Thread by @BraveButBookish

When I was 24, I started working retail after graduating college. I graduated right as the recession hit and couldn't find full-time work anywhere, not even in retail. The hours were sporadic and the pay miserable, but I met some really great people at that job.

I was still there for the 2012 election and was talking it over in the breakroom with a friend. Another coworker came in and overheard. Now, this dude was someone I didn't know well but always seemed an affable enough guy. He sat down & proceeded to tell us who he was voting for.

"I'm gonna just write 'RON PAUL' across my envelope and turn it." My friend & I started laughing. "What, you guys don't like him?" "Well, no. For one thing, he's against abortion."

Then it was his turn to laugh. "Oh come on. You don't actually worry about that shit, do you? No one's going to take abortion away from you. Wake up and worry about real shit." It stunned me into a rage-filled screaming match with him, telling him to go to hell.

"No one's taking abortion away from you." How many times did men say that out loud in the last 10 years. How many times did I hear that men didn't bother to look up if a candidate was pro-choice or not because that was a 'women's issue'.

Alabama is going to be considered exceptional because they didn't even allow an amendment for rape or incest. But let me tell you why I hate that amendment in the first place. HOW THE FUCK DO YOU PROVE IT WAS RAPE OR INCEST. SERIOUSLY. WHAT IS THE LEGAL BASIS FOR PROVING THAT.

We can't prosecute rape in this country under any other circumstance. We're tremendously bad at it. The bureaucracy of justice in this country is slow, heavily favored to the powerful, and incredibly emotionally & financially exhausting.

Now you're telling me, we have to have highly traumatized people proving to police, lawyers, courtrooms, and judges that their assault did indeed take place & that it justifies this medical treatment? And do it all before the 24 weeks abortion deadline that most providers use?

Abortion is healthcare & why someone chooses to undergo such treatment is NONE OF YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS. Find local reproductive healthcare defenders in your community. Give them all the time, money, and love that you can. It's going to be much much worse before it gets better.