Guest column: I had a previous illegal abortion. we can’t go back

It was 1972 and I was a student at Northwestern University when I found out I was pregnant. I lost my parents very young and was not ready for motherhood. I knew then that I couldn’t let this unwanted pregnancy affect the rest of my life; That I had to write my story. Even though the possibility of choosing abortion was a year away from federal protection Roe vs Wade, I was able to do it illegally. It was through a chance encounter, it wasn’t easy, and it’s a situation I’ve since hoped no one else will have to experience after the laws are changed. Almost fifty years later, I can’t believe we’re back here.

I am a long-time film producer and WIF board member, and as a woman in the film industry, I share my story now to highlight how urgent it is that women’s health in our country does not return to what it was. as before roe.

A few months before I became pregnant, I met a medical student at a party who gave her number to young women in case they knew someone who needed an abortion. He was a true activist, already on the fence. Little did I know when I got her number that I would soon have to use it.

At that time, the only doctors in Chicago who performed “safe abortions” seemed to be in the mafia, and it was this med student who approached me. The doctor, at least I think he was a real doctor, didn’t ask me any questions. He told me to meet him at a motel near O’Hare Airport and bring me $900 in cash. It was a lot of money at the time (over $6,000 in today’s value), but she didn’t want to ask the guy who got her pregnant. I was very embarrassed and didn’t want anyone to know, except for some close relatives who had already been through similar situations. He took all my savings, but I paid it myself.

When I checked into the motel, I used the name “Sylvia Plath”. Still, he had a sense of humor. I gave the doctor the money and he told me to lie on a big rubber sheet on the bed. He had a big needle that was going to numb the cervix. He pressed against me and I started to cry. How did I get here? I thought, full of shame. When it was all over, he put a pack of antibiotics in my hand and said, “You have to go now.”

I was hurt, scared and humiliated. But I didn’t die and I didn’t let that happen. In fact, it helped me become the woman and mother I am today and showed that I could take control of my life. Others weren’t so lucky.

Five people cannot change the course of our lives. We have to get up. again. Marching is not enough. As storytellers, we have a responsibility to demystify abortion, to show that it is not an anomaly but part of life. We must control our bodies, make our own decisions and write our own stories. We need to vote, we need to support organizations like Planned Parenthood, and we need to keep fighting.

We can’t go back.

harmless Khan Hello is a member of the WIF board who is actively updating your list Abortion assistance resources provided by employers in the entertainment industry.