My grandmother Polly was a Jewish immigrant. She escaped the pogroms in Russia and came to the U.S. She made a life for herself here and had three children.
She also had a heart condition. Pregnant again in the 1930s, she chose to end the pregnancy and had an abortion in her kitchen. I can’t imagine how she must have felt. Was she scared? Did she fear for her safety? Fortunately, she survived. She was one of the lucky ones.
Decades later, when I sought my own abortion, I had a very different experience. I went to a local doctor and had the procedure in his office. I felt very safe and well taken care of. I received excellent follow-up care.
But now with Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, safe and legal abortion is in jeopardy. We could be returning to my grandmother’s time. I don’t want that for my daughter. If she needs an abortion, I want her experience to be like mine, not her great-grandmother’s.
We should not have to go back to the 1930s. I urge Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King to oppose Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Sara Gilfenbaum
Portland
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.