On Tuesday, Women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred told a group of people in New York City that she almost bled to death from an illegal abortion in the 1960s. The illegal abortion came after Allred was raped at gunpoint while she was on vacation in Mexico.
Allred disclosed this very personal information during a pro-choice rally in Manhattan. Thanks to the recent passage of extreme pro-life laws and the advancement of pro-life proposals in several states, many liberal states are worried that the trend could cause the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that made abortion legal in the United States. Conservatives are hopeful that President Trump’s appointment of justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch will lead to a favorable ruling if an abortion case reaches their court in the future.
Allred spared none of the graphic details about the illegal procedure that she endured. “I had to get a back-alley abortion in a bathtub from a person who was not licensed. They were just doing it for the money.”
Allred explained that she didn’t realize that she was pregnant until after she had already returned to the United States. At that time, abortion was illegal in most of the states.
Allred explained that while she was getting the illegal abortion she had begun hemorrhaging. According to Allred, the person performing the abortion looked at her and said that it was “your problem now.”
Allred continued by saying: “The only time a hospital would admit a woman like me was if she was bleeding to death from an abortion. The nurse told me, ‘This should teach you a lesson.’ According to the Daily Beast, Allred concluded by saying: “It taught me abortion should be safe, legal, and accessible!”
As of today, several states, legislatures, and governors don’t agree with Allred’s view of abortion. States such as Mississippi, Ohio, Kentucky, and Georgia have all signed bans on abortion as soon as a heartbeat is detected.
Gov. Kay Ivey from Alabama signed a bill into law on May 15 that makes an abortion a felony in the state. This new law doesn’t make any kind of exception for victims of rape or incest. In a written statement, Ivey wrote: “This legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians’ deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio was also at the pro-choice rally in New York. The Democrat, who announced his presidential candidacy just a few days later, said that “women will die” as a result of these new laws passed.
According to New York City’s 1010 WINS radio, de Blasio said: “New York City respects women, honors the rights of women, but in some other states we see these bans that try and take away rights that were fought for, for so long.” Bill de Blasio continued by saying: “These leaders who think they can turn back the clock, let’s just tell them this: Hands off, hands off the bodies of women, hands off the rights of women.”
