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Friday, March 23, 2018

Women’s Rights


Today I’m going to a protest here in Warsaw. We are going to protest a recent government proposal, influenced by Catholic bishops, to further restrict the already incredibly strict abortions laws in Poland. Currently the law allows abortion only in the case of rape, mortal danger to the mother’s health or in the event the fetus has a lethal or very serious congenital condition. The new law proposes to get rid of the last condition and require that a women who is pregnant with a fetus with serious defects or illness carry to term. 

This is unfathomable to me. I cannot imagine what it would be like to know that my child has no brain or a condition that would mean they will suffer after  birth and die because their condition is not compatible with life - and be FORCED to carry that child to term, to endure childbirth and then have to watch that child die or linger in pain and suffering for an indefinite period of time. I cannot imagine being FORCED to give birth to a child that will be so sick or disabled that my life would be forced to revolve around their care. Because let’s be real - this responsibly falls to the woman, the mother, in the vast majority of cases. 

I cannot support this. I cannot stay home and quietly rage about it either. I’m not going to get into a discussion on abortion in general. I’m 100% pro-choice, however it’s a choice that I wouldn’t be able to make lightly. I don’t know what I’d do if I discovered I was pregnant with a horrifically sick child. I don’t know because I haven’t been in that position. Not only that, I come from a position of incredible privilege. I’m in a loving, stable relationship. I have a ton of resources - physical and financial - available to me, to support me, to help me. I’d be able to afford the best medical treatment and additional help. I have a family and friends who would be there for me. I have a husband who would be able to support our family on his own without me working. And yet. I still don’t know what I’d do if I were faced with it in reality and not in a hypothetical situation. But I know one thing for sure. I’d want the choice to be MINE. Because the consequences would be MINE. 

I value life. Don’t get me wrong. I know that abortion is ending a life. I’m not going to give the argument that a fetus isn’t a person, or that it’s just a bunch of cells or anything like that. To me, it’s a life. But the mother’s life is ALSO a life. It is the mother alone that faces the risk of death (childbirth is still a leading cause of women’s death all over the world), it’s the mother alone whose body is changed, often damaged, who will lose opportunities, will lose wages, lose time with family and friends and who will ultimately be left with the care of the baby afterwards. How is that caring about and valuing life? Life is more than the physical act of being alive, breathing and blood circulating the body. At least, to me.

I also respect the Catholic Church’s position. They can have the position of no abortion in any case. That’s fine. But what they shouldn’t do is force this on anyone. If someone is Catholic and chooses to submit to the church’s position, that should be their choice. The church has its platform, it has many ways to try and persuade its followers and others to adopt this position too. They can appeal to people’s consciences, their morality, their faith. But NOT to the legal system. In my opinion, if the church, with its incredibly strong reach and influence here in Poland, cannot convince people without forcing their beliefs into law, then that is their failure. 

Similarly with the government. If they want to persuade women to not have abortions, they should do much, much more to help those women during their pregnancies and after birth. Not redirect EU funds for aiding families with children with disabilities to antiabortion campaigns. Not banning children with disabilities from public schools because of the “cost” accommodate those children. Not allowing pharmacies to not fulfill birth control prescriptions because the pharmacist’s “conscience” is against birth control. 

So today I’ll be joining thousands of women in Warsaw and around Poland and demand that this law is not enacted. 

I’m AGAINST further restrictions on abortion in Poland. I stand with Polish women. 



6 comments:

  1. So what is your preferred method of abortion? In your view is it more humane to crush the skull of a fetus and suction out its brain than to let the child live with a disability or die of natural causes? Life is life - well done to the Polish government for showing leadership on this issue. If you don't like it pack your bags and move to Canada. Poland won't miss your single digit IQ.

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  2. I see from your comment you are clearly misinformed on how late term abortion is performed. Because you would know that in those cases all that happens is that labour is induced in the mother and the child is born and allowed to die naturally. No one WANTS to have a late term abortion. In the vast majority of cases, those children were wanted and loved. The decision to induced early is an incredibly difficult one, but it’s the much safe option for the mother. And when the mother has other children to care for, has a job or any responsibilities, it’s medically unsound to force her to carry to term with all the additional risks involved.

    I know you think you know everything from the internet (those YouTube videos and websites do seem convincing to people who don’t know how to use logic and skepticism), but have you actually talked to any doctors that perform abortions in 2018 on how it’s done? I think clearly not as whoever you are, as you’re hiding behind them keyboard of your computer as an “anonymous” and you use all the talking points of someone manipulated by extreme comments and not by facts.

    And I actually LOL’d at your IQ comment - not only are you insulting people with low IQs in a rant on “life is life” and saying no one would miss me (look up “ironic” in the dictionary!) but if you had any knowledge of IQ you’d know someone with single digit IQ wouldn’t be able to write, let alone get into a discussion on abortion.


    I’m a Polish citizen and I will exercise my right to free speech while I can. and I f you’re so righteous, I recommend you go and adopt a bunch of children with special needs and then you can prove you really mean what you say.

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  3. I withdraw my earlier comment about your IQ - clearly, I was being far too generous.

    You went on a hysterical rant about the virtues of abortion but you didn't answer one simple question: What is your preferred method of abortion? Are you saying that vacuum aspiration is a myth? Do you even know how a Sopher clamp is used? How does the doctor extract the aborted fetus out of the body?

    You can't answer any of that because it gets in the way of your own rabid ideology. Face it: you're a medical student at a third-rate medical program with practically no admissions standards, and you literally know less than nothing about the topic you're protesting about.

    But anyone who is against abortion must be an extremist and must be getting all their information from fake news right?

    You're entitled to your own pathetic opinion but not your own facts.

    God help the poor patients who ever cross your wretched path.

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  4. Wow.

    Ok so to answer your question: I don’t have a “preferred method” of abortion because I’m not an abortion provider and I’m only in my first year at med school. Of course I’m aware of various methods used in the past but from my talks with Ob/Gyns that perform abortions, those methods are rarely used. Again, I asked YOU where you got your info from and you didn’t answer.

    As for my “rabid views” I hardly think that one post about abortion and women’s rights qualifies me as “rabid”. I’ve never had an abortion nor have I ever encouraged anyone to get one. I’m simply asking for it to be a right to choose, not a standard practice.

    But you clearly don’t give a shit about aborted fetuses or anyone else because if you did, you’d know that hurling nasty insults at someone is never going to change their minds. If you really cared, instead of posting vulgar comments (anonymously) on random and tiny blogs, you’d use that energy to do things that ACTUALLY help reduce abortion rates - things like lobbying the government to improve access to birth control, increasing parental leaves, improving employment laws so pregnant employees aren’t discriminated against, encouraging funding for families with children with disabilities, subsidizing childcare...and you know, maybe helping people. I’m curious, how many lives have you saved with this method?

    And if you think you’ll make me feel bad about my “3rd rate” medical school education, lol, I’ll ask how my friends who graduated from my program who are currently at Cambridge doing their fellowships and those doing their residencies at Yale feel about it. At the end of the day, I’ll be an MD....and you’ll be...still posting mean commenyes ln strangers blogs to...what? Vent your anger about life not turning out the way you planned? I don’t know, I guess my “literally less than single digit IQ” will keep me from figuring out.

    Listen, clearly you aren’t here for a calm and respectful debate, so I’ll ask you stop commenting and take your nastiness else where. And in the meantime I’d encourage you to use some of this negative energy and go and volunteer at a home for disabled children or a hospice and do some good in this world. All the best.


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  5. So you admit that you know literally less than nothing about how abortions are actually performed but you are still protesting in support of abortion and so-called women's rights? If you're going to make a fool of yourself on a public forum at least know the issue at hand instead of being plain clueless. Here's a hint: Try reading any elementary textbooks about medical and surgical abortion - you might grow a few brain cells in the process; although judging by your previous correspondence its looking doubtful.

    And just to clarify: Did your 'friends' graduate from the English language MD programme or the programme for Polish students? Everyone knows that the only prerequisite for the English programme is money whereas the programme for Polish students is at least merit based - three guesses for which category you fall into.

    Thanks for the inspired suggestion about volunteering at a home for disabled children. Here's an idea: Why don't you take your own trite advice instead of protesting hysterically about the rights of women to kill innocent babies? In your twisted worldview killing the unborn is a woman's 'right'. There is no right to kill, only a right to life.

    Good luck with your medical career, you clearly need all the help you can get.

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  6. You really think that a person should only be allowed to have an opinion on a topic if they are an expert? Please. The Solidarity movement that brought down Communism in Poland was led by a man who was a plumber by profession. As it happens, I do know a lot about abortion and in the cases of fetal abnormality, by the time the answers are definitive, the fetus is usually in the 20 odd weeks and in those cases, labour is induced and the child is born and allowed to die naturally. Yes, there are some awful abortion procedures, but this isn't what this post was about. But I guess YOU have a PhD in surgery and abortion techniques?

    And yes, to clarify, the friends I mentioned all finished the English program. Currently I have classmates who've turned down other more prestigious programs in favour of this one because its one of the cheapest for the quality (one girl turned down both Oxford and Kings College). I have a classmate who turned down his spot in a Finnish medical school in favour of this one after finishing his special forces army tour of the middle east, where he met a brilliant Norwegian army surgeon who finished this program and inspired him to come here instead. At the end of the day, this program is the same as the Polish one, often taught by the same professors and we had the same application requirements and entrance exams. The only reason its harder to get into the Polish program is because its more competitive. Even still we have Polish dual citizen students getting accepted to the Polish program and switching over to the English because we have way better prep for foreign post-grad training.

    And I DO volunteer - it is why I suggested you do the same. My volunteer experience is one of the reasons I take the stand that I do. I've volunteered at the university neonatal clinic. My family physically and financially support a family with a daughter with cerebral palsy, and have done for over a decade. We are also major donors to a children's hospice here in Warsaw. I've seen how these children suffer, how their families suffer. But of course you're one of the type that doesn't give a shit about these "lives" once they are born. Want to do something useful? Get out and help in your community.

    Lastly, I just wanted to ask you why you are so mean and nasty? What are you trying to accomplish by with your bullying? Because that is what you are - a bully and a coward, afraid to even use your own name to stand behind your opinions. Do you really think you are doing anything good with your insults?

    There are two types of people in this world. Those that say things and those that DO things. You're clearly one of the former. I belong to the latter. I'm going to keep standing up for what I believe in. I'm going to stand up to bullies like you. I'm going to keep studying hard and learning what I need to to be a great doctor. And luckily I couldn't care less what some internet troll thinks.

    The only thing you've inspired me to do is not allow any more anonymous commenting. In any case, any further comments you try to make will be deleted. I hope you find something useful to do with your time.

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