I say YES. YOU say NO....Numero Tre! Enjoy!

ruthbru

I've done some family genealogy myself. I have a great-aunt who graduated from high school, got married, and died all in the same month. When I asked my grandmother what had happened, she said she had gotten an infection. My mother, who was old enough to know what was going on at the time, told me that she had an illegal abortion and died. Even though she had gotten married, her mother (a 'bitch' according to my mother who NEVER swore) made her feel so guilty that she tried to end the pregnancy. I imagine there are sad secret stories like this in every family tree.

ruthbru

ruthbru

ruthbru

This is interesting....

Miriandra

Thanks to Pinterest, I happened upon the history of menstrual extraction. I can see this as helping all kinds of women in all kinds of situations: shortening long periods and decreasing the inconvenience of it all, minimizing pain from intense cramping, and helping transmen with menstrual-based dysphoria. And these are all above and beyond the original service of giving women control of their reproductive health.

https://www.womenshealthspecialists.org/self-help/...

I can easily imagine these groups becoming active again.

YesIamaDragon

St. Brigit was famous for her ability to "bring down the menses"

Trishyla

To your observation. Ruth, that most families have a similar story, mine certainly does. My sweet, lovely, aunt (my mother's older sister) was forced to marry her rapist because she was pregnant. It was 1950. She was 14. He was 35. He was abusive to her until the day he died.

My mother never forgave my grandmother for not standing up for her oldest daughter.

I was raped at the age of 15 and became pregnant. My mother took me to UCI Medical Center. She told them that it was my choice what to do. I chose an abortion. She held my hand and supported me through the entire process.

I am forever grateful that it was 1973 and I had a choice. I will not sit quietly while conservatives try to take us back to those dark times. I can't.

Trish

Betrayal

Georgia has just passed the most restrictive abortion law ever. It forbids abortion as an option to women who have been raped or subject to incest. As a student nurse in OB, the youngest patient I saw give birth was 10 and she was clutching her doll. This was pre-legal abortion and she was a victim of family incest. So a child gave birth to a child and that helped shape my pro-choice stance. I witnessed the negative aspects of self-induced or illegal abortions and hope we never have to go there again. Having to declare that you were mentally ill or suicidal (pre Roe vs Wade), and be certified as such by a psychiatrist, should not be used for justifying the procedure in women who are capable of making decisions about their bodies, to obtain an abortion. In the late 60's and early 70's these were the only legal means.

Trish, thanks for sharing your story and I am sorry you had this experience.

IllinoisLady

((((( Trishyla )))))

ruthbru

I at so sorry, Trishyla. I'm so glad you had a caring mother by your side. It's too bad that the 'pro-birth' crowd isn't actually 'pro-life'. If they were, they'd be passing a whole different set of laws to help the families, they'd make funding education a priority, they'd welcome immigrants, address poverty and systemic injustice, reform the prison system, oppose Capital Punishment etc etc.etc. If you could care less about what happens to the child once he/she is born, you are not 'pro-life'.

Trishyla

Thank you. Up until a couple of hours ago only two people on this planet knew that story. My sister and myself. We lost Mom in 2010. It felt right to put it into words on this thread.

You're right, Ruth. Those people are not pro life, they're anti women.

ruthbru

Trishyla 💗

IllinoisLady

Grace is goodness and respect given freely and unconditionally. A sense of divine love and protection bestowed on us when we need strength and renewal. Grace helps us know we are not alone and believe we are cared for and cherished. Grace is a drink of clear, clean water in the desert. -Sue Patton Thoele

IllinoisLady

Not sure where I was or was doing when this first posted, but oh how true it is.

IllinoisLady

Wouldn't you think they'd catch on -- people are not real interested in what they are selling. It's a dud, folks.

IllinoisLady

IllinoisLady

Some things remain true.

MinusTwo

Jackie - LOVE IT - the most dangerous animal!!!

exbrnxgrl

I grew up in the Bronx (hence user name) . Although I would have been only 7 in 1963, I have some vague memory of this or maybe I just heard about it 🤷🏻. We did go to the zoo a lot. One of my most cherished possessions was my zoo key.

DivineMrsM

Trishyla, I cried when I read your post about the ordeal you went through at age 15. My heart hurts for that teenage girl that was you, and my heart goes out to the woman you are now. I cannot even begin to imagine all you went through at the time or how it alters the rest of your life. I don’t know how your teenage self began to heal from the trauma after having your innocence shattered so violently. Your mom, it had to be incredibly painful to see her daughter go through all of that; I thank God she was present and supportive of you. Your story has stayed on my heart since I read it yesterday. ((((((Many hugs to you)))))) 💗

IllinoisLady

Exbrnxgrl - I was graduating high school in 63' ( 33 in my class and one was a cousin and the other was my sister ) and the point is that it was a very small town and I had never much been out of it. No way for me to know anything about the Bronx Zoo or exhibits. I think I read about the dangerous animal/mirror because it had a familiar ring to me the minute I saw it. I was a voracious reader for a long time -- guess lots of things are floating around in the gray matter. I didn't have time for yrs. to read much and long to have more time than I yet do.

exbrnxgrl

Illinoislady,

I’m a brand new retiree but since I was a teacher, this would have been my reading time anyway. Now I’m looking forward to indulging in reading anytime, but it’s going to be weird . The rhythms of the school year no longer effect me. I booked a beach cottage near Santa Barbara in September. Off season but still lovely.

ruthbru

Smart to do something you couldn't do when you were teaching right at the beginning of the school year, exbrnxgrl. The year I retired, I flew down to Florida & helped a friend shop for a condo that she needed to furnish & then drove back North with her during the first week of school. I had no regrets about retiring but it was still hard. Now, I have decided that I am not going to substitute anymore and that is a weird feeling too.

Here is a lovely picture of some real World Leaders. (It and that nice one I posted of Joe & Jill come from the Facebook page Inside the WHITE HOUSE ,if you are on Facebook you can like & follow their page for more neat pictures.

IllinoisLady

"If you want the world to be a better place, extend Love to it.
See its perfection, its innocence, its beautiful purpose. What a gift it offers!"

from The Voice For Love.

IllinoisLady

Exbrnxgrl, I hope you enjoy your 'rental' in Sept. Dh and I lived in Santa Barbara a few yrs before moving to Ventura and I find both places were so beautiful at the time. Santa Barbara had a mall with step ups or step-downs to visit different stores. All the stores being pretty much open to each other. Sadly, it burned but my Mom would drive up from Santa Paula almost 50 miles away to go to that little Mall. Also the underwater ocean views on the Santa Barbara Pier which we always found very entertaining and enlightening burned as well. There were windows in a circle down there and every so often gates below would be opened and some of the fish would swim out of the gate while new ones came in. We could spend hours watching. Santa Barbara still such a nice place despite the loss of the nice attrations.

IllinoisLady

One of my favorites.

IllinoisLady

IllinoisLady

IllinoisLady

IllinoisLady

I am wondering how close to running the orange one will get. He says he has to because everything is being 'destroyed' by Biden and the Democrats. Well, that is a good enough excuse for him to keep himself intruding in the news cycles as much as he can' It does seem ( he and Bill O'Reilly are not selling too well ) a number of people are pretty much done with him. He is not going to recognize that. As we ALL know only he can fix it -- and he has always felt that way. It is in his vicious and vindictive nature that he is presently the smartest person on this earth.

Hopefully, he will keep throwing all those monkey wrenches and will destroy the run for '22 of anyone good. I did read where many of the 'so-called' better Reps. just aren't going to run as they would have to spend all their time cleaning up after the damage the orange guy does. Likewise, if things remain on that level 2024 should end up interesting as well. Pretty far into the future right now. Maybe ( but hopefully not too soon ) the Reps. will figure out the damage they have done to themselves.