Right out of the chute, Jodi Hicks tells us in her Los Angeles Times op-ed that as an “outspoken advocate for gender equality and women’s rights,” it would “seem obvious that I’m not afraid of the word ‘abortion.’” Indeed, Hicks is the President and CEO of Planned Parenthood in California.
So why the curious headline that reads “Why I’m telling my abortion story now”?
Because she has not “always spoken it directly. And until now, I haven’t told my own abortion story.”
So why did Hicks not always talk bluntly about her abortion?
You see, I come from a generation that emphasized privacy. We stressed “choice” and the “right to choose” instead of talking straightforwardly about abortion. We tiptoed around it, in effect embracing the notion that abortion was problematic, even shameful, and that it should be legal as a last resort.
Well, ok. It couldn’t be that, in fact, Hicks knew deep down that taking her baby’s life was “problematic, even shameful”? The “legal as a last resort” allowed her to make peace with her conscience.
But that was then and…
But those of us who haven’t yet spoken up cannot be silent any longer. We cannot let abortion be mischaracterized and stigmatized by the divisive, dehumanizing messages of a minority that holds extreme views on this crucial human right.
Hicks cites the pro-life legislative onslaught. One way to “counter these state bans and to fight the stigma they perpetuate” is for women to share their abortion stories. “But,” Hicks asks rhetorically, “how can I be part of asking others to make their stories public if I haven’t done the same?”
Her abortion story started when she was 16 and discovered she was pregnant. After dropping hints (and notes) her mother caught on. Hicks tell us her mother “drove me to the clinic, paid for the service and cared for me when we got home. I had a supportive family and an uncomplicated abortion.”
Note: she and her mother have never discussed the abortion since “and to this day, I have no idea if my dad knows.”
She follows this up with the standard pro-abortion taking points. Her final paragraph is emblematic and, again, most revealing:
This is my story, and the story of millions of others like me. I had an abortion. I deserve the life I have today, the family I have and the destiny I was able to pursue. My life now is possible because I had access to appropriate healthcare, to abortion.
Didn’t the baby she aborted also deserve a life, a family, and a destiny of his or her own? What would their story be like if Hicks had taken another road?
Important questions, question I suspect Hicks wrestled with more than this op-ed would lead you to believe.
Chelsea Garcia is a political writer with a special interest in international relations and social issues. Events surrounding the war in Ukraine and the war in Israel are a major focus for political journalists. But as a former local reporter, she is also interested in national politics.
Chelsea Garcia studied media, communication and political science in Texas, USA, and learned the journalistic trade during an internship at a daily newspaper. In addition to her political writing, she is pursuing a master's degree in multimedia and writing at Texas.
