Before Roe v. Wade

Dr. Waldo Fielding wrote an article in The New York Times, "Repairing the Damage, Before Roe" (June 7) where he made the point that "there are few physicians today who can relate to...the pre-Roe 'bad old days'...from personal experience. I can." So can I. I have been on this earth long enough to know what it's like to have an unwanted pregnancy and have termination of a pregnancy be illegal.

I wasn't about to have a baby at 16 or maybe it was 17. I didn't have any money and was ashamed to tell my parents so I caused myself to have a miscarriage (a coat hanger was no joke). Not only did I bleed heavily, my uterus became infected and I ran a temperature of 106 for three days. Needless to say, I did go to my parents who got me antibiotics. I had to take four different kinds of antibiotics and go to two different doctors two weeks apart for a minor surgery to clean out my uterus.

Well, I'm sure this is more than you wanted to know, but you all need to know what can happen to women if we lose this right. Are we in danger of losing the right to safe, clean, legal abortions? I think so with the Supreme Court becoming more and more conservative. All these damn men believing they have a right to tell women what they can and cannot do. So let's get on the stick and fight for all our rights.

--Judith Tristan

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