First Day at NNAF

Peggy and I had quite an adventure just getting here. She brought her great scooter with her and the airports were quite accommodating. When we got to the Minneapolis Airport, we went up and down seven elevators to avoid stairs and escalators, and then found a tram from the airport to just blocks from the nearby hotel. Right away at the conference, met interesting people, and just as I suspected, people have been clamoring around Peggy to meet her. She has her book for sale at the silent auction tables. We met several of the National Board members. They told us there are 11 on the board with several openings. We had lunch with two women who work at the Overland Park PP Clinic. They were happy to have recently met Sylvie and Marilyn who visited their clinic. They had me take a picture of them with Peggy. I’ve asked them if they would like to have dinner with us tonight so we can talk further. We shall see.
They told us that the National Pro-Life Convention was just held in K.C. with both Brownback and Romney attending/speaking, and Bush telecasted. They also said they are very much still dealing with Phill Kline in their area.
Interesting panel discussion about international issues with a woman who has been working in Africa (it turns out her experience as been in Ethiopia, not Kenya, Mexico City (native there, here with an interpreter), and Puerto Rico. African expert says all funding in that country going to HIV/AIDS and they are working on getting it spread out to cover B.C. The exception is South Africa where they are self-funding b.c. in their country and evidently have lots of funding there. Mexico City legalized abortion this year for the first time. The rest of the country it is supposedly illegal but many stories from pre-Roe v Wade say USA women went to Mexico to get their abortions, and my friend from Puerto Vallarta told me all the doctors there perform abortions. Nobody talks about it. She said it is because b.c. is so taboo with the country being Catholic.
Saw documentary called “Silent Choices” about African American Women in the U.S. and how they feel about abortion. She was inspired to make it because she kept hearing that abortion is a white woman’s issue. She said it took her six years to make and she has had resistance in getting it shown at film festivals, including Black FF, but there are three to show it in August, and one in September (all Black FF).
I feel mixed about it. Interviews one woman who had an abortion before Roe v. Wade, one who had two during her college years, one who is trying to figure out what to do, interviewing also some of their mothers, friends, pro-life and pro-choice. Also interviewed religious leaders pro and anti. Main new ideas I got were that more African American women have abortions than white women in the U.S. but they don’t talk about it. Resistance from Black churches. There is a perception that Black women don’t get abortions. Marcus Garvey, 19thCentury Jamaican revolutionist was against abortion because he wanted to increase the Black numbers to increase political power. Covered Margaret Sanger opening a clinic in Harlem. Rumor has it that she forced birth control on black women there but of course, it was the black community asking for it. Covered 1960s Black activists called “Nationalists” (including The Black Panthers) who although pro-choice, were trying to build up their numbers for power, and in case the B.P. were killed, they wanted to have children to pass it along. Anti-Choice minister said, “Abortion is the decimation of my community”. Theme repeated itself saying Black women don’t talk about it (abortion).
Bumper stickers for sale there: “My Goddess Gave Birth To Your God”, “Never another battered woman”, “You’re pro-life? That’s fine. Now get one and stay out of mine” “Religious Groups should stay out of politics or…be taxed.”, “You can’t beat a woman”, “Recovering Catholic”, and they gave out free tins that are for holding tampons (or pencils…) that say “I’m pro-choice…Period.”, undies that say, “The only bush I trust is mine!” and “Pro-Choice Chicks Lay Wisely.” Even jewelry with designs that include real birth control pills in them.
Saw one woman who actually did tell her story to us all, who had a brown t-shirt on with blue lettering that said, “I had an abortion”.
The next session we went to Friday before dinner was called “Speak Out” where many women stood up in front of us all and told the stories of having gone through having an abortion. Very brave, very emotional, courageous and personal. WE all felt so drained afterwards.
From 1959 to currently, these stories were moving for us all. Several were using a condom, one was the only time she had ever had sex, some were with a boyfriend who was not working/not willing to work, some boyfriends were cheating on them or beating them, several were religiously taking their birth control pills. One had an illegal abortion pre-Roe v. Wade and went back again for a second, more painful time, and then had a miscarriage two days later. So often the woman was working and her boyfriend was not. So many never told anyone they had had an abortion before because they were so afraid of being criticized. Some were straight A students Some were living with their mothers who were on subsistence. Some had tried to go on birth control but had to prove they were 18 or 21 to get it. Average cost seemed to be $600 cash. Dropped off in a parking lot and picked up by an anonymous car and blindfolded. One had tried to use knitting needles herself but stopped when it became too painful. One had afterbirth left inside her so she thought she was still pregnant months later. Two were in Little Havana in Miami and one said they never spoke English. One said she never saw the doctor because he was on the other side of the sheet. One had the anesthetic wear off in the middle of the long procedure. She is now a lawyer who represents young women who don’t want to have to tell their parents to get on birth control. Several were on their way to college.
OB Gyns were almost all men then and let you know that you were not supposed to be having pre-marital sex when you would go to them to get on birth control. (That is true--my first exam was on my college campus and he smoked a pipe the entire time). They were very judgmental. Many of them let the women know they would not give them birth control. (Pre-Planned Parenthood).
One statistic spoken about today was that if you take the birth control pill for your entire life, you can still have two unplanned pregnancies.
One woman said after she had sex the first time in 1959 that she thought of the Peggy Lee song, “Is that all there is?”.