Thread by @DrDGrossman

This op-ed by Kevin Williamson not only shows how uninformed he is about abortion procedures, pregnancy, and the current state of abortion in the United States and globally, but also how callous he is towards women’s lives.

External Tweet loading...
If nothing shows, it may have been deleted
by @postopinions view original on Twitter

First, Kevin Williamson, the medical profession will never be separated from abortion care because abortion is health care. It’s part of my Ob/Gyn practice. It’s a part of pregnancy. Pregnancy is part of healthcare. That will never change.

Williamson rests much of his argument on France’s abortion laws but fails to mention France, like much of Europe, makes first trimester abortions available in hospitals, clinics, via telemedicine and pills. France has a national heath system because healthcare is a human right.

Most European nations with earlier abortion bans also have national health systems. Patients can get all of their healthcare, including contraception & abortion, without dealing with insurance companies or spending weeks figuring out how to pay for care. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27456713

Williamson lives in Texas where many abortion clinics were shutdown by a now-unconstitutional law, and haven’t been able to reopen. Patients have to wait for appointments, traveling across the state or out of state for later abortions, making early abortion inaccessible.

Williamson and anti-abortion extremists cannot have it both ways: You cannot call for the murder of people seeking & providing abortions, then act surprised when we’re attacked. You cannot shutdown clinics and access to contraception, then be upset patients need later abortions.

Williamson writes, “Easier access to nonabortive contraception, better adoption procedures and improved access to care for vulnerable young mothers probably would do some good.”

Contraception is used to prevent pregnancy. That means is is not an abortion.

There’s no such thing as a “nonabortive contraception” because there’s no such thing as “abortive contraception.”

Contraception is to prevent pregnancy.

Abortion is to end an established pregnancy.

@PostOpinions, I’d be happy to fact-check Williamson’s piece for you.

Additionally, Williamson willfully misunderstands abortion and adoption decision-making.

The first decision a patient makes is whether to continue the pregnancy or not. The next decision, if they continue the pregnancy, is whether to parent or seek adoption.

Patients seeking abortions are aware of adoption as an option, however @gesisson’s research shows “Most women who received abortions were aware of but uninterested in adoption.”
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/28153…

.@gesisson research also sheds light on birth mothers’ varied feelings about abortion. “Many were opposed to abortion, but a greater number supported abortion as a reproductive choice, although one they did not choose for themselves.”
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/26143…

“Birth mothers were most often choosing between adoption & parenting, not adoption & abortion. Most participants would have preferred to parent, but did not because of external variables.”
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/26143…

“Mixed experiences with adoption also influenced participants' long-term ideas about reproductive choice.”
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/26143…

Additionally, the majority of people having abortions are already parenting. They know what it is to decide to continue a pregnancy and become a parent. By talking to patients seeking abortions, and thinking about parenting and adoption, we actually gain insight into their lives.

Rather than reducing women’s lives to a misogynistic thought experiment for op-ed pages, let’s actually listen to what it is that they say they need to live fulfilling lives, raise their families, have healthy pregnancies, and build thriving communities.