodies and circumstances, and trust women to make the right choice for themselves, whatever that choice may be.

Why am I so passionate about this issue?

Well, when I was 14 years old or so I had my first abortion. I lived in a city where anti-choice was the norm. In fact, I heard years later that doctors no longer performed abortion services in this city due to the the harassment they and their kids experienced. So I guess it was unsurprising when I visited a walk in clinic to find out whether or not I was pregnant and the doctor (located next to the high school) informed me abortion wasn't available and wasn't legal in Canada and gave me a list of ob/gyns to assist me in carrying my pregnancy even though I told him over and over I wanted an abortion.

The doctor's response made me attempt self-abortion techniques too gruesome to be described here. I thought about suicide, took every illegal drug I knew with the hopes of terminating the pregnancy and hated myself for wanting to do something that must have been so awful that it was illegal in Canada.

I contacted a "pregnancy care centre" and was told that abortion was murder. So while I attempted to abort my pregnancy myself, I made sure I did so in particularly punishing ways - ways that could have caused very serious issues. After all, I was a murderer!

I also went to the public library to find out everything I could about abortion. There was one book (anti-choice) filled with graphic images and misinformation about what actually occurs during an abortion. I reviewed and absorbed these images and in fact tore out the pictures, carrying them in my wallet to torture myself for being such a bad person.

At some point I actually looked in the yellow pages and to my surprise discovered there was in fact an abortion clinic a 5hour drive away. I don't think I was thrilled but I was definitely relieved. But then I ran into problems. How could I call them without incurring long distance charges that my parents would notice? And how would I get there?

By this time I was in my 2nd trimester, thanks to the lying doctor who confirmed I was pregnant. So while the procedure was still pretty simple and safe, it was a bit more complicated than if I had aborted in my 1st trimester. My cervix had to be opened the day before (OUCH!) but I dealt by (afterwards) drinking peaches soaked in beer. I was also extra horrified because at this stage of the pregnancy, as my ripped out pages informed me, my fetus looked so much more like a "baby".

I made it to Vancouver where I met a counsellor at the abortion clinic who spoke with me about my feelings, options, and what to expect, all the while assessing that this was my decision and no one was pressuring me into it.

On the day of the procedure, I crossed an angry picket line (a woman called me a murderer; another told me that it wasn't too late to change my mind). I felt ashamed. Now, I feel pissed off.

After the abortion, I fell into a deep depression not because the abortion itself was traumatic but because of all of the anti-choice messages I was hearing. I could hear the voices of the protesters and the lying doctor. I looked at the pictures of the aborted fetuses daily. I journalled letters to my "dead baby" apologizing for my decision. Which makes me wonder, when women feel traumatized by abortionh, how much of this is caused by anti-choice lies? But I digress.

The good thing about this experience is that I was introduced to feminism. Had I not been terrorized by anti-choicers I may not have become aware of how their activism hurts women. I may not have realised the importance of choice. And I probably wouldn't have started looking into the history of reproductive rights activism.

I had a second abortion in my late teens/early 20s and it was a much different experience. I went in knowing it was my right, what to expect, and all of the options available to me (and the information was accurate!) This abortion was performed in a hospital without protesters, and even if there were, I believe I would have felt comfortable yelling back at them.

I still have the pictures of the aborted fetuses I ripped out of the library book to remind me why I am a feminist, and why pro-choice activism is so important. These pictures no longer cause me pain or grief. Rather, I am proud I made the right decision for myself, even with the anti-choice pressure.