All Comments on 'Silent Sorrows'

Remember Hitler was prolife.... he outlawed abortion in Germany.

This story was very well done and I hope a lot of people read it...women most importantly.

Sadly enough, this scenario is all too possible. How is it that a country that prides itself on being at the forefront in so many areas is going backwards in others?

Did you have a 'Dad'??? Did he moleste you? WHAT, praytell, made you so Bitter??? As a 'Male', I have always considered myself a closet 'Lesbian'... Loving Women, and Womanhood!! You SHATTER this!! Your bitterness is EVERYTHING WRONG with the "Movement"!!!

Hoping you get your shit in line!!! You NEED an Analyst!! Preferably, one from Kansas, and NOT San Francisco!!! SISTA!!! Get it togetha!!!

While chilling and sobering, it is the fate of too many young women in that shadowed future without legal abortion. Especially since now there are no societal protections against early and frequent sex -- which, coupled with ignorance, produces pregnancy. Thank you for the reminder. I lived in the days when it was not an option -- when I got pregnant, I had a choice: Marriage or home for unwed mothers. One of my friends had no children after her abortion. Thank you.

While it is quite possible that this could happen in the future I don't think its so likely to occur. I really don't see roe v wade getting overturned. I think the story while serving as a decent point is just a bit too reactionary.

As a man, I think the adoption requirement notification is a good thing most of the time, especially when we have states such as Michigan tagging men for child support 10-15 years later, men who never knew they had a child.

We live in a country with a president that is trying to push his version of religion on to everyone while forgetting the basic premise of seperation of church and state. This is an all to possible outcome as he attempts to manipulate the constitution for his personal vendettas and as relious extremist get away with murder

I remember when abortion was illegal and it was a terrible time for women. While most men won't act like the one in the story there are human males like that.(I won't call them men) While I am personally against abortion, I believe that the right to choose is a personal and private one that the state has no right to dictate. Let us hope that the scene depicted never comes to pass.

That people actually can believe this to be in our future

due to our current political leadership tells us more about the ignorance and hate that exists on the left than anything else.

I am a male and have been "pro-choice" longer than you've been alive. And I do believe in a Supreme Being. And, yes, I am always concerned by the religious zealots who, in their attempts to substantiate their own beliefs, strive to convert as many as possible to their way of thinking. But this story is ridiculous. You've painted every male in it with the same brush you accuse those of using who would impose their wills upon you. Do you understand that every "advance" women have achieved did involve men who also believed that those same "advances" were right, just and long overdue. I will agree with any argument that states women shouldn't have to fight for ANY rights. No one should. All rights should be part-and-parcel to anyone drawing breath. But, unfortunately, reality has dictated otherwise. And if things particular to women are to be changed, then it will be because of the combined efforts of BOTH genders.

Approximately 1,000,000 babies a year are killed in abortion clinics. I would suggest that you try writing a few stories from their point of view.

... albeit well-written.

First off, I am not Christian, or religious at all, but I am pro-life. Pro-life does NOT by definition equal the religious right, or the christian coaltion. It means that one believes that a fetus is a human life.

On that note, I find it interesting that the author refers to the pregnancy as a "baby", a "child", in one breath and then uses the phrase "have it taken care of" in another.

Any time after a baby is born, or when an unborn baby is wanted, the idea of "terminating" that life is abhorrant, foul. Why is it OK when the mother doesn't want the child? And don't give me any of that *it's MY body* crap. There are two bodies involved.

Sigh.

That's why this issue is such a politically volitile one. Because situations like the one the author poses STINK. There IS NO POSSIBLE HAPPY ENDING. Both sides know this.

But, instead of possibly TWO alive people, one of whom didn't even give her family a chance to believe in her and support her, and the other who could have grown up happy in an adoptive family's loving arms, we have TWO DEAD people. Gee, that's just peachy.

Now, the version of this story in today's world that the author would have us believe to be the ideal still leaves us with one dead baby and one young woman who bears the burden of the trauma of her rape and now also carries the added weight of an abortion on her formerly pro-life concience. And she bears all that ALONE, because she won't come forward about her rape (which of course means it's all too likely that the monsters that did this to her will try it again on someone else).

THIS is the alleged best-case-scenario???

Silent Sorrows, indeed.

Congratulations.

A very disturbing story about rape and abortion, well written and from the woman point of view.

Some of the readers seem to forget that it's a fiction, whose objective is not to say that "anti abortion laws are a bad thing". It just shows what some women have to go through.

I do not really know anything about the situation in the United States, but in other parts of the world abortion is stil a crime. And the story above is not a fiction for some women but the sad truth. In some countries rape is even considered as normal, as a dark part of the local culture (I have lived in such countries).

I think the author would like us to picture ourselves in the position of the girl in this story. What would I do after such a traumatic experience? Would I be strong enough to keep the baby?

In a comfortable room in front of a computer, it's easy to say this is good or this is bad; I would keep the baby because it's what I believe in.

Everybody has a limit. With a broken spirit, such a choice is not always easy to make.

I know the story of a European actress who got raped and decided to keep the baby. In the same situation another woman would choose to terminate her pregnancy. Which one should people admire? the first or the second?

I'm pro life. And i am deeply against abortion. But it's my choice and I would never force a woman to keep her baby if she doesn't want to.

Being open-minded means to be able to understand that other people do have other values/beliefs. What I believe in may seem right for me, but what another person believes in may also be right for him/her. No human being possess the Truth.

This story shows that some women have to go through some difficult times. Is abortion the solution? Not always, but sometimes it could be a solution.

I hope to read some more stories from you.

Ok, being a woman, a lesbian, and a victim of sexual abuse and rape this was definitely a hard read but one that expresses very honest emotions. I am pro-choice, not necessarily because i could do it myself, but because i believe that there are circumstances where an abortion could be warrented. Unless you have been in the situation where you have been abused and have to worry about the consequences you will never know how alone a person feels. No matter how much you sympathize you quite simply can not know the aloneness that is involved. As for the threats that were issued to the girl in the story, they are all too real and happen all to often. It's not an attack on all men, its a simple truthful statement of what can and does occur. As for not trusting the people around you to support you, the damage that is suffered from one who is abused is extreme. The ability to trust anyone is sorely tested and in a lot of circumstances completely broken. As for prosecuting the men who do these vile acts, unless you have a rape kit preformed immediately it is almost always your word against theres. For most women who are abused the overwhelming urge is simply to try and be clean. Showers upon showers upons showers. And the first time you wash yourself all evidence is pretty much lost. For those who accuse people of bitterness, well you go through it and see how you feel. And as happens all to often if you prosecute the victim has to relive the experience over and over and over. Not only does she become a victim to the men who abused her but also a victim of the system. What worth do you place on a person's spirit? What would be a fitting punishment for such a crime? You want bitterness? Personally i think anyone who perpetrates anys sort of sexual abuse should be castrated and hung up by their genitals and i would just a quickly find some similar punishment for any woman who did these vile acts as well.

How can you possibly relay a story like this and do it happily? It would take a twisted individual indeed for that. It's not a happy story but the emotions expressed are very real and unfortunately happen all to often. As for the statistics of all the abortions that take place in the united states, here's a statistic for you. One in three women have underwent some form of sexual abuse in their lifetime. If you are one of the lucky two consider yourself very lucky indeed.

This story tells of the plight of female victims of violence. Well, the cops and social services can and do protect women. In fact, they ignore male victims of violence completely. A more balance and less biased approach to solving the problem of violence against both men and women would be nice. Ignoring the needs of male victims of violence while helping their female counterparts does a great disservice to humanity itself.

Is that justice ?

This story tells of the plight of female victims of violence. Well, the cops and social services can and do protect women. In fact, they ignore male victims of violence completely. A more balance and less biased approach to solving the problem of violence against both men and women would be nice. Ignoring the needs of male victims of violence while helping their female counterparts does a great disservice to humanity itself.

Is that justice ?

I live in small town Nova Scotia, Canada. Abortion is legal, but the "pro-lifers" have giant bill-boards greeting us on the highways, ads on the radio exorting young women not to end the heartbeat - they don't get it. You do, and your story was hellishly beautifully written. Our Prime Minister here is a conservative who heads a minority government, meaning that if he attempts too many sweeping changes he and his party will lose office. But he is angling for a majority election, and as the uber-organized right gains strength here, he may get it, and then we'll be sliding down the same path as you in the U.S. The reason the left doesn't organize and battle for supremacy as fiercley as the right is that we don't have a single rallying cry fierce enough, universal enough to rally round. The Right traditionally come round behind the bible. Your story is strong enough to be a call to arms for the rest of us. Thank you for sharing your nightmare.

This is the direction that we are headed. No woman should come in second to the contents of her uterus, yet every day we get closer to being back in the days of back alley, illegal, highly dangerous abortion as the only alternative for a woman who does not wish to remain pregnant (regardless of the circumstances leading up to her pregnancy.) I am hopefull that one day soon, everyone will open their eyes and realize exactly what is being sacrificed by giving a fetus the right to occupy a woman's womb against that woman's will. Until then, each day will bring us closer to being reproductive slaves. I am straight, but I had my tubes tied immediately after having my second child because I know that each day women lose more and more of their reproductive rights. I choose never to have another child. I hope that my tubal will be effective, because if it is not, I will abort. Legally or otherwise.

The one thing that each of us must decide BEFORE we stake out a personal position on abortion is: Is the unborn child a human being? If your answer is yes, then abortion should be a no brainer. If the fetus is a human being (which I believe it is) then you can't support allowing someone whose life is not directly threatened to kill him/her. And the simple fact is that pregnancy does not directly threaten the life of the woman in virtually 100% of the cases, especially not in america. If you don't believe that the unborn child is human (setting aside whether this is a rational belief), then there is no onus one way or the other to be pro-life or pro-abortion. The true tragedy in america is not that abortion is legal here, it is that so many americans support abortion while believing that the fetus is human. That speaks of a country that is incapable of taking a consistant moral position. The inablility to be honest with ourselves morally is what will destroy us, not the legality of abortion, one way or another. I trully believe that this country could survive as a pro-abortion nation, if that belief stemmed consistantly from a belief about what the unborn are. But it doesn't. When polls ask both "do you support abortion rights?" and "Is the unborn child a human being?", there is overwhelming overlap between yes to both questions. That means that a significant percentage of the citizens of america believe that it is okay to kill human beings who pose an inconvenience (i.e. less than a direct threat to life) to themselves. This is what will destroy this country.

For the record, if you haven't figured it out by now, I believe that abortion should be illegal under all circumstances except when the pregancy poses a direct threat to the life of the mother, for the reason that I am convinced that the unborn child is a human being from the moment of conception.

Abortion is best viewed by the one contemplating it.

It is a very stuck-up behavior we humans have of believing ourselves better to decide other peoples life than themselves. It only shows where we stand, in ignorance. In a ideal society there would be perfect care of the, for example, raped 'mother' and the child would naturally be in good hands no matter if she cared for it or not. But hey :) anyone seen that society yet? In this life most of us live where people actually tend to look down on those rape victims? I would call it hypocrisy of the worst level.... If it is a murder? F* knows, how about masturbation, or allowing a egg to get loose without having it impregnated? Let the individual decide with the help of loved ones, or if there is no other way, alone.

Tragic.... I would definitely say America should be very wary of overturning Roe Vs. Wade as this will be the kind of thing that inevitably happens... Maybe not such blatant rape, but definitely the backstreet abortions, the lethal side-effects and possibly women self-harming as a result of the trauma. Decent, law-abiding people dying for nothing... Honestly, is it worth it..?! Could you live with yourself if you voted for something that would cause people to have to go through this?! I know I couldn't!

Oh dear, I see the Americans have once again proved that their pretence to freedom is as hollow as the constituion it was written on.

Your nation may be a superpower, but it's a provinicial, backwater superpower that can't think for itself.

Addendum: This is one of the reasons I am glad I was born male.

Stories like this are the reason one must always remember that no price is too high for freedom.

Some of the comments above make my blood boil with furry. Did some of you forget the horrendous rape scene? Sure, it's a story about what could happen if abortion laws were overturned, but are you seriously telling me that this woman should consider a small group of cells when also considering how fucked up she is now that she was raped by a multitude of men? You people are sick.

I'm a guy. I really hope none of these things ever happened to you. If any of them have, wouldn't blame you for thinking every man is scum, etc.

What a powerful story

I've copied and pasted this story so that I can send it to my legislators.

They need to understand the unintended consequences of their actions.

This especially hits home with me because I have a friend who lives in Texas and who went to Mexico to get an abortion when she was in high school. It took more years and miscarriages than I care to count before Maria and her husband were finally able to have a child.

You go gurl.

Yes there are evil people out there. It's a sad fact of life, i guess the author wants to point out how evil rape is. No argument there from me. I am prochoice, we all have evil shit happen in and around our life. For the person that decides to abort a pregnancy, that person will have to live with that decision for the rest of their life. It will be up to them to decide if it was an evil action. Is she going to be a victim, or take control of her life. Wonder what the author's view on it.

FYI communist Russia was the first country to legalize abortion.