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We have a practice of stigma reduction around more than one abortion and judgment. Sometimes patients say, “I was so worried that the staff would judge me” and then we get to open up that conversation.
We also have an emotional assessment on our patient chart. One question is, “I’m worried I will be judged by _________” — and some people will say “staff”.
We have some responses to this, which mostly boil down to, “We understand that Mother Nature wants you pregnant, all the time!” Annie Baker, a pioneer in abortion counseling, had a great statistic that I share often:
“The female human has 350-400 opportunities in a life time to get pregnant.” And then I point out that even four abortions is a 1% rate, which is pretty amazing. And 5% is still a good “error" rate, which could be 20 abortions.
Nobody wants to face an unintended pregnancy and abortion if they don’t have to, but we are put on this planet, like all creatures, to reproduce. Reproducing just isn’t always desirable/possible for us.
As an independent clinic, our mission is about abortion care. We don’t see abortions as failures of prevention, but as experiences that can be transformative for women. And it’s an honor to witness women taking responsibility for their lives.
~ Peg Johnston, Southern Tier Women’s Health Services
@NikkiMiles