By now you probably already know all about how multiple states have passed, or are in the process of passing, incredibly strict bans on abortion.
Most notoriously, 25 white men on Alabama's Senate voted to ban it in all cases except where the mother's life is in danger. There was no exception made for victims of rape or incest.
The ban was the last straw for many women and social media began to be flooded with powerful stories that prove just how personal every single abortion choice is.
Brie, who posts on Twitter as @meowmeowmeow07, told her story in an extended thread.
At 17, Brie discovered she was pregnant after only sleeping with her boyfriend twice, both times with a condom.
It turns out that he had purposely tampered with the condoms in hopes that if she got pregnant it would "lock [her] in" and force her to stay with him forever.
This is unfortunately not as uncommon as one would hope. In fact, there is an entire community of men who brag about acts like these.
The clinic was a Crisis Pregnancy Center (CPC). These are nonprofit clinics that may or may not qualify for actual status as a medical clinic. They may provide support for pregnant women, but they also promote a strong anti-abortion stance.
Thankfully, Brie's friend had her back and they left the clinic.
Because she was only 17, Brie required parental consent to get an abortion. It's not surprising that she would be afraid to tell her parents what what happening.
She went before a judge to argue for the right to get an abortion without the consent, and thankfully, it was granted.
Contrary to the horror stories anti-choice activists peddle, there was no fetus or anything. The embryo was barely getting started and the entire procedure took five minutes.
Yes, this guy — presumably also a teenager — first pulled a knife on her and then cut his own wrists in front of her because he didn't want to live without her.
Presumably, the cuts were just for show and shallow, because the story doesn't end there.
The ex-boyfriend was banned from their house, but continued to stalk Brie for 10 years after the incident. She was forced to constantly change phone numbers and he would show up at her workplace.
In the end, she's free of him, but imagine if she'd been prevented from ending the pregnancy. It was non-consensual and he was trying to trap her into a situation where she couldn't escape.
Brie wholeheartedly believes that had she been forced to stay with him, he would have eventually hurt or even killed her or the child.
Brie wasn't raped. She wasn't a victim of incest. Even in the states with exceptions for those within their new bans, she would not be allowed to legally have the pregnancy aborted.
But you can't hear her story and use any of the usual victim-blaming rhetoric. She was a 17-year-old having consensual sex with her boyfriend, and as far as she knew, it was safe sex.
Would the ex-boyfriend allow it without another crazy stunt? And Brie would still be stuck with 9 months of pregnancy and possibly thousands of dollars in medical bills.
That's why sweeping bans can't work. Besides removing women's freedom to control their own body, no sweeping ban can possibly account for the incredible diversity of reasons and situations in which a woman might choose to have an abortion.
Thank you, Brie, for sharing your story, and thanks to all the women who are continuing to open up about their own.
