There is video as well
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.1781689
New Jersey abortion counselor films her own procedure for online film
Emily Letts, 25, a counselor for the Cherry Hill Women's Center decided she wanted to share a positive message when she became pregnant and had an abortion in November. She said she did not feel guilt for getting the procedure because it was the right decision for her. But pro-life groups have condemned her video for not focusing enough attention on her unborn child.
An abortion counselor wanted to tell a positive abortion story by filming her own procedure.
Emily Letts, 25, a patient advocate at the Cherry Hill Women's Center in Cherry Hill, N.J., produced an online film of her abortion in November.
She wrote in an essay for Cosmopolitan that she wanted to discuss the feelings women who get the procedure feel — especially the guilt.
"I know there are women who feel great remorse. I have seen the tears. Grieving is an important part of a woman's process, but what I really wanted to address in my video is guilt," she wrote. "Our society breeds this guilt. We inhale it from all directions. Even women who come to the clinic completely solid in their decision to have an abortion say they feel guilty for not feeling guilty. Even though they know 110% that this is the best decision for them, they pressure themselves to feel bad about it."
The video shows Emily the night before the procedure as she informs the audience she is pregnant but not ready to have children.
"I feel lucky. I'm completely comfortable with the decision. I feel supported by everyone," she says. "I just want to share my story to show women there is such a thing as a positive abortion story."
The former actress said she became a counselor as a way to help women and support them after years of feeling competitive with other women because of her former profession.
But Letts, who did not return messages seeking comment, became pregnant in November because she said she didn't use birth control.
"Once I caught my breath, I knew immediately I was going to have an abortion," she wrote. "I knew I wasn't ready to take care of a child. The guy wasn't involved in my decision."
She opted to undergo a surgical abortion with local anesthesia, meaning she would be awake the entire time. The first trimester operation takes three to five minutes and she decided to film it to show an abortion from the woman's experience.
The video shows her conscious, holding someone's hand as she hums at the end of the procedure.
"You did great, you're a trooper there," the doctor remarked.
"You guys are my heroes," replied the relieved Letts.
Letts said she selected the procedure because it seems most scary for patients she deals with.
"Women come into the clinic all the time terrified that they are going to be cut open, convinced that they won't be able to have kids after the abortion," she wrote. "The misinformation is amazing, but think about it. They are still willing to sacrifice these things because they know that they can't carry the child at this moment."
During the abortion, she focused on staying positive and "feeling the love from everyone in the room," she said.
"I am so lucky that I knew everyone involved and I was so supported. I remember breathing and humming through it like I was giving birth," she wrote. "I know that sounds weird, but to me, this was as birth-like as it could be. It will always be a special memory for me. I still have my sonogram and if my apartment were to catch fire, it would be the first thing I'd grab."
Letts appears in the video again a month and a half after her abortion to address her feelings.
"I don't feel like a bad person. I don't feel sad. I feel in awe of the fact that I can make a baby," she said. "I can make a life. I knew that what I was going to do was right because it was right for me and no one else."
Letts said she receive hateful responses from her video. She mentioned comments like “you deserve to die,” and “you killed your baby.”
Many of the commenters on the video expressed support and thanked Letts for sharing her story and showing that abortions can be safe to the woman.
Though others were appalled at seeing the film and not adding the full context of her decision.
“Abortion is not a medical procedure, it is ending the life of an unborn baby,” write one poster. “You have proven, once again, that the womb is not a safe place. That life you ended would have one day called you mommy... through childhood to teenager and to become an adult to fulfill his or her dreams. And how about the father? Did he even have a say in what you were going to do?”
Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, a pro-life advocacy group, said in a statement to the Daily news the video is a “sad commentary” that “someone can be rewarded for filming an event that takes the life of an innocent unborn human being.”
“Ms. Letts says that she is ‘in awe of the fact’ that she ‘can make a life,’ and she writes that if her apartment were burning, the sonogram of her unborn child is the first thing she would save. We pray that in the coming years, she will understand and be able to accept the ramifications of her actions,” she said.
Anne Scheidler, vice president of the Pro Life Action League, said she felt the film was very sad.
“She’s certainly ignoring the life she just destroyed in an effort to have an experience and show how positive a thing it is,” she told The News. “You can’t end someone’s life like that.”
Scheidler took exception to many things Letts said including her not informing the father and likening her abortion to a birth-like experience.
“No, wait until she does gives birth,” Scheidler said. “It’s a whole different experience than death.”
But despite a lot of negative feedback she received, Letts said she is still glad she did it.
"Every time I watch the video, I love it. I love how positive it is. I think that there are just no positive abortion stories on video for everyone to see. But mine is," she wrote.
Her one regret was not using birth control, which she said made her feel "irresponsible and embarrassed." After the abortion she said she had an IUD inserted so she would not get pregnant again until she was ready.
But Scheidler said she hopes Letts will ultimately regret her decision.
“I would hope the day will come when she realizes encouraging other women to blithely kill their children without any remorse at all is an irresponsible, juvenile and immature thing to do.”
