Molly, on her blog, Molly saves the Day, posted instructions for doing an at home abortion. This blog has stirred quite a bit of discussion in the reproductive rights community. I had the opportunity to discuss this controversial post with Molly.


Question: Why did you decide to post instructions for an abortion on your blog?

Molly: Essentially, the answer boils down to this: because I could. My friends and I have been discussing the possibility of abortion laws being made far more restrictive, and because we like action better than simple griping, we decided to find out procedures for abortion methods. I did not post it, however, until South Dakota outlawed abortion, because I assumed if I posted it prior to restrictive laws being enacted, people would claim I was getting worked up over nothing. South Dakota has shown clearly -- along with the other states with anti-abortion laws working their way through state legislatures -- that the time for knowledge is now.


Qusetion: Did you expect the kind of attention your post as gotten?

Molly: Not in the least. A few days after it broke, when the comments reached over 100 and people from everywhere from Metafilter to Salon.com posted it, I mentioned to my fiancé -- completely joking to him -- that at this rate, the New York Times would be talking about it within a few days. Two days later, a reporter from the Washington Post wanted an interview, and a day after that, MSNBC talked about me on the front page of their web site. It's been really hectic for me, since I'm just starting to write my first book, and doing the research for that has been time-consuming as well. Combined with the incredible number of emails I have been receiving, it's been hard to keep up with things and still have a little time to relax in the evening!


Question: How have your readers responded to the post?

Molly: The response I have had has been overwhelmingly positive. Of course, many conservatives have taken offense because to them, I'm advocating murder. Others have taken issue with the fact that they believe only a medical doctor can perform an abortion. But in truth, abortions by non-medical professionals do not have to be the unsafe "back alley" abortions of the past, especially not with new techniques.

One of the response types I've been most disappointed in, though, are people who misread the post as a "do it yourself" manual -- saying that for the $2000 cost, a woman could easily get over state lines or procure an abortion otherwise safely. I've stated over and over again that this is for a clinic setup, one that could perform many abortions for the same $2000 equipment cost.

Some of the weirdest responses have been things stating, for instance, that teenagers might use it instead of condoms -- because of course girls would rather have a painful medical procedure than taking a painless precaution. The amount of misogyny in these comments is astonishing -- the idea seems to be that women abort for fun, or as a substitute for birth control. In truth, 4 in 5 abortions occur to women who were using birth control at the time of conception.


Question: If Roe were overturned, do you envision a world in which women will have to set up their own underground abortion clinics?

Molly: I hate to be pessimistic, but at this point we should be talking about WHEN Roe is overturned. The current Supreme Court is not one that will favor women's reproductive rights. When Roe is overturned, or made useless through a death of a thousand cuts, women will of course set up underground clinics. My concern is that these clinics should be safe, sterile, and comfortable for all women. This is not beyond our reach.

Some people have actually said to me that they oppose my message because without gruesome deaths from illegal abortions, it will be difficult to galvanize the public to re-legalize it. I cannot believe that these people would rather watch women die horrifically just to make some statistics for a political cause. All over the world, 70,000 women died from illegal abortions last year -- that's one every 8 minutes. If that isn't enough of a statement to galvanize people, I doubt more deaths here will be.


Question: We have a whole generation of women who have never known a world where abortion and birth control wasn't legal. How do you get them to understand how important it is for them to protect their reproductive rights?

Molly: Not only do young women today have no recollection of the pre-Roe (and especially pre-Griswold) era, they also are more privileged in some ways than any of their predecessors. Many women I have talked to who have always lived in an abortion-legal world have said "well, it's no big deal, I'd just go to another state." They forget that not everyone has money to go to another state, and that this nation has no mandated leave policies to allow a woman to take off work without being in danger of losing her job. They forget that for abused women or teenagers, leaving home for days to leave the state might be completely out of the question.

There's a very big push, even from pro-choice women, to look at only the middle class and avoid looking at the worst case scenarios. To say, well, we can give women money to cross state lines if they have it is still focusing on the middle class, because it doesn't take into account women who can't get sick leave or childcare. Sure, giving money might give some more women choices, but I don't believe choice should be the realm of the relatively privileged -- it is the least privileged women who may need it the most.


Question: You have a very interesting blog, where you write about feminist issues. Why do you blog?

Molly: I blog because writing is what I do. As a former journalist, I do hope to possibly get into journalism again someday, hopefully with a feminist-friendly publication. Blogging keeps my writing relatively sharp (though since a blog is a perpetual first draft, not as sharp as it can be!) and helps me to focus some of the outrage I feel at events in news and culture.


Molly is in the process of writing her first book, to be published by Seal Press in fall 2007, and is trying to decide between looking for new journalism opportunities or attending midwifery school. Be sure to check out Molly’s interesting blog.