Dear Provider

Art by Liz Andrade | Written by Melanie Travins Mullins.

This was created as part of the #ShoutYourAbortion zine Issue 1: Dear Doctor. (http://shoutyourabortion.com)

March 10 is the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers, observed every year on the anniversary of the day in 1993 when David Gunn, MD, was murdered by an anti-choice extremist. #AppreciateProviders, #NDAAP

Description:

A start black background with decorative handwritten style white text. In the center bottom there is a black and white line drawing of a wavy haired woman holding up a ultra-sound photo of a fetus, the woman’s nails are painted red. In the upper right there is a drawing in the same style of the same woman holding a 1 year old infant child in her arms and smiling up at him. The child is wearing a red bandana. The handwritten text that surrounds these illustrations says:

Dear Abortion Provider,

I didn't feel guilty when I got my abortion in 2003. I was on drugs, had a drug addicted boyfriend and most importantly, I knew I wasn't ready to be a mom.But, I worried that down the road... When I had a child... It would all come out... And I would be devastated by what I had done.

Then… my son was born in 2014. As I held him and looked at his perfect little fingers and toes I waited for the repressed shame to wash over me.... Instead, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the abortion I had 11 years earlier.

And I realized that… it was only through choosing to not be a parent then, that I got to be a great mom now! Thank you for being there when I needed you in 2003.

That friday in January when you showed up for work, it was just another day for you. You didn’t know that over a decade later your work would help a woman you don’t remember have the life and family she’d always dreamed of. There are two loving parents with a little boy who is happy, safe, and wanted… because of you. Thank you.