In my wildest nightmares, I never thought I would write about this. Sadly, the issue keeps coming up in regards to reproductive rights for women, specifically the right to choose an abortion.
I am ardently pro-choice. I don't begrudge someone for having qualms about the issue of abortion. For me, the line that many anti-choice people cross is a burning desire to ban contraception. That is until this recent election cycle. The issue of pregnancy and rape has been a hot topic. Hottest has been the notion by extremists on the right that abortion should not be allowed under any circumstance, including rape. There have even been comments that a pregnancy caused by a rape is a gift from God. I am a woman that has had to fight off a date in my lifetime. I've never told anyone this because I was ashamed. That is not the story I want to share.
That story starts at the age of five, when a family member began to act "odd" around me. He would try to be alone with me; he was found alone with me in a closet. He would pull me onto his lap and tickle me. Yes, I could feel his penis as I tried to squirm away. This family member made comments and passes at me until I was in my early 20's. I can't fully remember what he did manage to do to me, but I feel quite certain that I was victimized.
I had my first period when I was nine. That's pretty young. I was still playing with my dolls and stuffed animals at that age. I remember being very confused and embarrassed. Now, as I hear and read these comments about rape and pregnancy, I feel physically ill. I can only imagine what would have happened if that family member had managed to rape me when I was a child. I know he desired me because he made an open pass at me when I was 22 or 23. He tried to caress my hair and tell me how beautiful I was and had always been.
What if he had impregnated me when I was only nine or ten years old? It was biologically possible. Is that really God's will? A gift? What sick bastard truly believes that? Someone who is aiming to help shape policy for a nation of 330 million people? These lunatics cannot be allowed to win.
2 comments:
As troubling as your experience was, it's not that uncommon. That's the really sad part. These people have no soul. I can't believe we're actually talking about this and fighting the same battles we thought we won decades ago. And the media is complicit in failing to recognize and/or report how extreme the republican party has become.
Laura M
Thanks Laura. Sadly, my story is not uncommon.
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