Let's Get Real (Personal.....)

It seems the older I get, the more strongly I feel about certain issues. As usual, I am already fed up with politics months before the elections are scheduled to take place. I'm especially fed up with those old men who want to tell us what we can and cannot do with our own bodies. The GOP has some very dangerous opinions about health care and when life begins.

Let's start with a "for instance." I'm going to use someone I know pretty well as an example. When she was young, she suffered a burst appendix which left scar tissue on her ovaries, fallopian tubes, and other areas of her internal organs. She was told she would never become pregnant due to these issues. Using this information, she found it unnecessary to use contraceptives and was basically given a license for having unprotected sex. (So far, she and her husband fit perfectly into the ultra-conservative Republican profile.)
All went well, until her second marriage in the mid-1980s. Here's where everything went horribly wrong. Somehow, a very determined little fighter of a sperm managed to get into a damaged fallopian tube, find an egg, and fertilize it. Normally, the fertilized egg attaches itself to the lining of the uterus. With an ectopic pregnancy, the fertilized egg implants somewhere outside the uterus. Unfortunately, in her case, the egg settled in the already damaged fallopian tube. (Statistic: An ectopic pregnancy occurs in about one in 50 pregnancies and the signs and symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy typically occur six to eight weeks into the pregnancy. At the end of eight weeks, your baby is a fetus and looks more like a human. Your baby is nearly 1 inch long and weighs less than one-eighth ounce.) An ectopic pregnancy can't proceed normally. The fertilized egg can't survive, and the growing tissue might destroy various maternal structures. Early treatment of an ectopic pregnancy can help preserve the chance for future healthy pregnancies and in most cases, save the mother's life. The biggest risk is rupture leading to internal bleeding. Considering many women aren't even aware they are pregnant until 6 to 8 weeks into the pregnancy, along with this young woman's previous medical diagnosis of being unable to become pregnant at all, the nausea, excruciating pain, dizziness, and serious internal bleeding causing her to go into shock brought her to the emergency room without a clue as to the cause of her symptoms.

Okay, so now we're crossing that line where the GOP wants to get involved in your medical issues. Had she been using contraceptives, who knows if this situation would ever have occurred. Too late for that argument now. But how would the candidates spin this medical emergency to their advantage? Two "lives" are at risk and only one has a chance of surviving, but without medical testing and a life-threatening surgical procedure to remove the misplaced embryo, she wouldn't make it either. Thanks to expensive specialized medical treatment, she survived.... but how different would be the outcome if the law defined life at conception - would they both have been allowed to die?

Skipping ahead another ten years to the mid-1990s, with a very successful career and just into a third marriage, she decided to try in vitro fertilization (IVF) in a last ditch effort to achieve motherhood. After a lengthy process of medical preparation and several miscarriages, on their final attempt which included the loss of two of the five implanted eggs and bed rest for nearly the entire period, she gave birth to three very preterm infants through an emergency C-section. The miracle of life at last!

The triplets, however, had complicated medical problems. Classic complications due to the premature births now needed to be addressed: immature respiratory systems meant being kept on oxygen, immature gastrointestinal systems meant special feeding through tubes, incubators to keep them warm so that they could use more of their energy to grow, a staggering number of medications and antibiotics to prevent infections, and around the clock care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

When they came home weeks and months later, one by one, each had specific individualized care instructions to be followed. While still working full-time, she moved her mother and niece into the house to help provide the intense care required to keep the children alive and healthy. As the children have grown, nannies and babysitters have been employed to keep up with the continuous care required. Long-term complications include vision problems, cerebral palsy, etc. Without excellent health care insurance, this very well off couple would surely be broke by now.

Can we really afford to move back into the dark ages? Life isn't all black and white. We live our lives in color because the world is so full of "what ifs" that we can't make rules that work for one person and expect them to work for everyone. There are ALWAYS exceptions. Reproductive freedom needs to be a right, not just for those privileged few who can afford to circumvent the system. The rich will always have access to sophisticated medical care, reconstructive and cosmetic surgical procedures, contraceptives and abortion services. The poor, however, are fortunate if they can afford to purchase medical insurance for their families at all. Unfortunately, politicians and rich insurance companies are usually the ones dictating what type of coverage is included and under what conditions.

In a perfect world, all people would be created equal: perfectly healthy, intelligent, kind, loving, respectful, honest, faithful, and ambitious. But let's be real. People aren't perfect. While I absolutely love babies, I could barely afford to raise the two I did have. I worked two or three jobs at a time to provide for them. It wasn't easy but I always knew there were others who were much worse off than I was. No amount of religion or legislation will turn this into a perfect world. Instead, I propose we turn this into a forgiving and tolerant world. One where those who want babies can have them and those who do not want them are not forced to take drastic measures to avoid tragic consequences to choices that may or may not have been their own. Not all guys are gentlemen, and not all women know the difference before it's too late. This is America. Try to remember that. Liberty for all - not just the one percent.

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

- Emma Lazarus, 1883

Freedom. Let's fight for it. Let's vote for it. For 100 percent of us.