During this profoundly important month of celebrating women, I'm going to tell you my story; I hope you will tell me yours here where it is safe and remains anonymous, if you wish.
I grew up in a blue-collar family in a small-ish town in Indiana. I wanted to be a nurse but had expectations of studying at a hospital nursing program. It was just happenstance that I graduated from the Baccalaureate program at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana in 1970
Married before graduating, Alan and I wanted to join the Peace Corps. My first plane ride ever was when we went to Los Angeles for our Peace Corps interview! My world started to expand from there!
With little more than six month's hospital experience, I began to run an out-patient clinic in our Honduran village of Las Vegas de Santa Barbara. It is there that I learned a new language, worked with humans who looked different than me, and experienced a culture and level of poverty that I could not have previously imagined.
Dedication of my clinic
My Nurse's Aide, Pachina, and Me. I learned so much from her; and will never forget her!
During my two years of volunteer service (1971-73), I was oblivious to protests and political upheaval in the US. I learned about the feminist movement only because my sister-in-law sent me a copy of Ms. Magazine!
Upon returning home, we began our re-entry by seeking jobs. I landed a job working for the Illinois Migrant Council as a Public Health Nurse with migrant apple pickers. My resume with "Spanish language skills" acquired in Honduras was an asset!
My husband's job led us next to Massillon, Ohio. There I answered an ad for a nurse at a Planned Parenthood clinic. Once hired, I was sent to train as a Family Planning Nurse Practitioner!
I worked, for the first time, with a group of strong women dedicated to serving the health care needs of women without prejudice. The seeds of strong feminist views were being sewn in my world.
Support groups that met in women's homes were evolving at the time. I attended some, but was saddened to hear stories of defeat: abuse, verbal or physical; estrangement; lack of housing and education; low wages; lack of skills; inequality in the workplace! In these groups, espousing feminism as a solution to these problems was begi nning to become a movement. Fortunately, I didn't experience those wrongs; but by particpating I began to FEEL that equality should be the right of all women in all aspects of their lives!
Moving often due to steps in my husband's career, Planned Parenthood had become the place I wanted work after my first experience. I left a little piece of my heart in each place we lived; but I sought the commaraderie of like-minded women at those clinics whenever possible. If there was no job opening, I volunteered.
I am a proud alumni of many Planned parenthood facilities from Akron, Ohio to Quito, Ecuador and many in-between. I make no apologies for my beliefs that every women has the right to control, along with her doctor, what happens to her body! I believe Government interference in those very personal and sometimes painful decisions is ABSOLUTELY WRONG!
No one loves or enjoys an abortion! It is one of the many options in the life-long path that is women's health care. It MUST remain safe and legal; the repercussions of denying that right is devastating for women the world over. By the way, clinics I worked in did not offer abortions; I never assisted with one.
I have spoken my truth this Women's History Month; and my thoughts have been a long time coming.
I accept that you may have a difference of opinion and that I don't have to agree with you. Likewise I accept your opinions that may differ from mine. I welcome your comments here and "strive for civil conversation." (www.braverangels.org) Please don't judge me; I don't judge you. We all come from life experiences that shape us. Let's leave the judging to our wiser and gentler higher powers!
I will leave you with a partial book list suggested for Women's History Month by librarians at my local branch. I am confident that you, too, can research your own choices at home.
Allen, Jennie. "Untangle Your Emotions: Naming What You Feel and Knowing What to Do About It."
Conley, Chip. "Learning to Love Midlife: 12 Reasons Why Life gets Better with Age."
Durrani, Pashtana. "Last to Eat, Last to Learn: My Life in Afghanistan Fighting to Educate Women."
Moore, Kate. "The Woman They Could Not Silence: one woman, her incredible fight for freedom, and the men who tried to make her disappear."**
Ponasse, Julie. "Our Last Innocent Moment."
** I am only 4 chapters into this "historical non-fiction set in the 1890s, based on careful research about how mental health can be used as a weapon. In the end, this book is about power. Who weilds it. Who owns it. And the methods they use. And above all, it is about fighting back."
160 years later, it is not overly surprising that we are still fighting back!
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