In 2019 my husband and I faced the hardest decision...
Content Warning: This page discusses the need in Lethbridge for services specific to family planning, abortion, trauma, and mental health. The story I am about to share is true, is personal, and has had a lasting effect on my family. I thank you for reading with an open mind, and respect. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me directly here. If you need any mental health support please contact tel: 1-877-303-2642 which is the Alberta Mental Help Line
I can't wait to be a Mom, but...
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Growing up, I didn't play with dolls, or really have any affinity for children. I spent my teenage years telling anyone who would listen that I wouldn't have kids when I got older. I've always been goal-oriented and kids are often seen as a burden/distraction from reaching goals that are outside the home.
In University, I had a miscarriage with my first-ever boyfriend. I hadn't even realized I'd been pregnant when the ER doctors had to give me the bad news that I lost the baby. It had been a shock: pregnant and then not in a single sentence. What a trip. In response I switched birth control methods, and continued with life as one does. Nothing had changed, after all, except, perhaps, my perspective. |
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After university my focus shifted to opening my own business, getting married, and enjoying life. Kids weren't in the cards, and will not be in the cards, until my Husband and I consider ourselves financially and emotionally stable/mature enough to afford the care and attention children deserve of their parents.
In September of 2018 we had a pregnancy scare, and my Doctor recommended updating my birth control, which I did.
By late November 2018, that brand-new birth control had failed. We didn't realize it while we enjoyed the Christmas Season and New Years with family and friends, doing what young adults do best: enjoying parties and company with many glasses of wine and spirits, maybe a little beer too. Not the ideal conditions for a pregnant person. But how could I know? All the indications were that my Birth Control was working perfectly.
By early January 2019 I began feeling ill. After a week of what I thought was stomach flu, we began to have our suspicions.
By mid-January we confirmed our worst fears with a home pregnancy test. And then another. And another.
There will be those who read this who understand the panic an unplanned pregnancy can muster. But then there came the question.
What do we do?
In September of 2018 we had a pregnancy scare, and my Doctor recommended updating my birth control, which I did.
By late November 2018, that brand-new birth control had failed. We didn't realize it while we enjoyed the Christmas Season and New Years with family and friends, doing what young adults do best: enjoying parties and company with many glasses of wine and spirits, maybe a little beer too. Not the ideal conditions for a pregnant person. But how could I know? All the indications were that my Birth Control was working perfectly.
By early January 2019 I began feeling ill. After a week of what I thought was stomach flu, we began to have our suspicions.
By mid-January we confirmed our worst fears with a home pregnancy test. And then another. And another.
There will be those who read this who understand the panic an unplanned pregnancy can muster. But then there came the question.
What do we do?
A heartbreaking choice.
While I have personally always been pro-choice, I never considered that I would be faced with having to make that choice; especially not when I was joyfully married, 29, and responsibly looking after my reproductive health.
But there we were: unprepared, unstable both financially and mentally (I have a history of anxiety and depression, couple that with owning and operating your own business, you can imagine what effect this kind of personal crisis can have). Physically I have a broken spine, so carrying a pregnancy to term is a complicated task for me already.
There was only one clear option: we decided together to terminate the pregnancy.
There is nowhere in Lethbridge that can perform aspiration (surgical) abortions, and the abortion pill, mifegymiso, would not be available for prescription for another 6 months. So under the advice and care of my doctor I made an appointment for the next week at the Kensington Clinic in Calgary, the closest location that could handle the care I needed. I spent several days in Calgary with family prior to my appointment. Everyone knew the situation, understood the choice, and I find myself so fortunate to have such a loving and supportive network.
My plan was to acquire the abortion pill and deal with the results in the comfort and privacy in my own home with the care and support of my partner.
But that wasn't an option.
You see, the abortion pill is only accessible if you are 9 weeks pregnant or less. The ultrasound I had when arriving at the clinic confirmed that I was already over 10 weeks pregnant. My only choice then was surgery, which would require sedation. I called my husband in Lethbridge, and he had to leave work that day to drive to Calgary to get me. I was near break-down.
Following my experience, I have educated myself on the issue of abortion access, and how even while the debate of the legality of abortion is no longer at issue, access to the services still is. You see, if women can't have ready access to safe healthcare options, that's just as good as making the procedure illegal.
I have privilege. I was able to travel to my appointment. Many others aren't as lucky, and are stuck carrying pregnancies to term that they may be, like me, either ill-equipped to deal with, or simply unprepared for. It cannot be the role of private citizens to volunteer their time to ferry patients from one city to the next. We need to build these valuable services and supports here.
But there we were: unprepared, unstable both financially and mentally (I have a history of anxiety and depression, couple that with owning and operating your own business, you can imagine what effect this kind of personal crisis can have). Physically I have a broken spine, so carrying a pregnancy to term is a complicated task for me already.
There was only one clear option: we decided together to terminate the pregnancy.
There is nowhere in Lethbridge that can perform aspiration (surgical) abortions, and the abortion pill, mifegymiso, would not be available for prescription for another 6 months. So under the advice and care of my doctor I made an appointment for the next week at the Kensington Clinic in Calgary, the closest location that could handle the care I needed. I spent several days in Calgary with family prior to my appointment. Everyone knew the situation, understood the choice, and I find myself so fortunate to have such a loving and supportive network.
My plan was to acquire the abortion pill and deal with the results in the comfort and privacy in my own home with the care and support of my partner.
But that wasn't an option.
You see, the abortion pill is only accessible if you are 9 weeks pregnant or less. The ultrasound I had when arriving at the clinic confirmed that I was already over 10 weeks pregnant. My only choice then was surgery, which would require sedation. I called my husband in Lethbridge, and he had to leave work that day to drive to Calgary to get me. I was near break-down.
Following my experience, I have educated myself on the issue of abortion access, and how even while the debate of the legality of abortion is no longer at issue, access to the services still is. You see, if women can't have ready access to safe healthcare options, that's just as good as making the procedure illegal.
I have privilege. I was able to travel to my appointment. Many others aren't as lucky, and are stuck carrying pregnancies to term that they may be, like me, either ill-equipped to deal with, or simply unprepared for. It cannot be the role of private citizens to volunteer their time to ferry patients from one city to the next. We need to build these valuable services and supports here.
Why this is important to this election.
Abortion Care, and proper pregnancy care, are overdue in Lethbridge.
Lethbridge is the general hub of Southern Alberta, and is a community off 100,000 people servicing an area that stretches from Saskatchewan to South-Eastern BC encompassing over 300,000 people. Many of the people who come to our community for post-secondary school are young women, learning and experiencing life and all it has to offer. Some of them will experience an unplanned pregnancy. We need to do better.
Lethbridge is the general hub of Southern Alberta, and is a community off 100,000 people servicing an area that stretches from Saskatchewan to South-Eastern BC encompassing over 300,000 people. Many of the people who come to our community for post-secondary school are young women, learning and experiencing life and all it has to offer. Some of them will experience an unplanned pregnancy. We need to do better.
One in Four Pregnancy-Capable People Will Experience Abortion in their Lifetime.
These people deserve safe and secure access to vital health services within their own community.
Lethbridge City Council has a Duty to its citizens to advocate for access to these services within the City.
Lethbridge City Council has a Duty to its citizens to advocate for access to these services within the City.
More than Abortion: Lethbridge Lacks Services
Unfortunately there are other Health Care services that Lethbridge Lacks.
We lack Safe Supportive Housing, Intox and Detox facilities for our homeless, and adequate Mental Health support for our population.
By working with our partners at Alberta Health Services and at the provincial and federal government levels, City Council has a duty to advocate for Lethbridge to become a City inclusive to the health needs of all its citizens.
This is a pillar of my work: accessibility and support to those in need.
We lack Safe Supportive Housing, Intox and Detox facilities for our homeless, and adequate Mental Health support for our population.
By working with our partners at Alberta Health Services and at the provincial and federal government levels, City Council has a duty to advocate for Lethbridge to become a City inclusive to the health needs of all its citizens.
This is a pillar of my work: accessibility and support to those in need.
I look forward to polite, and thoughtful discussion on these issues.
A pregnancy-capable person's right to bodily autonomy is not up for debate. I will only discuss aspects of access so far as it pertains to providing services in the City, and not the morality of those services. Thank you for your understanding.
