Abortion one of her “best decisions”? Read more carefully
By Dave Andrusko
Writing at the Huffington Post, Alanna Vagianos could not be prouder
that Renee Bracey Sherman is “happy” that Sherman had an abortion when
she was 19. The operative paragraph in Vagianos’ glowing tribute is
The video is short, 2 minute, 6 second long, so Sherman doesn’t waste words. It sounds as if she had an absolutely idyllic childhood. She tells us that she loves cats– “My first and foremost identity,” she says, jokingly,” is a “cat lady”—and was raised by parents that “I am equal to my brothers and that I should not be treated differently because I am a girl.”
That, I guess, is suppose to help explain what comes next.
She didn’t want to be a “disappointment to my parents.”
Sherman, who calls herself a “reproductive justice and storytelling activist,” says that when she called home, they cried and that her mom “felt bad she couldn’t have been at the clinic” to support her. But that’s okay.
Mom, you gave me all of the tools that I needed to make the best decision for me…I haven’t once regretted it. It allowed me to change paths. It was one of the best decisions of my life and I’m happy.
Let me make two quick points. The video is filled with cherished pictures of Sherman’s own childhood—just before she tells us “and I’m happy” and immediately after. I’m not sure what to make of this.
She was obviously loved as a child, perhaps even spoiled, and now her own child will never ice skate, play soccer, play the piano, have her picture taken with her grandmother, be held aloft, or be the subject of a thousand photos.
The other thing is, as you see in the first quote, Sherman is, we’re told, ”so much more than her choice to have an abortion.” Her abortion, while the end of the child’s life, is just a sliver of Sherman’s life, Vagianos reassures us.
Message? Don’t obsess, you pro-life types, over Sherman’s abortion. She’s got over it—indeed, she is “happy”—so why make a big deal of it?
Because when Sherman “changed paths,” she also ended her child’s brief journey.
Renee Bracey Sherman
The best part of this video —
besides that it shows she made the best decision for herself at the time
— is that it reveals so much about Sherman’s personality, family and
upbringing, showing that she’s so much more than her choice to have an
abortion.
So, what is Sherman’s story, as told in her video produced for
Fusion’s #NoFilter series? Not what Vagianos glorifies, that’s for sure.The video is short, 2 minute, 6 second long, so Sherman doesn’t waste words. It sounds as if she had an absolutely idyllic childhood. She tells us that she loves cats– “My first and foremost identity,” she says, jokingly,” is a “cat lady”—and was raised by parents that “I am equal to my brothers and that I should not be treated differently because I am a girl.”
That, I guess, is suppose to help explain what comes next.
“I realized when I was pregnant I did not wish to continue the pregnancy. I simply wasn’t ready.”
What does that mean? Her youth? More likely the real explanation come next.
“I was afraid to tell my family, I
wanted to pretend like I wasn’t one of those girls. I didn’t want to
fall into society’s statistics and stereotypes and I didn’t want to be a
disappointment to my parents.”
Sherman, who calls herself a “reproductive justice and storytelling activist,” says that when she called home, they cried and that her mom “felt bad she couldn’t have been at the clinic” to support her. But that’s okay.
Mom, you gave me all of the tools that I needed to make the best decision for me…I haven’t once regretted it. It allowed me to change paths. It was one of the best decisions of my life and I’m happy.
Let me make two quick points. The video is filled with cherished pictures of Sherman’s own childhood—just before she tells us “and I’m happy” and immediately after. I’m not sure what to make of this.
She was obviously loved as a child, perhaps even spoiled, and now her own child will never ice skate, play soccer, play the piano, have her picture taken with her grandmother, be held aloft, or be the subject of a thousand photos.
The other thing is, as you see in the first quote, Sherman is, we’re told, ”so much more than her choice to have an abortion.” Her abortion, while the end of the child’s life, is just a sliver of Sherman’s life, Vagianos reassures us.
Message? Don’t obsess, you pro-life types, over Sherman’s abortion. She’s got over it—indeed, she is “happy”—so why make a big deal of it?
Because when Sherman “changed paths,” she also ended her child’s brief journey.
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