Jennifer Whalen

I first heard about the story of Jennifer Whalen a week ago on The Savage Lovecast, which I've talked about before in this blog. Dan Savage mentioned the case, and much like him, I was dismayed that I hadn't heard more about it in the media. I actually didn't see a news article about it till almost a week later.

A Mother in Jail for Helping Her Daughter Have an Abortion

You can read the article above at the link, so I won't rehash it here. But allow me to start by saying that I find this article to be such a sad situation of our misled legal system, and in my opinion, our broken society in general.So, I don't think I can dive into this topic without expressing my own personal opinion on this issue. I am pro-choice. I also don't look at it as a moral issue. I think women should have the freedom and access to do with their own bodies a they see fit.I personally don't think that what this woman did was wrong, and I think her being jailed for it is nothing short of ridiculous. I also think this is the tip of the iceberg on the consequences of politicians making abortion a more difficult pathway to those who desire to walk it.In addition, this woman got more time than people who are caught with guns, narcotics, or a list of "real" crimes. The woman appeared to be backed in a corner, and did what she felt to be the best thing for her daughter, who requested the medication. Not to mention that the woman has been incarcerated years after the actual "crime".  This is a working class family. Taking 2-3 days off of work to drive 75 miles away to spend money just wasn't in the cards. If there had been options more readily available, I'm sure she would have taken them. But, the access was not there.History has taught us that if abortions are abolished, or made difficult to get,  people will go to whatever means necessary to get one.and as a former teacher, I can say from firsthand experience that the worst ting in the world is a person having a child that doesn't want one. That s**t is f***ing ridonkulous...and in all seriousness, very sad.~D