I got my period when I was eleven years old. One of my earliest memories of my period involving
a man is when I was in high school. I
used to get really bad cramps and long cycles.
On this particular day, I went to the bathroom and was sitting on the
toilet reaching for a sanitary napkin under the sink, only to find the package
empty. No one was at home but me and my
dad. I was in so much
pain and dripping blood in to the toilet. I cried out to my dad that we were out of pads and I needed him to go to the store and get some more. His response was, “Ok, put your clothes on and I’ll take you.” Startled at the incongruousness of this response, I told him I couldn’t go without a pad and that he needed to go get them himself and come back. Reluctantly, he finally went by himself while I sat waiting in pain on the toilet, and got the wrong brand. He meant well, I guess…
Fast forward to my Sophomore year in college when I went in
for my first Pap Smear. I saw my mother’s
gynecologist, who was a man. At that
time, my period had abruptly stopped and I didn’t know why. My mother took me to see the doctor, I had my
Pap and some tests run. In the days of waiting
for the results, all types of negative thoughts crept into my head. What if
I can’t have children? What if I have
some type of cancer? What if I’ll die
before I turn 25? In those moments,
I prayed and cried a lot, “God please don’t
take my babies.” When the results
came back, it was determined that I have irregular cycles. At just 19 years old, I was nonchalantly told
by the doctor that as long as I menstruate 10 months out of the year, I’d be
fine. His response was so cold and I
began to cry. He prescribed birth
control and I left his office.
With these and other experiences involving reproductive
organs in my life, I never got the warmth and proprieties from men that I usually
get from women. Yes, they may mean well;
but men will never completely understand what it’s like to be a woman faced
with decisions involving her reproductive organs. These types of decisions absolutely
should be left up to women and women alone.
When considering the issue of abortions, many have come to the aid and
the ignominy of women wanting to do what’s best for them and their families. People from all different backgrounds have
weighed in on this discussion. In my
journey to my own opinion, I have encountered many Black people who falsely
believe that Planned Parenthood is somehow out to exterminate the Black
race. This belief comes from scare
tactics of the misinformed who simply want to incite support from people whom
they’d otherwise completely disregard. 
Having an abortion is something that should be left up to
the woman making the decision and her family, not legislators and men who have
no idea the excruciatingly emotional heartache of the mother and the financial
ties to that decision. Its abhorrent
that these same people who fight so hard against abortions do absolutely
nothing for eradicating
poverty or even working to help those struggling
with the ability to have children. So,
what’s really behind this fight? This
research shows the racial makeup by state of women who have abortions in
this country. This fight has absolutely nothing
to do with eliminating the Black race in this country, and without the ability
to fully understand what is at stake for the mother and family in each individual
situation, it’s definitely not a charge men should spearhead and fight to
create legislation against its legalization.
