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National Abortion Federation Blog: Saporta Reporter

News about reproductive choice from the President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation, Vicki Saporta. photo of Vicki Saporta
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  Remembering an American hero: George Tiller

We continue to mourn the loss of our friend and colleague, Dr. George Tiller. Dr. Tiller was a dedicated physician who provided quality abortion care to women, at great personal sacrifice and risk. He is truly a hero to his fellow abortion providers and his patients. Dr. Tiller’s office is filled with letters from women, thanking him for the excellent, compassionate care he provided. Many of these women say Dr. Tiller saved their lives.

Since his tragic death, we have received messages from some of his patients and from people around the world who are saddened and outraged. We feel it is important to share these words and tributes to our beloved colleague and friend. For the first time, we will enable comments on our blog so that all of you can share your condolences or offer memories of Dr. Tiller. We invite you to join us in honoring a true American hero, Dr. George Tiller.

Post your comments, condolences, and personal memories of Dr. Tiller

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

NAF Patients in the News

Last night, the Senate defeated the Nelson-Hatch Amendment, which would have imposed the same restrictions to insurance coverage for abortion as the Stupak-Pitts Amendment passed by the House.

Yesterday, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) cited some of our patient's stories during debate on the Senate floor. Today, Women’s eNews profiled one of the patients we brought forward to lobby against the Stupak-Pitts and Nelson-Hatch Amendments:

One Woman Mobilized
One person who was mobilized by the Dec. 2 protest is Dana Weinstein.
In an exclusive interview with Women's eNews, Weinstein said that until recently she'd felt uncomfortable even uttering the word "abortion."

But then it happened to her.

In the early part of this summer, Weinstein was still a happily pregnant 38-year-old watching TV at her home in Maryland. A reporter interviewed a physician in Boulder, Colo., named Warren Hern. After the murder of Dr. George Tiller earlier this year, Hern is one of the country's last doctors who still provides late-term abortions.

"I remember lying in bed thinking, how could anybody terminate later term?"
Weinstein said.

But then, a few weeks later in late June, at 28 weeks, a routine sonogram showed an abnormality in her fetus's brain. A subsequent MRI showed that the fetus had two life-threatening conditions. If it survived birth, it would likely require immediate resuscitation and a life of feeding tubes.

After consulting more doctors, Weinstein and her husband wound up in Hern's clinic in Colorado.

Now, five months later, Weinstein is still fighting with her insurance company, hoping to be reimbursed for some of $17,500 it cost for the late-term abortion.

"I was fortunate to be able to pull the money together," Weinstein said, adding that the experience has spurred her to speak out on behalf of other, less fortunate women.

Her first move: vocally opposing the Stupak-Pitts amendment. In recent days Weinstein has shared her story with members of the National Abortion Federation, the staff of Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and Women's eNews.


>Read the full article.
>Share your abortion experience.

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This is so necessary! Way to go. This stigma needs to be crushed.

By Anonymous Cheap Laser Treatment, at 3:17 PM  

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Wednesday's Words from Women

Over one-third of women of reproductive age have an abortion by the age of 45. However, women who have chosen abortion are often absent from the public debate. In order to break the silence surrounding abortion, we will be featuring real stories from real women each Wednesday on our blog. If you would like to share your story with us or have it published on our blog, go to http://www.prochoice.org/pregnant/hotline/share.html.

In the 17th week of a much wanted pregnancy, my baby was diagnosed via ultrasound with renal agenesis, a condition in which the kidneys, bladder and renal system fail to form, and which is incompatible with life. I was told that if I did not terminate the pregnancy, the baby would either be stillborn or, if he survived to term, he would be born and then very shortly thereafter die of asphyxiation (a functioning renal system is necessary for fetal lung development). I chose to terminate the pregnancy at 18 weeks via induced labor and delivery (which I was advised was a safe way to terminate a second trimester pregnancy and which would allow a full autopsy on the fetus to determine if there were any genetic problems). I was in the hospital for two days, during which time labor was induced and I delivered my baby. My health insurance covered the entire procedure. Had I not been insured, I would have incurred thousands of dollars in hospital-related bills.

Honestly, I cannot imagine a health care system that would not pay for therapeutic abortions. Going through a therapeutic abortion is already emotionally wrenching and it would be a terribly cruel system that forces a woman to choose between carrying a child that will either certainly die or suffer terribly, versus being faced with thousands of dollars in medical bills that her family may be ill-equipped to pay. That is certainly is not caring for the health of myself and my family.
-submitted by Madison* through our website

*Names have been changed to protect patient privacy

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