An abortion provider reflects on motherhood, her own abortion for ‘Mama’s Day’

Via 4000 Years of Choice

Originally posted at Raw Story

By Dr. Pratima Gupta

As an abortion provider, I know abortion rhetoric too often ignores the complexities of real women’s lives. Choosing adoption, ending a pregnancy, or raising a child is a personal, often complicated and emotional decision. But one thing is pretty simple: that decision is better left to a woman and her family. I know this firsthand.

When I met the man of my dreams we talked about having a family of our own. We worked to build our careers and our lives together. As a doctor, a provider, and an advocate, my career took off, lobbying for increased family planning access and speaking at town hall meetings and rallies in support of comprehensive reproductive health care for all.

The time came when we decided we were ready to take the big leap and become parents. I was thrilled when I got pregnant, and in my excitement I didn’t follow the advice I give my patients to wait to tell people. We told our family and friends right away.

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Pratima Gupta, MD, MPH currently practices and provides abortions at Kaiser Permanente East Bay in Oakland, CA, and the University of California, San Francisco. She is also the volunteer medical director of St. James Infirmary, a free clinic in San Francisco for sex workers and transgender individuals.

This blog post is part of the Strong Families Mama’s Day Our Way celebration. You can read more posts in the series on the Strong Families blog. Strong Families is a national initiative led by Forward Together. Our goal is to change the way people think, act and talk about families.