[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 22]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 31103]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        WRITING BY VICKI WILSON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ZOE LOFGREN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 21, 2003

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to share with my colleagues 
this editorial written by my courageous friend Vicki Wilson. In it she 
describes her very personal story about her pregnancy and a procedure 
that was required to save her life. As Vicki rightly points out, the 
ban on so-called ``partial birth abortion'' prevents women--along with 
their families and doctors--from making private decisions about saving 
their own lives and protecting their right to future pregnancies.
  A short while ago, the House debated the so-called ``Partial Birth 
Abortion'' ban. Several members who supported the ban tried to deny 
Vick's story.
  Those Members didn't know what they were talking about. Here is the 
truth as printed in the San Jose Mercury News.

                    [From the San Jose Mercury News]

       Heartbreak and a Choice: I Had an Abortion at Eight Months

                           (By Vicki Wilson)

       The right to end a pregnancy is frighteningly precarious, 
     something I didn't understand until I had an abortion at 
     eight months. The new abortion ban covers what is not 
     actually a recognized medical procedure; ``partial birth'' 
     was coined by the anti-choice lobby to rile public 
     sensibilities and distort the truth.
       At 36 weeks of pregnancy, an ultra-sound showed what all my 
     previous prenatal testing failed to detect--an 
     encephalocoele. Two-thirds of my daughter's brain had formed 
     outside her skull. What felt to be strong, big, healthy baby 
     movements were in fact seizures.
       My doctor sent me to several specialists in a desperate 
     attempt to find a way to save her. Everyone agreed she would 
     not survive outside my body. As the pregnancy progressed 
     before I went into labor, she would probably die from the 
     increased compression of her brain.
       Our doctors explained our options. Let ``nature take its 
     course.'' But how could I let my daughter suffer the ongoing 
     seizures? Second: Abortion. My God! I thought. Here I am at 
     the end of a planned and very much wanted pregnancy: Her name 
     is Abigail. How can one even utter the word ``abortion'' now? 
     Despite being a nurse, I'd never heard of any abortion in the 
     eighth month. I asked about a Caesarean section. Doctors 
     perform C-sections only to save babies lives. Mine couldn't 
     be saved so they didn't want to risk the possibility of 
     hurting my future fertility. It was a risk I wasn't willing 
     to take either.
       We agonized over our options, which doesn't convey the 
     heartbreak and rage we felt. It was hard even to think of 
     these ``choices.'' I wanted my daughter to be born with a 
     brain--period. We decided to make our choice based on what 
     was best for Abigail.
       As health-care professionals, my husband and I understood 
     the medical risks of each alternative. We understood that it 
     wasn't ``is she going to die''--a higher power had decided 
     that--but ``how?'' To this day, I thank God that this 
     decision, at least, was ours.
       I continue to battle the anti-choice hard-liner machine 
     from banning the very procedure that saved my health and 
     ended Abigail's suffering. When will politicians understand: 
     The decision about terminating a pregnancy should be between 
     women, their family and their doctors--not politicians. While 
     I was struggling with the most wrenching choice I have ever 
     made, it never occurred to me to confer with a lawyer or a 
     judge or a politician.
       Those opposed to abortion for any reason declare that women 
     are selfishly choosing to end their pregnancies late. They 
     deny medical necessity; they'd rather see Abigail suffer and 
     me lose my fertility than allow us to choose the most decent 
     path for our family.
       They state that Americans are opposed to their politically 
     motivated ``partial birth'' abortions. They don't acknowledge 
     that Americans believe the choice should remain with my 
     family.
       Almost nine years have passed since we lost Abigail, and 
     not a day passes that I don't think of her. In my heart I 
     know I did the right thing for me and my family.

                          ____________________