Day One, a series of excerpts from Without Apology that describe the first attempt at telling the truth about abortion in Canada.
An Abortion Palimpsest: Writing the Hidden Stories of Our Bodies
22 February 2001
I took the morning-after pill yesterday. We needed to make a quick decision about our mistake. This big dose of estrogen and progesterone is making me nauseous so I take Gravol. I feel stoned and go to sleep. My stomach is giving me mixed signals between nausea and hunger and pain. I’ll get over this. I am trying to get through this on my own because I want to be my own strong container for myself.
22 February 2001
Stopping the potential conception of a child was almost difficult to do. But now is definitely not the time for us to get pregnant.
23 February 2001
Fatigue today, feet hurt during yoga practice and mild headache. Took a sauna and felt better, but fatigue lingers. I taught a private yoga class and came home wanting to nap when I usually feel energized from teaching. I had planned to help S with his business, but when he came to pick me up tonight, I told him I had to stay home and rest. He left, but I wish I could have seen him for longer, touched him and talked to him. But life is not like that, not right now.
An excerpt from Judith Mintz’s chapter in Without Apology: Writings on Abortion in Canada, edited by Shannon Stettner.
