"i'm not sorry"

I have a small button my backpack that says, “i’m not sorry.” My friend gave it to me last June at the annual conference of the National Network of Abortion Funds. I sport it with pride, and although I get a lot of quizzical looks, few people actually bother to ask me what it means.

My dentist is on of those few people. As was wrapping up my exam last week (I got an A+ - yay flossing and brushing regularly!), he noticed the button. “Interesting button,” he said. “What are you not sorry about?”

“Technically,” I explained to him, “this button means that I am not sorry that I had an abortion. However, I’ve never had an abortion, although I definitely would if I found myself pregnant, and I would absolutely not be sorry. But I wear this button in solidarity with those who had abortions and are not sorry that they have their own lives. I’m not sorry that about is legal, although I am very sorry that it is not affordable and accessible to every woman who needs one.”

My dentist laughed. “Well, that is certainly not what I expected you to say, but good for you! I wish everyone felt the same way.”


FACT: 89% of counties in the US do not have an abortion provider.

FACT: 6,000 women were forced to leave their homes and families in 2004 to travel to New York City to exercise their right to basic health care because their was no one in their hometowns who provided abortions.

FACT: The average cost of a hotel room in New York City is $300 per night and 85% of hotel rooms are booked over 200 days of the year, forcing low income women who travel to New York for an abortion to sleep on the street because they cannot afford a safe room.

Today is the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, but while abortion is technically legal in all 50 states, thousands of women cannot exercise their right to an abortion because of unfair restrictions and/or a lack of providers.

If you would like to help a low income come forced to travel to NYC for a second trimester abortion, email the Haven Coalition at havencoalition@yahoo.com.