When Wendy Davis stood on the senate floor for 13 hours last June, attempting to filibuster an anti-abortion bill, no one knew how personal the issue was for her.

But earlier this month, Davis released her memoir “Forgetting to Be Afraid” chronicling her two experiences with abortion.

As anyone can imagine, it probably wasn’t easy for Davis to share her experience with abortion, and it’s great that her story can hopefully touch others. But this narrative might reinforce the notion that some abortions are justifiable and others are not. This mindset is a step in the wrong direction, because it potentially shames those who have or will get abortions due to non-medical reasons.

In her memoir, Davis writes about her first abortion, a future daughter whom Davis and her husband Jeff had already named Tate Elise. Davis talks about feeling her unborn child “tremble violently as if someone were applying an electric shock to her.” Her decision to have an abortion came from wanting to end Tate’s “suffering.”

In an interview with “Good Morning America” on Sept. 8, Davis said that the abortion was a “tremendous loss of a much-wanted pregnancy,” adding, “We knew the most loving thing we could do for our daughter was to say goodbye.” Davis’ second abortion was of an ectopic pregnancy — a fertilized egg implanted in her fallopian tube. Davis and her husband had already named their future son Lucas.

 

It was incredibly brave of Davis to share her personal experience with abortion. But we need to make sure we realize that Davis’ abortion experience is not the only acceptable one.

 

Many women will tell a story of wanting to pursue their education or maintain financial stability instead of taking on an additional burden. Although it sounds harsh, this is the reality for many women.

 

The idea that an abortion is only OK in unique situations has had very real consequences on our country. According to Planned Parenthood, in April of 2007 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the first-ever federal law banning abortion procedures.

 

This has allowed states to enforce strict abortion regulations, turning what should be a simple medical procedure into a shameful, inconvenient and even dangerous event in a woman’s life.

 

It is important to recognize that all reasons for women wanting abortions are valid. Narratives like Davis’ are important and should be told but it is especially important that the more common story of a woman who simply does not want or cannot provide for a child is told as well. Opening the stage for these stories can help remove the stigma surrounding abortions unrelated to medical reasons.

Mandisa Shields is a sophomore newspaper and online journalism major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @mandisashields.

 

Published on September 25, 2014 at 12:58 am