Woman uploads abortion video - goes viral

MakeEmLaugh

A 25 year old woman from the US has uploaded a video of herself announcing she is pregnant, then discussing the fact that she is going to have an abortion.

The three minute clip then includes the actual procedure, caught on camera, as well Letts' feelings post-abortion.

She says the following:

“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. I can make a life. I knew that what I was going to do was right ‘cause it was right for me and no one else.”

Now, as someone who is very pro-choice, I am ambivalent about this video. On the one hand, I feel people should have the right to upload pretty much whatever they want to YouTube, as long as whatever's happening in the video is legal (which this was). And I don't at all think Letts was wrong to have an abortion.

However, statements like "I feel in awe of the fact that I can make a baby" hardly help the pro-choice movement. Referring to a foetus as a 'baby' is exactly what rabid pro-lifers do, and announcing that you are in 'awe' of the fact that what you were carrying was a 'baby', which you then chose to abort, again, doesn't help the pro-choice argument.

The One Doctor

Apt username. Seriously though, if it's legal she can do it, so there's no real argument.

nelly17

Well lets hope she does not have trouble concieving again if and when she decides to, or this could come back to haunt her. And I dont mean this from a pro life perspecvtive its just an observation

Grayson

nelly17 wrote: »

Well lets hope she does not have trouble concieving again if and when she decides to, or this could come back to haunt her. And I dont mean this from a pro life perspecvtive its just an observation

Abortions don't affect a woman's chance of conceiving. An abortion in the 1960's or one performed in a back alley might, but modern day procedures don't.

And that's why it's good that this woman recorded her abortion. there are too many myths and (pun intended) misconceptions about abortion. It needs to be out in the open where people can talk about it.

This is a commentary from the guardian. It mentions the reactions that women receive when they discuss abortions. It's interesting to note that most people do seem to have the opinion that there are Good and bad abortions. Women are judged on them and that's not right.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/08/emily-letts-abortion-video

GalwayGuy2

Honestly, that videos almost enough to make me turn pro-life.

I believe a woman shouldn't be ashamed to get an abortion, and should be allowed if she wants. But, realising it as if it's some kind of fan/political video is a tad dodgy.

It's honestly quite hard not to imagine that that fetus couldn't turn into a life in the future.

I am pro-choice, but I can kind of see why the pro-lifers get so enraged at these sort of stunts.

I Heart Internet

I understand that she works for an abortion provider, so this is, in effect, an advertisment.

6541

Jasus I am pretty liberal but dunno about that.

Ihatecuddles

I felt uncomfortable watching that, its like she was actually enjoying the experience.

BearBanjer

There's just no need for it is there....

herisson

I'm pro choice, but that video didn't sit right with me. Like mauzo! Said its like she was enjoying it.

I get that pro lifers will be up in arms over it. I don't think it was necessary to film it and upload it.

Wishiwasa Littlebitaller

herisson wrote: »

I get that pro lifers will be up in arms over it.

I am a "pro lifer" and I'm not up in arms, far from it.

On the contrary in fact, I am glad she posted it, as it shows that reality of the situation.

thomas anderson.

Her body, her choice.

Hande hoche!

One in three seems very high.

RDM_83 again

Meh, it reeks of vanity and being an Ad for abortion services rather than being a genuine effort to help people process their feelings (or lack there off post abortion).

razorblunt

I'm very liberal and very much pro-choice but I couldn't watch that, for the reasons highlighted above of self promotion more than anything.. That being said I wouldn't prevent anyone from watching it or demand it's removal.

eviltwin

Seems like an ad alright, I have no issue with people detailing their abortion experience, as someone else said its good to show the reality of it so people know what is involved. It prevents both sides making up stuff that isn't true and its helpful if someone having an abortion knows what to expect. This doesn't come across as an information video though.

hairycakes

I'm not sure how I feel about that. I am pro-choice and have no problem with the fact she had an abortion. And as mentioned above, I think it would be good for people who have gone through it to be able to talk more openly about it but I don't like how ,for lack of a better word, easy she made it seem. Regardless of what choice you make, I feel it is a big choice and I just feel that video belittled it somehow.

Wishiwasa Littlebitaller

thomas anderson. wrote: »

Her body, her choice.

A fetus is not part of a woman's body. It has it's own independent DNA.

thomas anderson.

Wishiwasa Littlebitaller wrote: »

A fetus is not part of a woman's body. It has it's own independent DNA.

And so it begins

fillefatale

I'm pro-choice, and I believe it is a women's right to choose this procedure, or not. I don't feel comfortable watching this - each women's experience is different, but that's the nature of the internet now - nothing is sacred, and everything is shared online. I'm not sure how to feel about this actually.

I Heart Internet

thomas anderson. wrote: »

And so it begins

Did it not begin with your earlier comment? It seems like it did.

Larbre34

Hope she doesn't get murdered by a fundamentalist type over it. She has been so blatant about publicising herself I wouldnt rule it out.

tigger123

fillefatale wrote: »

I'm pro-choice, and I believe it is a women's right to choose this procedure, or not. I don't feel comfortable watching this - each women's experience is different, but that's the nature of the internet now - nothing is sacred, and everything is shared online. I'm not sure how to feel about this actually.

I know what you mean about this kind of thing being uncomfortable to watch, but it's happening. A woman who elects to have this procedure may not have the support of those closest to her and I think the more people that discuss their experiences of it (whatever they may be) can only help those in similar positions.

suicide_circus

best abortion I've ever seen

eviltwin

tigger123 wrote: »

I know what you mean about this kind of thing being uncomfortable to watch, but it's happening. A woman who elects to have this procedure may not have the support of those closest to her and I think the more people that discuss their experiences of it (whatever they may be) can only help those in similar positions.

I agree, years ago you would never have seen footage of a woman giving birth or someone having a heart transplant. It wasn't the done thing but done in the right way it can be helpful and educational rather than voyeuristic.

However I don't think Ireland is quite ready for this yet, we can't even handle women talking about their experiences let alone seeing them.

padd b1975

thomas anderson. wrote: »

Her body, her choice.

Shame about the poor child growing inside her all the same though.

But that's the harsh reality of liberal abortion legislation I suppose.

tigger123

eviltwin wrote: »

I agree, years ago you would never have seen footage of a woman giving birth or someone having a heart transplant. It wasn't the done thing but done in the right way it can be helpful and educational rather than voyeuristic.

However I don't think Ireland is quite ready for this yet, we can't even handle women talking about their experiences let alone seeing them.

This argument always gets incredibly abstract and ideological very quickly. It's easy to forget that there's a very human side to these things. If more women spoke about their experiences it would perhaps change the tone of the debate somewhat.

Foxhound38

I'm pro-choice, she had every right to do what she did, no arguments here...

But just from a personal point of view, it didn't sit right with me. It was the tone of it or something, it was almost flippant - I feel very off about some aspect I can't even put my finger on specifically in that video. It's like the tone of it was deliberately pepped up to troll the anti-choice crowd or something - I'm sure that's not the case but that's the impression I got.

Look, her body, her life, her choice at the end of the day. But I can definately see this being paraded around by the anti-choice crusaders

Boombastic

eviltwin wrote: »

Seems like an ad alright, I have no issue with people detailing their abortion experience, as someone else said its good to show the reality of it so people know what is involved. It prevents both sides making up stuff that isn't true and its helpful if someone having an abortion knows what to expect. This doesn't come across as an information video though.

how close to reality is it though? are abortions full of 'special moments' and 'good feelings'?

keano_afc

thomas anderson. wrote: »

Her body, her choice.

See thats the thing, its not. Would you say the same if she was terminating at 8 months?

steddyeddy

I'm prochoice but she across as quite as having psychopathic tendencies as far as she seemed to enjoy that and not have an emotional response to what she was doing

My name is URL

Not gonna watch it but from what others are saying she sounds like an awful attention seeking cunt..

steddyeddy

My name is URL wrote: »

Not gonna watch it but from what others are saying she sounds like an awful attention seeking cunt..

This. She's using a termination to get attention. Doesn't sit well at all.

Muise...

Wishiwasa Littlebitaller wrote: »

A fetus is not part of a woman's body. It has it's own independent DNA.

Ah yeah, DNA, and blood-supply and food, and oxygen supply, and taste in music, a car, a house... :pac:

Boombastic

for those that don't want to watch the video, here's an insightful interview she gave to a magazine


http://www.cosmopolitan.com/_mobile/advice/health/why-i-filmed-my-abortion

I could have taken the pill, but I wanted to do the one that women were most afraid of. I wanted to show it wasn’t scary — and that there is such a thing as a positive abortion story. It’s my story.

Wazdakka

suicide_circus wrote: »

best abortion I've ever seen

Pffft...
Not even the best I've seen this week.[/After hours reply]

On a serious note,
This video probably wasn't done in the best taste... But it makes absolutely zero difference on how I feel about the issue one way or another..

I feel that the abortion procedure should be an available option to women in this country.
Personally I don't see what all the fuss is about...

Then again.... I am cursed with a style of reasoning and decision making that is based purely on unemotional logic.

Also... I don't posses a womb.. so as with most things... My opinion on this probably doesn't really matter..

steddyeddy

Boombastic wrote: »

for those that don't want to watch the video, here's an insightful interview she gave to a magazine


http://www.cosmopolitan.com/_mobile/advice/health/why-i-filmed-my-abortion

I could have taken the pill, but I wanted to do the one that women were most afraid of. I wanted to show it wasn’t scary — and that there is such a thing as a positive abortion story. It’s my story.

But it's also OK to be scared about it too. It's not a choice taken lightly. It's ok to feel sad after it as well. It doesn't mean you're bad. Her lack of emotional response in the video wasn't positive IMO.

Penny Tration

I'm pro-choice, but I could never film an abortion, or watch a film of it.

Having an abortion is nothing to be ashamed of, in my opinion, but I wouldn't want to see a video of a woman giving birth, so I'll never want to see a pregnancy bring terminated, either.

Seems like attention seeking. Showing people it's not scary? She's a bloody abortion counsellor, she can EXPLAIN to people that it's not scary. There's no need to film it.

Windorah

How anyone who works as an abortion counsellor would not be using contraceptives is beyond me...

I too am pro-choice but I do not appreciate people belittling such a choice.

ElvisChrist6

keano_afc wrote: »

See thats the thing, its not. Would you say the same if she was terminating at 8 months?

The argument doesn't really apply because it's not 8 months. No matter your feelings on the situation, I think most would agree that 8 moths is a completely different case to a few weeks and an abortion at 8 months would be pretty shocking to anyone.

Edit: I accidentally put a thumbs down thingy above this comment and now I can't remove it. It's not intentional.

darced

This post has been deleted.

Boombastic

steddyeddy wrote: »

But it's also OK to be scared about it too. It's not a choice taken lightly. It's ok to feel sad after it as well. It doesn't mean you're bad. Her lack of emotional response in the video wasn't positive IMO.

I agree with you. it is a serious procedure, not to be taken lightly. if they the video was in anyway realistic or informative at least it would be positive, but to make it out as 'cool.' and no bother does a disservice to women who have had an abortion and and trivializes the trauma they struggle with.





reading that article and the bit I quoted, I gather this woman purposely didn't use contraception in order to get pregnant, so she could experience an abortion.

eviltwin

Boombastic wrote: »

how close to reality is it though? are abortions full of 'special moments' and 'good feelings'?

well that video is her experience so I can only assume its an honest one. You could have 20 other women do similar videos and every single one would be different.

There are two sides to this, first the physical ie this is what happens when you go to have an abortion, these are the questions you are asked, this is what the procedure involves, this is what happens afterwards etc

Then you have the personal and emotional, there are bound to be women like the one in the video who are just happy to be able to have the abortion, who see it as the answer to their problem and who don't appear to have any issues with it but there are other women who will feel totally different. You can't represent all those women in one video though. This at least is a start.

It's completely unneccessary. Horrible advertisement. I won't be watching, but out of interest, was the "baby"'s potential father ever mentioned in the video?

My name is URL

steddyeddy wrote: »

But it's also OK to be scared about it too. It's not a choice taken lightly. It's ok to feel sad after it as well. It doesn't mean you're bad. Her lack of emotional response in the video wasn't positive IMO.

Exactly.. making it out to be no big deal, or an everyday decision that one might make is both irresponsible and pretty damn stupid.

Does no good for the pro-choice argument at all. I mean if you're gonna be pro-choice you should at least be pro-personal responsibility too.. she works in an abortion clinic and doesn't even use contraception. Utter clown with an obvious agenda.

Boombastic

eviltwin wrote: »

.......
Then you have the personal and emotional, there are bound to be women like the one in the video who are just happy to be able to have the abortion, who see it as the answer to their problem and who don't appear to have any issues with it......

It's this I won't bother using contraceptions because abortion is a solution brigade that bothers me. then shriek about my body my rights..

I Heart Internet

Deleted User wrote: »

It's completely unneccessary. Horrible advertisement. I won't be watching, but out of interest, was the "baby"'s potential father ever mentioned in the video?

Don't be so silly. Fathers don't matter.

Potatoeman

I have noticed that many pro choice supporters believe that the fathers right to choose ends at conception and should be at the very least financially supportive. Shouldn't the father equally have control over his involvement?

Wishiwasa Littlebitaller

Muise... wrote: »

Ah yeah, DNA, and blood-supply and food, and oxygen supply, and taste in music, a car, a house... :pac:

Glad you find it all so amusing.

Facetiousness aside, do you honestly feel that because a mother supplies oxygen and nutrition to a fetus, that this means the baby is somehow not a separate entity?

Penny Tration

Wishiwasa Littlebitaller wrote: »

Glad you find it all so amusing.

Facetiousness aside, do you honestly feel that because a mother supplies oxygen and nutrition to a fetus, that this means the baby is somehow not a separate entity?

Being really blunt - it's a parasite while it feeds off of the mother's o2 and food supply.

Wishiwasa Littlebitaller

steddyeddy wrote: »

But it's also OK to be scared about it too. It's not a choice taken lightly. It's ok to feel sad after it as well. It doesn't mean you're bad. Her lack of emotional response in the video wasn't positive IMO.

Indeed and it attitude would question if she was ever a suitable person to hold the position she did in the first place.