This woman fought for her right to remove her diseased uterus after years of being denied surgery and forced to endure painful treatments to save an organ she didn’t want. Despite her clear wishes, doctors prioritized her potential motherhood over her health. After emergency surgery, her partner supported her choice, proving bodily autonomy is essential. Her story highlights the dangers of medical and legal control over women’s bodies.
When I needed a hysterectomy due to severe endometriosis & adenomyosis, I was repeatedly denied
Told I “might want kids.”
Told I “might meet a man who wants kids”
I was left disabled & bed ridden, yet the system continued to try & save my diseased uterus against my will 🧵
I was forced to undergo six painful abdominal surgeries to try and control the disease
Each one left me with more pain than the one before.
Each one took longer to recover from.
Each one caused more scarring.
I was forced to undergo iron infusions which are painful and caused extensive bruising and staining of my skin.
When those failed I was forced to endure blood transfusions because my anemia was so bad my ferritin was zero. Zero. I had nothing left.
I was forced to take increasingly strong hormone medications which pushed my body into a pseudo pregnancy state.
When that failed I was forced to take drugs to put me into chemical menopause. At 22 years old.
The drugs made me miserable and further destroyed my health.
These drastic measures were taken to save an organ I didn’t want and could live without.
They were taken to preserve my fertility for a hypothetical future man despite my being clear I never wanted children (nor was I well enough to care for them)
This went on for years.
I sought second opinions and third opinions and fourth opinions.
I consulted with male and female doctors.
I got psychiatric clearance that I understood the risks of surgery and was competent to make up my own mind.
None of it mattered.
I was repeatedly treated as second to a man and a baby who didn’t even exist.
I was denied the autonomy to decide what I wanted for my body.
Eventually the bleeding became so severe they had to do the surgery as an emergency because I was dying in the ER.
By that point I had a boyfriend, albeit we had only been together a few months and he had no legal standing to make decisions for me.
As they were wheeling me off for emergency and life saving surgery, they stopped to ask HIS permission.
They asked him if he was “ok” with my being unable to bear children.
If he would leave me if I couldn’t procreate “for him”.
We hadn’t even said “I love you” yet
Once my uterus was removed, my quality of life returned.
My anemia vanished and I was able to work and play and take care of myself again.
I was no longer in daily pain and chained to a hospital bed.
It was the best thing to ever happen to me.
Needless to say he was enraged but told them to do what was necessary to save my life and leave him out of it.
He understood that it was my body, my choice.
If he ended up wanting children, we could have adopted. We could have used a surrogate. There were options.
Even some of the doctors who had denied me the right to choose remarked that I was a different person after the operation
Yet none of them said sorry. None said they were wrong. None expressed remorse for stealing years of my life in a futile attempt to save a womb I didn’t want
I think about what happened to me whenever I read about abortion rights being clawed back in the US.
I’m in Canada and wasn’t pregnant. If I was treated as second to my womb, what hope do American women have of coming first in states with strict bans?
The answer is… no hope.
One need not look any further than the case of Adriana Smith, who was declared brain dead at nine weeks pregnant and kept on organ and tissue support without the consent of next of kin.
The state turned her into an incubator due to an abortion ban
Her case is particularly horrifying, but we must remember that many people, especially among the Christian right, see us exactly that way.
We are vessels. Our sole purpose in life is to procreate.
What we want for our own lives comes second to our husbands & babies.
We need true autonomy over our bodies.
Medical misogyny has killed and harmed too many of us.
We need the legal right to decide what is best for ourselves and that right needs to extend to our wombs.
A man would never be forced to keep a diseased organ inside his body if he didn’t want it.
A man would never be told a hypothetical future wife comes before his own wants and needs.
It’s subjugation, and it needs to end.
We must all fight for true bodily autonomy.
For women like me. For women like Adriana. For the women in Georgia who’ve already lost their lives due to the abortion ban.
For our daughters, nieces and fellow travellers who deserve to be treated as people, not wombs /end
To make matters worse, I had a severe post op bleed and abscess which is a common complication of a hysterectomy.
I was dismissed from the ER three times without proper testing.
The boyfriend had to drag my limp body back a 4th time AND cause a scene for me to access care.
They denied me autonomy & delayed care for years.
Then caused a life threatening complication & gaslit me for weeks.
I needed a second surgery & almost died.
I survived because my bf fought for me. It was luck.
When I needed a hysterectomy due to severe endometriosis & adenomyosis, I was repeatedly denied
Told I “might want kids.”
Told I “might meet a man who wants kids”
I was left disabled & bed ridden, yet the system continued to try & save my diseased uterus against my will 🧵I was forced to undergo six painful abdominal surgeries to try and control the disease
Each one left me with more pain than the one before.
Each one took longer to recover from.
Each one caused more scarring.I was forced to undergo iron infusions which are painful and caused extensive bruising and staining of my skin.
When those failed I was forced to endure blood transfusions because my anemia was so bad my ferritin was zero. Zero. I had nothing left.I was forced to take increasingly strong hormone medications which pushed my body into a pseudo pregnancy state.
When that failed I was forced to take drugs to put me into chemical menopause. At 22 years old.
The drugs made me miserable and further destroyed my health.These drastic measures were taken to save an organ I didn’t want and could live without.
They were taken to preserve my fertility for a hypothetical future man despite my being clear I never wanted children (nor was I well enough to care for them)This went on for years.
I sought second opinions and third opinions and fourth opinions.
I consulted with male and female doctors.
I got psychiatric clearance that I understood the risks of surgery and was competent to make up my own mind.None of it mattered.
I was repeatedly treated as second to a man and a baby who didn’t even exist.
I was denied the autonomy to decide what I wanted for my body.Eventually the bleeding became so severe they had to do the surgery as an emergency because I was dying in the ER.
By that point I had a boyfriend, albeit we had only been together a few months and he had no legal standing to make decisions for me.As they were wheeling me off for emergency and life saving surgery, they stopped to ask HIS permission.
They asked him if he was “ok” with my being unable to bear children.
If he would leave me if I couldn’t procreate “for him”.
We hadn’t even said “I love you” yetOnce my uterus was removed, my quality of life returned.
My anemia vanished and I was able to work and play and take care of myself again.
I was no longer in daily pain and chained to a hospital bed.
It was the best thing to ever happen to me.Needless to say he was enraged but told them to do what was necessary to save my life and leave him out of it.
He understood that it was my body, my choice.
If he ended up wanting children, we could have adopted. We could have used a surrogate. There were options.Even some of the doctors who had denied me the right to choose remarked that I was a different person after the operation
Yet none of them said sorry. None said they were wrong. None expressed remorse for stealing years of my life in a futile attempt to save a womb I didn’t wantI think about what happened to me whenever I read about abortion rights being clawed back in the US.
I’m in Canada and wasn’t pregnant. If I was treated as second to my womb, what hope do American women have of coming first in states with strict bans?The answer is… no hope.
One need not look any further than the case of Adriana Smith, who was declared brain dead at nine weeks pregnant and kept on organ and tissue support without the consent of next of kin.
The state turned her into an incubator due to an abortion banHer case is particularly horrifying, but we must remember that many people, especially among the Christian right, see us exactly that way.
We are vessels. Our sole purpose in life is to procreate.
What we want for our own lives comes second to our husbands & babies.We need true autonomy over our bodies.
Medical misogyny has killed and harmed too many of us.
We need the legal right to decide what is best for ourselves and that right needs to extend to our wombs.A man would never be forced to keep a diseased organ inside his body if he didn’t want it.
A man would never be told a hypothetical future wife comes before his own wants and needs.
It’s subjugation, and it needs to end.We must all fight for true bodily autonomy.
For women like me. For women like Adriana. For the women in Georgia who’ve already lost their lives due to the abortion ban.
For our daughters, nieces and fellow travellers who deserve to be treated as people, not wombs /endTo make matters worse, I had a severe post op bleed and abscess which is a common complication of a hysterectomy.
I was dismissed from the ER three times without proper testing.
The boyfriend had to drag my limp body back a 4th time AND cause a scene for me to access care.They denied me autonomy & delayed care for years.
Then caused a life threatening complication & gaslit me for weeks.
I needed a second surgery & almost died.
I survived because my bf fought for me. It was luck.
Survival shouldn’t be based on luck:
When I needed a hysterectomy due to severe endometriosis & adenomyosis, I was repeatedly denied
Told I “might want kids.”
Told I “might meet a man who wants kids”
I was left disabled & bed ridden, yet the system continued to try & save my diseased uterus against my will 🧵 ... I was forced to undergo six painful abdominal surgeries to try and control the disease
Each one left me with more pain than the one before.
Each one took longer to recover from.
Each one caused more scarring. ... I was forced to undergo iron infusions which are painful and caused extensive bruising and staining of my skin.
When those failed I was forced to endure blood transfusions because my anemia was so bad my ferritin was zero. Zero. I had nothing left. ... I was forced to take increasingly strong hormone medications which pushed my body into a pseudo pregnancy state.
When that failed I was forced to take drugs to put me into chemical menopause. At 22 years old.
The drugs made me miserable and further destroyed my health. ... These drastic measures were taken to save an organ I didn’t want and could live without.
They were taken to preserve my fertility for a hypothetical future man despite my being clear I never wanted children (nor was I well enough to care for them) ... This went on for years.
I sought second opinions and third opinions and fourth opinions.
I consulted with male and female doctors.
I got psychiatric clearance that I understood the risks of surgery and was competent to make up my own mind. ... None of it mattered.
I was repeatedly treated as second to a man and a baby who didn’t even exist.
I was denied the autonomy to decide what I wanted for my body. ... Eventually the bleeding became so severe they had to do the surgery as an emergency because I was dying in the ER.
By that point I had a boyfriend, albeit we had only been together a few months and he had no legal standing to make decisions for me. ... As they were wheeling me off for emergency and life saving surgery, they stopped to ask HIS permission.
They asked him if he was “ok” with my being unable to bear children.
If he would leave me if I couldn’t procreate “for him”.
We hadn’t even said “I love you” yet ... Once my uterus was removed, my quality of life returned.
My anemia vanished and I was able to work and play and take care of myself again.
I was no longer in daily pain and chained to a hospital bed.
It was the best thing to ever happen to me. ... Needless to say he was enraged but told them to do what was necessary to save my life and leave him out of it.
He understood that it was my body, my choice.
If he ended up wanting children, we could have adopted. We could have used a surrogate. There were options. ... Even some of the doctors who had denied me the right to choose remarked that I was a different person after the operation
Yet none of them said sorry. None said they were wrong. None expressed remorse for stealing years of my life in a futile attempt to save a womb I didn’t want ... I think about what happened to me whenever I read about abortion rights being clawed back in the US.
I’m in Canada and wasn’t pregnant. If I was treated as second to my womb, what hope do American women have of coming first in states with strict bans? ... The answer is… no hope.
One need not look any further than the case of Adriana Smith, who was declared brain dead at nine weeks pregnant and kept on organ and tissue support without the consent of next of kin.
The state turned her into an incubator due to an abortion ban ... Her case is particularly horrifying, but we must remember that many people, especially among the Christian right, see us exactly that way.
We are vessels. Our sole purpose in life is to procreate.
What we want for our own lives comes second to our husbands & babies. ... We need true autonomy over our bodies.
Medical misogyny has killed and harmed too many of us.
We need the legal right to decide what is best for ourselves and that right needs to extend to our wombs. ... A man would never be forced to keep a diseased organ inside his body if he didn’t want it.
A man would never be told a hypothetical future wife comes before his own wants and needs.
It’s subjugation, and it needs to end. ... We must all fight for true bodily autonomy.
For women like me. For women like Adriana. For the women in Georgia who’ve already lost their lives due to the abortion ban.
For our daughters, nieces and fellow travellers who deserve to be treated as people, not wombs /end ... To make matters worse, I had a severe post op bleed and abscess which is a common complication of a hysterectomy.
I was dismissed from the ER three times without proper testing.
The boyfriend had to drag my limp body back a 4th time AND cause a scene for me to access care. ... They denied me autonomy & delayed care for years.
Then caused a life threatening complication & gaslit me for weeks.
I needed a second surgery & almost died.
I survived because my bf fought for me. It was luck.
Survival shouldn’t be based on luck:
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