Speak Out! Speak Loud! Opinion Piece: Want To Worsen The Opiate Crisis? Outlaw Abortion

After my first abortion, my boyfriend was disappointed that I didn’t bounce out of the room like the girl before me. I was sixteen years old. I had been drunk and on drugs when the condom broke. My mother grounded me, believing punishment was deserved for an accident. 

What could happen if overturning Roe vs. Wade goes through?

If overturning Roe vs. Wade goes through, this is the beginning of the end of reproductive justice.  Where does that leave those in active addiction and with co-occuring disorders, who are unable to meet even their own basic needs?

Nearly every addict I know has an addicted family member. Addiction is 50 percent genetic and 50 percent poor coping skills, both of which lead to a cycle of addiction. 

 It’s delusional to claim to care about the opiate crisis, drunk driving, and other addiction related issues while opposing the right to abort a clump of cells an addict is not capable of caring for.

My experience

I sat in rehab watching a woman lose her child forever because heroin addiction prevented her from showing up to court. Active addiction is stronger than love. This rehab is publicly funded. I was the only person there not coming directly from jail. These women were no different from me other than socioeconomic status. I heard their stories of being sold for drugs at young ages, and then, the things they had done to their own children, which caused them so much shame they went further into addiction.

These women didn’t have access to abortion like I did. And soon, many less women could.  Abortion stops intergenerational trauma.

What about adoption? It can also be traumatic, especially for addicts, who again, are usually not able to stay off drugs for a pregnancy. Adopted children suffer more attachment disorders and are prone to more violence, lying, and stealing. 

Addicts are unable to be fully present

When I was using I wasn’t able to show up for anything. If I had stayed pregnant, I wouldn’t have gotten prenatal care, gone to lamaze classes, or made sure to have proper nutrition for my body or the one growing inside of me. 

A girl in my first rehab was addicted to Oxycontin when she got pregnant in 2008. Her doctor told her it was safe to switch to methadone. Her baby, Jacob, was born premature, addicted to opiates, and died three months later. 

Abortion is treated much like relapse in America. One is acceptable, depending on your class and location. More than one inspires judgement. I was told exactly this by a therapist when I disclosed my abortion history; “How could you be so irresponsible as a woman?”

I was irresponsible in addiction, as in, unable to respond effectively. So how could the answer be to be forced to care for someone else?

Thank you Planned Parenthood

I am grateful to Planned Parenthood, who has always treated me kindly and with respect. I am grateful I didn’t force a child to drag me by the foot to my bedroom and turn me over to not choke on my own vomit when I passed out on the stairs drunk. That I didn’t force a child to spend entire days in a dark house without anyone cooking for them while I recovered from another hangover. In short, I am grateful that I had access to the only thing that could prevent me from turning into my mother. Legal abortion.

One man I got pregnant with broke every piece of glass in my apartment, bit me, and sat on my back for hours screaming because we couldn’t find cocaine. Another shot me up with opiates and introduced me to crack. After me, he dated a Christian woman. He now has a child who doesn’t know their father. The last asked me how much I had in my savings account, because I’d be on my own. Why do conservatives want any of these genetic codes to be continued if the person carrying the genes doesn’t even want to? 

Jewish Perspective

In Judaism  “the fetus is not viewed as separate from the parent’s body until birth begins and the first breath of oxygen into the lungs allows the soul to enter the body.” – National Council Of Jewish Women

Even if this is not true, why are fetuses continued to be treated as more valuable than a life that’s already here? It’s the same people opposing abortion that oppose support and financial services for addicts, for the mentally ill, and most of all for mothers who are both.

This type of distorted thinking can only make our country worse. It brings more of everything the people trying to overturn Roe vs. Wade claim to hate: crime, addiction, poverty, child abuse.  Active addicts are unable to parent. Full stop. 

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Resources are available

If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulties surrounding alcoholism, addiction, or mental illness, please reach out and ask for help. People everywhere can and want to help; you just have to know where to look. And continue to look until you find what works for you. Click here for a list of regional and national resources.

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