Gay Marriage and Abortion, All in One Day

The California Supreme Court yesterday overturned an injunction placed on gay marriages in San Francisco, ruling that bans on gay marriages are unconstitutional and discriminate against homosexuals. My girlfriend called me as soon as she heard about the ruling to make sure I heard and to tell me she loved me. "Isn't it great we're moving to California?" she said. Yes, it is great. Perfect timing. Of course, many friends e-mailed me, asking if they heard wedding bells for the two of us, but really what this means it that we can take things as quickly or as slowly as straight couples. The point is, we will have all of the options everyone else has, and that's awesome. This came in the afternoon of an already good day, and after that, it kept getting better.

I walked over to Grand Central to catch the train to the New York Academy of Sciences for an awards ceremony honoring abortion providers. The main award went to Dr. Mildred Hanson, a woman from Minneapolis, MN who has been providing abortions for 50 years. Before Roe v. Wade made abortion legal, Dr. Hanson practiced within the hospital system, working to get women safe, legal abortions. Before Roe, if you could prove you were crazy and a danger to yourself or others, you were allowed to get a legal abortion. Dr. Hanson was on her hospital's abortion committee, and she saw many desperate women in the days before legal abortion. In the documentary I promote as part of PRCH, Voices of Choice, Dr. Hanson tells a moving story of a young woman who called her in the middle of the night, desperately in need of an abortion. Dr. Hanson told her what to do to get one, but she later found out that the girl had killed herself. "To this day, I feel responsible for her death," she explains in the film.

At the awards ceremony, she told another incredibly moving story about a woman in Minnesota who died of sepsis as a result of an illegal abortion. The mortician came to drain the body of blood and placed the body over the heating grates, deeming that the best space to do so. The woman's children were upstairs, and when they looked down, they saw their dead mother being drained of blood. Horrific, and a gruesome reminder of the importance of protecting women's health and lives by keeping abortion safe and legal.

Despite these grim scenes and stories, the night was incredibly gratifying. I've never been more proud to work for a pro-choice organization, or of being pro-choice. These abortion providers were amazing. Dr. Susan Wicklund, the author of This Common Secret: My Journey as an Abortion Doctor, gave the keynote address, and she was moving and inspiring, as were all of the guests. Among them were Dr. Curtis Boyd, the doctor whose clinic was burned to the ground in New Mexico in December. He received special recognition for his battles and efforts while Dr. Hanson received the William K. Rashbaum Abortion Provider Award for dedication to women's health, the main award of the night. In the audience was Dr. George Tiller, the abortion provider in Kansas who has been embroiled in a legal witch hunt by anti-choice activists for over a year as he provides abortions up until the third trimester. He won the award last year, and he gave a moving address introducing Dr. Hanson as his mentor and constant reminder of the importance of this fight and this facet of healthcare. Also in the audience was Rev. Howard Moody, founder of the Clergy Consultation Service. The CCS was a network of clergy that investigated doctors to make sure they provided safe abortions and made referrals to women in need of abortions before Roe. He has been dubbed the "Harriet Tubman" of abortion. In addition to these big names a room full of other abortion providers and women's health advocates, heroes in their own rights. It was an amazing atmosphere of solidarity and celebration for those who provide the most stigmatized medical practice in human history.

I think my favorite part of the night was when Dr. Wicklund read excerpts from the PRCH website (the Why I Provide brochure) from members talking about their views of being abortion providers and experiences with patients. One doctor wrote that it was the only field where you fundamentally change women's lives for the better, heal them mentally and physically, and that abortion patients are the only ones who send thank-you letters. Another talked about how gratifying it was to care for women and help them through the most difficult chapters in their lives, giving them a new lease on life and a rebirth. Women's health providers and those who provide abortions love caring for women and their families. Dr. Hanson mentioned that abortion is a normal part of a woman's life, and that giving these women safe care means ensuring her children have a mother, ensuring her parents have a daughter. These doctors watched women die from the consequences of illegal abortion; they know that what they do makes for better families and a better society, and they know it is a public health necessity.

I was so moved by all of those speeches, and I'm still crying about them, but I couldn't help but think about the people out there whose sole purpose is wiping these people off of the map. It was a woman who shot George Tiller and nearly killed him, and abortion providers face dangers every day of their lives. Their families are threatened, their clinics are burned, all because they give women options to control their lives, have children when they can, and give some the compassion and care that they deserve during incredibly traumatic experiences. If you love women, you must believe in a woman's right to full healthcare, including abortion. During the times of illegal abortion, which millions of women around the world still live today, families lost their mothers, sisters, aunts, wives, and daughters. We cannot go back to those times here in the United States.

This event, in addition to the gay marriage decision, made me think about our politicians. Many of the articles after the California ruling centered around how it would reignite the political debate about gay marriage, which could hurt the Democrats. None of the presidential candidates, Democrat or Republican, support gay marriage, though Obama and Clinton support civil unions. All of these politicians will not stand up for equality but avoid these issues like the plague. That goes for abortion, too. They have never heard the stories I heard last night and throughout my tenure at PRCH from abortion doctors who put their lives on the line for women's health and rights, or if they have, they hide them in veils of secrecy.

Some day, I want a politician who stands up and talks about the importance of abortion, instead of just saying they're pro-choice. Some day, I want a president who works to end discrimination in the public square and supports the rights of all people to love and express that love just like anyone else. I want to live in a society where frank and honest discussion of freedom goes beyond debates over gun rights or the rights of bigots to say the "n" word.

That society has yet to be born, but I hope I'm in the delivery room when it is.