Woman Reveals Why She Decided To Film Her Abortion

[DGayle]

I was actually wondering about that but was a little afraid to say it. I'm glad you did. I am just having so much trouble buying the fact that an abortion counselor would simply not be using birth control. It all just sounds so easy and flippant.

Thank you both for saying it first. I'm having a hard time believing someone who such easy access to birth control would shun it in favor of unprotected sex, and then just randomly test, and oops, newly pregnant. If this is al true, the not only is she an idiot who has no business counseling people about safer sex practices, but that's one hell of a coincidence.

[DGayle]

I don't think this will help in the long run. She comes across as irresponsible. I agree that no one should dictate how she feels about it. I'm pro-choice and had this nagging feeling of being a little offended after I watched it. Not sure I could pinpoint why, but it made me uncomfortable.

Might be how she has liberal access to birth control, but decided to use abortion as her sole birth control, while smiling like it was exciting, when most women who abort are far from joyful.

[DGayle]

I agree, this story sounds like a hoax to me, since a birth control counselor would be more likely to take Plan B as soon as possible after unprotected sex.

Except this so-called counselor has been doing this for a year.

[PennySycamore]

Somebody needs to investigate this. Did this girl actually work in that particular clinic? Does that clinic actually exist? Has this woman been involved in anti-choice activities before?

I agree that abortion needs to be de-shamed, but this is not the way to do it.

[Three and Done]

I don't believe it, period. I call bullshit.

Emily is an actress, and has been in a number of movies and theater productions. Here is one of her "resumes" : emilyletts.wordpress.com/emily-letts/

Here is another: emilyestherletts.wix.com/eel#!resume

She also goes by "Esther Letts" or "Emily Esther Letts".

I am sure someone with better Goggle tactics could find much more. :google-tactics:

[LogansMama]

I'm just going to go ahead and say it...

As someone who has terminated a pregnancy, I find this extremely gut-wrenching...and I didn't even watch it! I can't imagine there is any (stable) woman who has gone through this that is actually proud of it. I'm not going to really discuss this because obviously it's an extremely personal decision someone makes, but...really... :wtf: ??

[2xx1xy1JD]

Are the news outlets doing any background work to verify her story? If she worked for a clinic for a year, it shouldn't be too hard to confirm it.

[darkplumaged]

I'm just going to go ahead and assume it's a hoax... but one thing I find particularly annoying is that she is promoting this as a "positive" abortion story. Positive how? If we take the story at face value, she irresponsibly chose not to use birth control when having sex with some dude she wasn't close enough with to tell she was pregnant. I am not seeing any positives here, except that abortion is indeed available to women who do not want to be pregnant. (For the moment, let's ignore the fact that access is often limited.) We did not need a video to tell us that.

[Shrinra]

I don't understand how she won the competition that she entered. Out of all of their entries, this was the best? A video that increases stigma won a "stigma busting" competition. Did no one else enter?

[PennySycamore]

I don't believe it, period. I call bullshit.

Emily is an actress, and has been in a number of movies and theater productions. Here is one of her "resumes" : emilyletts.wordpress.com/emily-letts/

Here is another: emilyestherletts.wix.com/eel#!resume

She also goes by "Esther Letts" or "Emily Esther Letts".

I am sure someone with better Goggle tactics could find much more. :google-tactics:

I did look at her resume a bit. She may have gone to Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore as the schools are listed perhaps as places she'd studied. You have to be really, really smart to get in to those schools so she could be lying. She also lists doing some plays at Drexel and Villanova, which is Catholic. In my opinion, her resume is mess: you really can't tell what she's done.

I will tell you that the anti-choice crowd is already making a big noise about this evil woman filming her abortion and being gleeful about it.

Was the fact that the supposed abortion procedure only showed her face done to cover up the fact that this woman did not in fact have an abortion? Would she have been in something that more resembled a birthing chair than the usual exam table?

[ViolaSebastian]

I thought it was interesting that she has her BA in theatre--shouldn't a counselor have a degree in psychology or social work? If she was trained in one of those areas I'd be much more inclined to believe her.

Also, it states that she went to Haverford College and majored in theatre through Swarthmore's theatre department, she did not Bryn Mar.

emilyletts.wordpress.com/about/

[Luvmyskinnyjeanz]

blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2014/05/the-emily-letts-abortion-video-shows-that-pro-choicers-are-losing-the-plot/

Already pro life supporters are saying it prove pro choice arguments wrong about women not taking abortion lightly.

I too call bull shit on this but not that she did it for pro life but to advance her acting career.

Emily Letts grew up in the little town of Climax, MI. There she learned how to process meat, drive tractors and capture that Midwestern charm. She later attended Haverford College, majoring in theater throughSwarthmore College’s theater department. Emily also studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts and Headlong Performance Institute. Though she just graduated from college she has had the privilege of performing in the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival twice. In 2009 she joined the cast of New Paradise Laboratories for their production of Fatebook; Avoiding Catastrophe one Party at a Time as the seductress Anita Prowler. Then in 2011 Emily was honored to collaborate and perform in Thaddeus Phillips’ festival hit Whale Optics. Emily also played a Lesbian lover in Mauckingbird Theater Company’s queer production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2010 along with a slew of other off kilter characters at the Bistro Romano Dinner Theater. Emily has been fortunate enough to dive into the indie film industry of late, which she is grateful for. She would like to take this moment in time to conjure up a storm of pelting love for her brother, mother and father. Kind people breed kind people. She is thankful for this.

She has done nothing but make pro choice look bad with her little stunt. :evil:

[Toothfairy]

Attention whore

[Luvmyskinnyjeanz]

www.cherryhillwomenscenter.mobi/site/about-us/?imz_st

So how ' highly trained' can she be if she's been acting until a year ago and can't manage/control her own contraception? As much as it tastes like bile in my mouth I say let the pro life anti choicers heal with her. I hate when stupid morons jeopardise the progress of pro choice.

[slh12280]

When I first heard about this (on a right wing political site!) I thought it sounded fishy. If it's true, way to reinforce stereotypes about the irresponsible woman that can't practice what she preaches.

[Mudball]

I had a very different take on this!

I thought it was great to actually show an empowered woman making a decision she knows is the right one without tears, shame, and all the guilt women are "supposed" to feel. I thought it was great to show that the procedure was relatively quick and easy for her. When it was over she felt relief and was optimistic.

Very often, in our culture, even among staunchly pro choice people, there is an expectation of guilt or emotional pain or suffering or regret. That isn't always the case! I think it is powerful to show women this is an option, if you aren't ready, and it doesn't mean you will be emotionally scarred for life.

Was she irresponsible? Yup. So are a lot of ppl. Is she an attention whore? Could be. Is it a hoax? If it is, in my opinion it failed. The anti-choice crowd would have more luck if they kept perpetuating the repentant, emotionally damaged, wailing, post abortion trauma sufferer. "Don't do it, it will ruin you forever!"

[Luvmyskinnyjeanz]

I had a very different take on this!

I thought it was great to actually show an empowered woman making a decision she knows is the right one without tears, shame, and all the guilt women are "supposed" to feel. I thought it was great to show that the procedure was relatively quick and easy for her. When it was over she felt relief and was optimistic.

Very often, in our culture, even among staunchly pro choice people, there is an expectation of guilt or emotional pain or suffering or regret. That isn't always the case! I think it is powerful to show women this is an option, if you aren't ready, and it doesn't mean you will be emotionally scarred for life.

Was she irresponsible? Yup. So are a lot of ppl. Is she an attention whore? Could be. Is it a hoax? If it is, in my opinion it failed. The anti-choice crowd would have more luck if they kept perpetuating the repentant, emotionally damaged, wailing, post abortion trauma sufferer. "Don't do it, it will ruin you forever!"

For years pro choice has been battling the accusations that abortion is used as birth control for woman too irresponsible to use contraception. She claims to be a counsellor for a women's health clinic, yet she was having unprotected sex and was shocked she fell pregnant. Then instead of doing the next responsible thing she quiet happily opts for an invasive procedure instead of a pill to get the biggest reaction and win a competition. That is the callous attitude pro choice is trying to stop the pro life using against us. The clinic should be investigated for allowing it. And hiring incompetent counsellors.

[Marianne]

I had a very different take on this!

I thought it was great to actually show an empowered woman making a decision she knows is the right one without tears, shame, and all the guilt women are "supposed" to feel. I thought it was great to show that the procedure was relatively quick and easy for her. When it was over she felt relief and was optimistic.

Very often, in our culture, even among staunchly pro choice people, there is an expectation of guilt or emotional pain or suffering or regret. That isn't always the case! I think it is powerful to show women this is an option, if you aren't ready, and it doesn't mean you will be emotionally scarred for life.

This x10 0000 000 000 000 !

but I don't think she should have been done. when I had my IVG (Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy, it's better than abortion), I seriously didn't care about this, but I didn't think I should use it as a political act. I just had it, that's all.

[Luvmyskinnyjeanz]

This x10 0000 000 000 000 !

but I don't think she should have been done. when I had my IVG (Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy, it's better than abortion), I seriously didn't care about this, but I didn't think I should use it as a political act. I just had it, that's all.

Everybody is different when put in a situation such as abortion. There is no right way of acting. What I have an issue with is when someone who is supposed to be in a position of guiding women through this experience behaves in such an irresponsible way as to have unprotected sex, knowing full well the smear tactic used by pro life activists harms the pro choice cause.

[Marianne]

Everybody is different when put in a situation such as abortion. There is no right way of acting. What I have an issue with is when someone who is supposed to be in a position of guiding women through this experience behaves in such an irresponsible way as to have unprotected sex, knowing full well the smear tactic used by pro life activists harms the pro choice cause.

I agree with you. When I had unprotected sex when I was a teenager, I just feel shamefull, because I know how to had condoms/pills, and I didn't do it because I was a stupid teenager (but lucky). Everyone make errors, but you don't have to be proud of it.

[Luvmyskinnyjeanz]

I agree with you. When I had unprotected sex when I was a teenager, I just feel shamefull, because I know how to had condoms/pills, and I didn't do it because I was a stupid teenager (but lucky). Everyone make errors, but you don't have to be proud of it.

She's not a stupid teenager, she is a 25 year old woman who informs others of birth control.

[2xx1xy1JD]

Sounds like she's more likely to be an attention whore than a pro-life activist. It's still possible, though, that all or part of the video is fake.

My first impression was that it comes across like a selfie - all about the "look at ME".

You can be glad that a procedure exists, without glorifying it or the irresponsible behavior than preceded it. To me, it was like watching a video of someone drunk getting their stomach pumped. Yes, it's better to get medical care than alcohol poisoning, but you were still an idiot.

[Luvmyskinnyjeanz]

Sounds like she's more likely to be an attention whore than a pro-life activist. It's still possible, though, that all or part of the video is fake.

My first impression was that it comes across like a selfie - all about the "look at ME".

You can be glad that a procedure exists, without glorifying it or the irresponsible behavior than preceded it. To me, it was like watching a video of someone drunk getting their stomach pumped. Yes, it's better to get medical care than alcohol poisoning, but you were still an idiot.

I agree.

[Marianne]

She's not a stupid teenager, she is a 25 year old woman who informs others of birth control.

Is it a job or a volunteering ? I'm in training in a association which makes prevention against AIDS, and the first things that they say us is "if you have unsafe sex, you can leave us. You have to be a model".

[Luvmyskinnyjeanz]

Is it a job or a volunteering ? I'm in training in a association which makes prevention against AIDS, and the first things that they say us is "if you have unsafe sex, you can leave us. You have to be a model".

Exactly! Job or volunteer is irrelevant, she works at the clinic she had birth control and information readily available to her and she chose to not use it.