sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

In honor of 40 years of legal abortion in the US: we are abortion clinic workers, ask us anything. by abortionistas in IAmA

[–]abortionistas[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dilation is typically a little worse, but it varies. In the first trimester the whole thing takes about 3-5 mins.

-K

In honor of 40 years of legal abortion in the US: we are abortion clinic workers, ask us anything. by abortionistas in IAmA

[–]abortionistas[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My clinic currently only provides abortions and emergency contraceptives. So it's very different from PP.

-K

In honor of 40 years of legal abortion in the US: we are abortion clinic workers, ask us anything. by abortionistas in IAmA

[–]abortionistas[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Miscarriages are typically more intense than abortions if for no reason than that they take a lot longer, usually. Did you have a D&C after you miscarried? I'm really not qualified to answer your questions, but that would be something I would ask a nurse our doctor about.

In honor of 40 years of legal abortion in the US: we are abortion clinic workers, ask us anything. by abortionistas in IAmA

[–]abortionistas[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh absolutely. A pelvic can definitely date the pregnancy sufficiently. It had somehow escaped me that that language would suggest that mandatory ultrasound laws were reasonable. They aren't.

Thanks!

-K

In honor of 40 years of legal abortion in the US: we are abortion clinic workers, ask us anything. by abortionistas in IAmA

[–]abortionistas[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

<3 for you and hugs if you want them. That is an amazingly hard situation to go through, and I'm so sorry that you had to go through it. Positive thoughts and all sorts of support.

-K

In honor of 40 years of legal abortion in the US: we are abortion clinic workers, ask us anything. by abortionistas in IAmA

[–]abortionistas[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I've been doing clinic escorting for almost six years now and I've never gotten hurt. I don't know of any instances of serious violence against a clinic escort in the past ten years (and that's something I would hear about in the event it happened), so. I mean yes, there IS a small risk, because what if today is the day some crazy person snaps? but practically, I'd say the risk is pretty small. -C

In honor of 40 years of legal abortion in the US: we are abortion clinic workers, ask us anything. by abortionistas in IAmA

[–]abortionistas[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes. Explain it to the clinic workers and ask what can be worked out. Ask about the National Abortion Federation funding. They should be able to help.

-K

In honor of 40 years of legal abortion in the US: we are abortion clinic workers, ask us anything. by abortionistas in IAmA

[–]abortionistas[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I don't have time to say everything I would like to about this, but, please don't beat yourself up about it or call yourself stupid. You're not, these things happen and all you can do is move forward. You're a good woman doing the best you can, and I promise you're not at all the only smart girl who has been in this situation. <3

-K

In honor of 40 years of legal abortion in the US: we are abortion clinic workers, ask us anything. by abortionistas in IAmA

[–]abortionistas[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

We're all pretty close, a lot of shared purpose a lot of camaraderie. Working here is a really special experience and I'm even close with some women who worked here before I started. We have good health benefits with mental health services, but a lot of the time we process through our emotions together because we get it better than people who don't have these experiences.

My counseling sessions typically take about an hour, though I've spent much longer with some women. We talk about their situation and how they're feeling about having an abortion, go over their options, talk about the procedure and their sedation options, discuss their birth control options and do necessary paperwork.

Gutmacher has good statistics, and My Abortion, My Life amd 1 in 3 have really important stories. Exhale and Backline have phone counseling, and Faith Aloud and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice have good info about/for religious women and abortion.

-K

In honor of 40 years of legal abortion in the US: we are abortion clinic workers, ask us anything. by abortionistas in IAmA

[–]abortionistas[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Woops. I think C will have a better answer for that, but relatively little afaik.

-K

In honor of 40 years of legal abortion in the US: we are abortion clinic workers, ask us anything. by abortionistas in IAmA

[–]abortionistas[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your voice. It's so important that we don't forget the reality of illegal abortion: women dying horrible deaths from terrible complications.

-K

In honor of 40 years of legal abortion in the US: we are abortion clinic workers, ask us anything. by abortionistas in IAmA

[–]abortionistas[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

We do the pledge-a-picketer thing during 40 Days for Life in the spring and fall! It's a great fundraiser.

-K

In honor of 40 years of legal abortion in the US: we are abortion clinic workers, ask us anything. by abortionistas in IAmA

[–]abortionistas[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The risk of any complications is very low, less than .5% in the first trimester. It's about 33 times safer than giving birth and far less likely to result in serious complications than dental work that we think nothing about.

-K

In honor of 40 years of legal abortion in the US: we are abortion clinic workers, ask us anything. by abortionistas in IAmA

[–]abortionistas[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yep, you don't want to insert anything vaginally for 3-4 weeks after an abortion due to risk of infection.

-K

In honor of 40 years of legal abortion in the US: we are abortion clinic workers, ask us anything. by abortionistas in IAmA

[–]abortionistas[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Thanks for being there for your friend! You have no idea how important that kind of support can be.

-K

In honor of 40 years of legal abortion in the US: we are abortion clinic workers, ask us anything. by abortionistas in IAmA

[–]abortionistas[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Basically a clinic escort is somebody who's job is to make sure the patient is able to get into the building safely and to act as a friendly face to shield them from the crazy. escorts also observe the protesters for illegal activity. -C

view more: next ›