Comedian Chelsea Handler recently wrote an essay in Playboy discussing two abortions she had when she was 16 years old. In the essay titled “My Choice,” Handler explains that she was having a lot of unprotected sex with her boyfriend at the time. When she discovered she was pregnant, her first thought wasn’t to get an abortion.
“Of course, the idea that I would have a child and raise it by myself at that age, when I couldn’t even find my way home at night, was ridiculous,” Handler said.
Handler writes that her parents weren’t by any means “good parents,” but when she went to them for help, they “acted like parents for one of the very first times in my life and took me to Planned Parenthood.”
When the abortion was successful, Handler was “relieved in every way possible.”
Until that same year, when she got pregnant again with the same boyfriend. After scraping together $230, she went to Planned Parenthood once again.
“Getting unintentionally pregnant more than once is irresponsible, but it’s still necessary to make a thoughtful decision,” Handler said.
When a woman makes the decision to have an abortion, there should be absolutely no judgment of any kind from an outside party. What a person decides to do with his or her body is strictly up to that person.
A person’s body is their responsibility and they will do with it whatever they please.
In the essay, Handler discusses vital women’s rights court cases such as Roe v. Wade, which gave women the legal right to abortion. She mentions how politicians make “bogus promises” to get rid of abortion rights and close clinics across the country.
Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming currently have only one clinic within their borders. The protection of women and human rights should be encouraged by all people no matter your age, gender or title. And keeping health clinics open isn’t just for the benefit of women wanting abortions.
Every year, Planned Parenthood offers services to help prevent approximately 579,000 unwanted pregnancies, give 4.2 million tests for sexually transmitted infections, administer 360,000 breast exams, according to its website.
These services are helping millions of people across the country, not just women. Limiting clinic availability can make a person feel like there’s nowhere to turn when things go bad.
There are always alternatives.
Plattsburgh has its own Planned Parenthood on Brinkerhoff Street. If you ever need to make an appointment, don’t feel afraid or ashamed because it’s your right to choose.
It is your decision and nobody else’s. Your bod is a temple and you are the god it was built for. Treat it however you want.
Email Laura Schmidt at opinions@cardinalpointsonline.com
