Woman Crowd Funds 2nd Trimester Abortion And It Doesn’t Matter If We Agree
A young woman named Bailey from Phoenix, AZ is in the news for crowd-funding her second trimester abortion on the site GoFundMe and naturally, the internet has plenty to say about it. Whether or not I agree that she should be able to get an abortion that late in her pregnancy or whether anyone should be supportive is totally irrelevant here. It doesn’t matter if we agree- GoFundMe is voluntary and anyone who wants to donate to her is doing so of their own volition.
From the sounds of it, Bailey is absolutely correct in her own assessment that she is in no way prepared to have a baby. From Vice:
Her GoFundMe page, originally titled the “Stop Bailey From Breeding Fund,” informs visitors that ”Bailey is currently unemployed, completely broke, in debt, and in no position to hold down a job due to severe symptoms of a rough, unplanned and unexpected pregnancy.” Having just moved to Chicago from Phoenix, Arizona, Bailey says she’s 23, likes to read and go to shows, and really, really doesn’t want to be a mom.
Honestly, all of these qualifiers are wholly unnecessary. I know she has to write up a little ditty for her page to collect donations but the only sentence that matters is the very last one- that she does not want to be a mom.
I will admit that it makes me very sad to think of someone having an abortion when they are that far along and the fetus is healthy- something inside of me does feel that it is quite wrong. However, that something inside of me does not get a say- because this baby is inside of Bailey. I will make the decision to not ever do what she’s doing but I do not get to make this decision for her. There are internet people who believe that Bailey should continue on with this pregnancy despite her disadvantaged financial position that will not improve if she remains pregnant and too sick to get a job. Who is going to step in and pay her expenses and help her out until this baby comes? And what after that? And most importantly, she said she does not want a baby no matter what. Why would anyone want her to have one?
Although the fact that she is 20 weeks is not ideal, I do hope Bailey reaches her goal and gets her abortion. The story goes on to detail a man she is seeing named Lucifer Ryzing– he is the one behind the GoFundMe page. I am guessing this is not his given name (and we thought Jermajesty was bad) and as such, that would mean raising a baby in the presence of a man who wants to call himself Lucifer. He might be a great guy, who knows, but if he voluntarily lets people call him that ridiculous name I am going to go out on a limb and say he’s not ready to live with a baby either. I think Bailey knows what she’s doing.
We need to trust women to make these decisions for themselves. It is not up to the internet to judge this girl for trying to accumulate enough money to do what she knows is right for her body and her future. If someone sees what she’s doing and does not like it, I have a very simple solution- ignore it. GoFundMe is completely voluntary and only those who deem a cause worthy need to open their wallets. Whether a man crowd funds potato salad or a woman crowd funds abortion, whether or not to donate is solely up to each individual. I oddly commend this young couple for figuring out that they cannot handle a baby just yet and doing something about it. Sadly, we see news stories every day of couples who probably should have thought a little harder before bringing an unwanted child into the world. Maybe when someone says they don’t want a baby we should listen and not judge.
(Image: Andrew Park/Shutterstock)
