And show your appreciation by taking your local abortion provider to the Bowl-A-Thon to fund abortion and provide fellowship.
Via Feministing (click at your own risk)
As an obstetrician-gynecologist I provide care for my patients during some of the most important and personal moments of their lives. I might go to the operating room in the morning to remove a mass from a patient’s ovary and that afternoon talk to a patient about the painful intercourse she is experiencing. The following day, I might be on Labor and Delivery and have the honor of being present when a patient delivers her baby. But the work I do that is most important to me is providing abortions.
It may seem strange that I consider this to be the most important part of my job. Out of everything that I do, abortion care is the part of my job that is most stigmatized. Being an abortion provider evokes judgment not only from strangers, but at times also from other doctors, and sometimes even from my own patients. On some days, the negative reactions to my work as an abortion provider can get the better of me and on those days it is nice to know that at least one day each year, I might receive public thanks for this work. That day is today, March 10: National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers.[…]
My intention to be a compassionate reproductive health care provider who trusts that my patients know what is best for them means that, in fact, I can’t not provide abortions. I provide abortion care because I see a part of myself in every patient that I care for. I have had sex in good relationships and bad, both when I have desperately wanted to become pregnant and when I have desperately wanted not to, when I have been ready to parent and when I have not. I have used birth control and experienced contraceptive failures. I have quietly panicked while waiting for my next period. I have seen a home pregnancy test turn positive and felt overwhelmed by the result. I have been pregnant and waited anxiously to hear my genetic testing and ultrasound results for confirmation that my child would most likely be healthy. I am a mother and recognize that the challenges—and rewards—of parenting cannot be overstated. I am a woman with plans and ambitions that an unplanned pregnancy might seriously disrupt.[…]
On most days, I don’t need National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers to know the difference that I am able to make in individuals’ lives. Still, on that one day, it is truly uplifting to feel the love and support for my work in such a public way.
Sarah Wallett, MD, is a practicing obstetrician/gynecologist and Fellow in Family Planning at the University of Michigan. When she is not taking care of patients, you can find her reading novels, trying out new recipes, and singing silly songs with her children.
You have been warned: Keep reading