The Way It Was Summary

Out of all the readings we did in our discussions about Women’s health and reproductive justice, “The Way it was” was hands down the most interesting out of all of them. I think the reason I found this reading so fascinating was because it was a first hand experience. The descriptive language in the reading was so vivid I could almost smell the unsterile rooms and aged leather. I had never had the thought that it wasn’t just teenagers who made a bad choice at a bad time, a rape victim, or an adulterous socialite who didn’t want evidence of her infidelities that got an abortion. I am almost ashamed to admit that I was surprised when the author of the reading mentioned a married couple in one of the clinics she went to. I guess it just didn’t occur to me. The whole experience
A parent can either make the situation better or worse, and luckily, her mother supported her fully in her journey. Just because abortion is illegal doesn’t mean it will stop happening, it just means more women will die in the process. All women should have access to proper reproductive care so situations like the authors experience or the woman in the motel room don’t happen again. I was not shocked however when I read what the autopsy assistant said: " The deaths stopped overnight in 1973." If the people who claim to protest abortion for pro-life, then that is a hypocritical statement. The mother’s life is just as much important as her unborn child. In the end, abortion all comes down to a choice, the choice of the woman. When women make that fateful choice to terminate a pregnancy, they shouldn’t have to worry about unsanitary doctors’ appointments where the doctors touch them inappropriately or bleeding out on a motel room floor. The only thing they should be worrying about is themselves and their choice, the fear of death in an unmarked room shouldn’t be on their already heavy