NSFW - What are your feelings about the woman who "tweeted" her abortion?

Honesty is a good thing. If anything, others might learn from the experience. Of course, if they choose to.

I don’t like it.

Honest answer

A bit weird I guess, but there’s nothing wrong with it.

Whether one is for or against abortion, it’s still beats hearing about people going to the bathroom.

tweets are like television – you don’t have to watch it if you don’t want to

@jjmah what’s more important is the why. So if you’re not busy—do tell ;)
It doesn’t matter what position you hold, what matters is what holds your position.

Disgusted.

It’s slightly different in kind, but not in degree, from any other excessive on-line sharing. Smacks of narcissism to me: why do they think we care?

I find it fascinating.
On one hand I find it a little disturbing that something that is, to me, a very private ordeal is being tweeted about and highlights how on-display so many areas of life are.
On the other hand, abortion is something that many, many, many women experience in their lives, and for many people it’s a medical procedure no one talks about and is surrounded by shame. In a way I like that she’s bringing attention to it and attempting to normalize it a bit.

good idea for educational purposes.
not that i would do it myself, but someone out of 6billion people should. :)

@jjmah I was left feeling uncomfortable and not liking it either. I am staunchly pro-choice. @phoebusg your question made me realize that I really can’t put my finger on why I don’t like it, I just don’t. I’m going to have to give that some thought.

This is where I start feeling old. Obviously she has nothing to be embarrassed about, but I’m so used to the idea that such matters are personal and private. People younger than 30 today, for the most part, seem to have no filters. I don’t know whether this is a good or bad thing to be so transparent about our lives. Bob knows I’ve shared enough here of myself, if not in micro-blogs and pictures and videos.

I suppose the concept of “privacy” in our culture is changing now and we’ll have to deal with it whether we like it or not.

@phoebusg I don’t like the idea that she tweeted it. Like others have said, it’s personal and private.

Sorry. It’s just how I feel.

I’m %100 for a women’s right to choose, though.

@jjmah why? to the best of your ability, if you’re into sharing. Or maybe it would be a common reason with a decision not to share ;) (Meta-jokingly). Ask why a few times…
@Super – at least you’re looking for it.

While I don’t think I would tweet about it, it doesn’t bother me that she did.

People deal with things in different ways. Perhaps that’s how she dealt with the enormous emotional toll it takes- by trying not to be alone during the process and reaching out and somehow connecting to other humans.

I’m curious about why pro-choice people don’t like it as well. If abortion is to be seen as a right, a medical procedure, and not baby-killing, why should there be secrecy and shame around it?

It rubbed me slightly the wrong way too, and I’m trying to figure out exactly why I feel like that too.

@phoebusg let me think about it (as to why)..

It doesn’t seem out of the ordinary compared to a lot of other stuff in the media and on TV these days. I kind of like the idea that she wanted to demystify the process for others. I also don’t think she did it for the publicity. I think she was sincere. But who knows?

Twitter is in this weird liminal space between the ridiculous and very serious. The name sounds stupid. Twitter. Tweet. It sounds really flippant.

And a lot of times it is used for unimportant matters: “Going to the drug store!” “Just ate a sandwich!” “OMG I love my pink shoes!” Who cares, right?

But increasingly it’s being used for more legitimate means. (And this goes for all social media websites.) Remember the protests following the stolen election in Iran, when the government tried to shut down communication with the outside world, and people had to communicate through facebook and twitter?

Similarly, a few months ago there was a shooting down the block from me. I found out all the details from facebook and twitter—what happened, where, when, why, and by whom—before the news or any official medium had even announced that it happened.

So I guess what I’m saying is the fact that this woman chose twitter as her medium is not especially important. I think what really matters about this question is: should people talk about abortion? And the answer is a resounding yes. Women should not need to feel guilty, ashamed, or alone when they go through this. And the best way to reshape our thinking so they no longer need to is through an open dialogue, like the one this woman is having.

I don’t really think much of it. I guess because I’ve been on Twitter and telling people the status of my cervix since I’m about to give birth..that having an abortion isn’t much different.
I had the pill type abortion and had no one to talk to about it at the time. I don’t know if I was embarrassed or what, but I felt I couldn’t even discuss it openly with my friends. I wish I could have. I think it would have made it easier. Even if it was just online.

This lady already had 800 followers prior to the abortion..so I don’t know. Seems sort of weird to me, only because who the hell knows that many people, and want to read about your daily life…? I can’t stand when people I don’t know follow me on twitter.

I don’t mind, I tried going back through her tweets and gave up. But honestly, she’s only sharing her experience. Is her uterus so taboo she can’t share anything? Get over it.

I wouldn’t do it I don’t think, but there are many reasons for that.

This bothers me more.

From what you say, I think it is a fantastic idea. I think anytime you put original information into the world that people can learn something from, you are doing the world a tremendous favor. What we don’t need are tabloids perpetuating nonsense. And if you don’t agree, read the Constitution and grow some tolerance.

@dpworkin If I were considering an abortion, I think her personal, first-hand account would be extraordinarily valuable to me. Doctors can’t tell you that stuff. It’s not the kind of thing you can learn by reading drug information or by talking with professionals…

@asmonet the one you linked was incredibly creep and left me feeling sick to my stomach. I am definitely more uncomfortable with that than I am with this woman’s tweets.

It kind of annoys me that people in extremely obscure situations, crysis’, danger, are tweeting what they’re experiencing. It’s just a bit weird IMO.

@phoebusg what’s with the winks, anyway. That’s irritating.

I don’t have as much a problem with inane activity I could give a rats a$$ about it’s the people and media that insists on giving time and attention to these types of useless activity that bugs me most. STOP IT ALREADY!!!

I haven’t read the link or seen anything about the topic, and I don’t care to. It just seems an inappropriate venue to discuss such an issue. I also don’t care to hear how often she passes gas or poops. Some people just have no taste (or sense).

is it any different from tweeting throughout a surgery?

it’s raw data. “taste” doesn’t matter.
she’s providing the world with a perspective that we can’t find anywhere else.
i would rather it exists as a reference in case i’m ever curious to know what it’s like.

It shows me that not everyone is ready for unabashed honesty and forthrightness.
I’m not going to read about it. The minutiae of peoples lives that Twitter exposes us to doesn’t interest me that way.

I have no problem with it – I agree with her that this would demystify abortion as it should.

I support her a BAJILLION percent. She’s showing people who are too ignorant to actually do research that abortion isn’t murder, killing a child or a sin; whatever floats your ignorant boat. Abortion is a chance to save yourself if your at risk for pregancy and it could harm you

“I hope everyone on youtube has a great and Godless day”

This woman’s experience could potentially help a lot of women who are frightened and in a situation where they need to terminate a pregnancy. Sure she’s a bit narcissistic and I question why, but ultimately I think this woman did a good deed. Kudos to her for her lack of shame and her willingness to let others into the personal parts of her life.

@Likeradar ”I’m curious about why pro-choice people don’t like it as well”
Personally, I wouldn’t want to read it because it’s gross.
Nothing to do with the fact that it’s killing a baby. But it’s a bloody messy deal. I wouldn’t watch a leg amputation either.

I think if you don’t want to read about the details, don’t read her tweets. I have a feeling it’s not like one day she decided “I’ll have an abortion today, and tweet it to my unsuspecting followers!”
I think it’s a good idea to document such an event. Not necessarily via Twitter, but through some means at least. Give other women an idea of what they may go through should they opt for abortion. Perhaps it’ll make others realize “Wow, that’s shit. I’m going to use more protection so I can do my best to avoid this”.

Sounds like a community service to me.

whatever!

One isn’t supposed to use a cellphone in a hospital or clinic.

@PacificRimjob She took the pills, which can be done at home.