So You’re Pregnant — Now What?

With all the talk around town about pregnancy, abortion rights, new laws and bodily autonomy, I’ve decided it’s time to write about options for pregnant people.

First, I believe in bodily autonomy and I do not split hairs among abortion, medicine, food, beverages, sex work, hormone-replacement therapy, cosmetic surgery and vaccines. If you’re living in a body, it’s 100% your decision what happens to it, period, end of story with me. Bodily autonomy is all-encompassing, and I support all options available to pregnant people. It’s about having choices for the person to make for herself, not society or you.

Plan B or the morning-after pill: If you’ve had recent unprotected sex and don’t want to get pregnant, you have the morning-after pill, aka Plan B. This is a medication containing a synthetic hormone called levonorgestrel. It will prevent/delay ovulation (the egg’s release from an ovary), and it can prevent sperm from completing fertilization; if the egg is fertilized, it will prevent the egg from attaching to the uterine wall. The closer to the time of sex it is taken, the more effective it is in preventing pregnancy. This is not an abortion. It can be taken within 72 hours of sex and it effectively prevents an unwanted pregnancy up to 87% of the time. Now legal in all 50 states, it is available through local pharmacies.

Pregnancy support centers: These resources are great for pregnant people who may not know what they want to do, offering access to prenatal care, ultrasound exams, support, education and services. They can also help those who are not interested in aborting a pregnancy, but don’t want to keep the child, in finding alternatives for it prior to giving birth. They serve at-risk mothers and girls, and help addicted mothers detoxify, keep the child and find sobriety in the process, while keeping mother and child together. These centers can be trauma-based and provide specific support services for mothers in crisis. They offer medical and mental-health care, individual and group counseling. They provide pre-abortion facts, risks and even post-abortion support, something most abortion clinics don’t offer. (I’ll address this shortly.) You can find these centers across Arizona, and not all are religiously affiliated.

Abortion clinics: As of 90 days after the state Legislature adjourns this year, abortion in Arizona is legal up to 15 weeks of gestational age, including in cases of incest or rape, and after 15 weeks if the mother’s life is at risk or a medical professional determines that delaying an abortion could cause permanent harm.

An abortion costs $760-1,000 depending on how far along the pregnancy is. Most abortion clinics offer a consultation, then a scheduled appointment. They make it a quick process for people wanting to terminate their pregnancy.

Depending on how far along they are and other health factors, there are pills one can take that are 98% effective and have been used in pregnancy termination for more than 20 years. The medications are mifepristone and misoprostol. They are taken within 24-48 hours of one another. 

Then there are surgical abortions, the most usual form, considered one of the safest outpatient surgical procedures, where sedation is provided and an ultrasound afterward ensures successful fetus removal.

Personal decisions: Please understand when women and trans men make these decisions, they are incredibly difficult, personal and at times against their own will. I recall a time in my life when females had to find back-alley abortionists or home remedies that put their health and safety at risk.

Abortion clinics should be doing more for women: This is my read on abortion clinics, and my experience as a friend of abortion patients over the years. Most clinics do not offer any aftercare or support services for women following abortions. There is no mental-health or postpartum care to check on emotional or hormonal disruption. I have friends who had abortions 20+ years ago and still have regrets, PTSD and emotional experiences from the procedure. I also know women who never gave the procedure a second thought and are completely happy with their decisions.

Abortion clinics sell fetal cells legally. Industries pay thousands of dollars for them. University and government labs have used fetal tissue for decades for research on health conditions like diabetes, eye disease, muscular dystrophy, vaccine technology and more. In 2014 the NIH spent $76 million on research using fetal tissue. Knowing this, I'd like to see the profits go to the pregnant people as aftercare, as well as educational funds, mental-health services and other programs to support the women who make the difficult decision to terminate a pregnancy. Abortion clinics provide “medical procedures”; for them to provide “medical care/healthcare” they have to revamp their services and adopt a more comprehensive, holistic approach. This is not 1973, people. Do better for and by these women!

This is Hedda Fay, encouraging you as a pregnant person to evaluate all your options. Breathe, stop, make sure whatever decision you make is good for you. Don’t ask other people, whatever decision you make is one you will live with for the rest of your life. There are options — keeping your baby, adopting it out, aborting the pregnancy, and preventing yourself from becoming pregnant with Plan B. Sometimes Plan B is the best plan, too.

To everyone else, if you are not the pregnant one, you do not get to decide! If you can’t be supportive, then please be quiet. Words matter, they can have long-lasting impact on others that you may never realize.

For up-to-date information on abortion laws in real time, check out the Arizona Attorney General website: www.azag.gov/issues/reproductive-rights/laws.