Elissa Slotkin for Congresssecure.actblue.com/donate/slotkinq42022?refcode=email20221013&amount=28 [secure.actblue.com/donate/slotkinq42022?refcode=email20221013&amount=28]
Friend,
I’ve heard more about choice from the folks in my district in the last four months than the last four years. I’ve heard how this is a violation of personal freedom, how there are little girls growing up in a world with fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers, but what I’ve mostly heard are stories.
Since the repeal of Roe v. Wade I’ve had women quietly approach me – some have literally whispered in my ear – to tell me their personal stories. Stories of abortions, of miscarriages, of health complications, and of the fear and desperation that comes with making such a personal choice in a world where the government is dictating what choices are available to us. Today, I want to share some of those stories with you.
I’ve had multiple older women approach me, to describe their experience of life before Roe. Some recalled being a teenager – fearing for their safety and knowing that they would have no place to live if their family found out. Others told me about the extreme psychological consequences of a rape that resulted in pregnancy, and how they would have been completely unable to care for a child. Their stories were different, but what they all had in common was the experience of seeking out and obtaining an abortion at a time when it was not legal, regulated, or guarenteed to be safe. They were all distraught that we could go back to the time they had lived through.
Others have told me about their faith. I’ve heard from women who could never personally choose to get an abortion due to their faith, but who in the same breath say they have never walked in another woman’s shoes and wouldn’t tell her how to live. Devout Catholics and Christians, who attend church every Sunday, have told me that they are deeply pro-life, but that there is nothing in life with no exceptions and that their faith teaches them not to judge others.
I’ve heard from women, both pro-choice and pro-life, who desperately wanted a child but suffered a miscarriage and needed procedures like a D&C that are techincally considered abortions. Women who had ectopic pregnancies that needed an abortion to save their lives and others who, if not treated, may have lost the ability to have children altogether. Some have told me that they’ve made the decision with their spouse to not have any more children – despite wanting to – because of past pregnancy complications, and the fear that medical treatment may not be available if they have complications in the future.
People of every political affiliation have expressed that this will not affect all women equally. That many people can’t just take four or five days off of work to travel to Canada or another state – much less afford the lodging and the transportation. They’ve also commented on how there are no new requirements for men.
Two weeks ago, I was invited by a Republican women's group in Brighton to come and talk just about this issue. Women only in the basement of one of their homes. There were 25 women, many who view themselves as pro-life, who wanted to understand what was fact and fiction. I think when women get together, we know instinctively that there are a million reasons why you may desperately want a child but can't carry one to term.
I’ll leave you with this story. It’s not one that was personally told to me, but that I heard on NPR while I was in my car ( you can read the full article here [[link removed]] ). A woman in Texas – in the middle of a miscarriage – was told at the hospital to go home because her fever wasn’t high enough and she wasn’t bleeding hard enough. Because of the new Texas law, she was sent home – repeatedly – to have her miscarriage on her own. Finally, a panel of doctors determined it was okay for her to have the procedure she needed. Think about that.
That’s not something I’m willing to let happen in my state – I will be fighting to ensure Michigan women continue to have the freedom to make this incredibly personal choice without the government in the room.
CONTRIBUTE [[link removed]]
Elissa


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About Elissa
Elissa Slotkin proudly represents Michigan’s 8th district in Congress. Keep up with Elissa and the latest from the campaign trail on Facebook [[link removed]] and Twitter. [[link removed]]



Contact Elissa
P.O. BOX 4145,
EAST LANSING, MI 48826
[email protected] [[email protected]]
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Elissa Slotkin for Congress
PO Box 4145
East Lansing, MI 48826
United States
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