ABORTION

by Evie Sullivan

 
My father said, “Whore, you 
must end it before it’s too late. 
End it or I will kill you.”
 
“He means it,” my mother said.
 
I had no say about the 
life in my belly. It was theirs.
Their Big Problem. It wasn’t 
welcome. Had to go.
 
The bloody knitting needle 
failed to kill it.
So the ancient abortionist 
did it for free on the 
kitchen table, 
his instruments as
rusty as his skills. 


* * * * *

Evie Sullivan is of the generation of women who didn’t have access to birth control or abortions. As an early feminist, she fought for women’s rights in her native Austria and later in the USA, where she’s been living since 1982. 
As an actress, writer and therapist, she has kept one finger on the pulse of time and closely watches the developments of late. 
Now, she worries that misogynist lawmakers catapult women back into the dark ages. 
Her advice: keep fighting, sisters!