I graduated in 1983. Small town Iowa. the poor girls got pregnant and had babies; the rich or popular girls got pregnant but did not have babies. This was before RU486, it was either brutal physical activity, gut punches, coathangers, or the vaccum at the clinic. We did not talk of incest or rape, but I am sure this led to many unplanned pregnancies also.
Many years ago I randomly came across a Bible passage from Ecclesiastes and always thought of abortion rights. The passage is shared in full at the bottom of this post. At that time, I did not even begin to fathom the government would take away a womens right to make her own health care decisions. Tonight I am randomly cleaning some clutter and came across this Bible with a random scrap of paper flagging a page. A torn off bottom of a Walmart receipt dated 04/02/2017 to mark the passage I felt so powerful. The Bible is called the Brave Girls Holy Bible. Very befitting of a Bible with this name to lead me to such a powerful message.
When I lived in Waterloo, I recall my elderly neighbor Margaret looking at me one day and saying, I hope they never get rid of Roe V Wade. She tells me she lost too many friends to coat hangers and suicide from the unplanned pregnancy. I worked with a woman who, like me, was born prior to RoevWade. She tells us at work one day that when her Grandmother discovered her Mother was pregnant with her, her mother was forced to drink a very dangerous concoction as an attempt to induce miscarraige. Is this really where we are going???
I think everyone needs to be very informed this election year of 2024 on the real issues facing our country and our democracy. Headlines are not information, you need to read.. actaully read the written word, educate and inform yourselves of facts over fiction. Do not rely on friends or narcisstictic gas lighting pushy people to inform you of the facts. To be an informed voter, you need to do this yourself. YOUR VOTE IS LIKE YOUR BODY, IT IS YOURS AND YOURS ALONE... you choose and do not let anyone make that choice for you. Our freedoms and democracy depend on this. In Iowa, this is NO thanks to Kim “Serena” Reynolds.
Ecclesiasted 4: 1-3
Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun:
I saw the tears of the oppressed—
and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors—
and they have no comforter.
2 And I declared that the dead,
who had already died,
are happier than the living,
who are still alive.
3 But better than both
is the one who has never been born,
who has not seen the evil
that is done under the sun.