Philly Actress Emily Letts Films Her Abortion for YouTube

UPDATE: Emily Letts granted Philadelphia an interview about her abortion video. Read that interview here.

ORIGINAL:

Emily Letts is a Philadelphia actress who also works as a patient advocate at Cherry Hill Women’s Center, a facility that performs abortions. And when she recently underwent her own abortion, she decided to film it and put it up on YouTube for the world to see. (For a parody of that video, click here.)

Letts posted the following message along with her video:

This is my story. This is ONLY my story. I do not pretend that it is anything more or anything less. I do not speak for everyone on this sensitive subject and I respect everyone’s opinions as long as they do not force them onto others.

My dearest hope is that someone somewhere will see this and it will provide some guidance, strength, support, or whatever else they need in that moment. I want to tell that person that you are not alone. Having an abortion does not make you a bad person, a bad woman, a bad mother. Having an abortion does not make you guilty. It is simply one step in your reproductive story. You are not along. I am here for you. We are all here for you.

PLEASE PLEASE SHARE THIS VIDEO. Please help me spread it to all corners of the internet. 1 in 3 women will have or have had an abortion in their reproductive life. This video is for all of us.

And on Monday, Letts published an explanation for her video via Cosmopolitan.

Here’s an excerpt:

I found out I was pregnant in November. I had been working at the clinic for about a year. It was my first pregnancy, and, full disclosure, I hadn’t been using any kind of birth control, which is crazy, I know. I’m a sex educator, and I love talking about birth control. Before this experience, hormonal birth control scared me because of complications I’d heard about from friends — gaining weight, depression, etc. So I tracked my ovulation cycle, and I didn’t have any long-term partners. I thought I was OK. But, you know, things happen. I wound up pregnant…

Once I caught my breath, I knew immediately I was going to have an abortion. I knew I wasn’t ready to take care of a child. The guy wasn’t involved in my decision. I called my supervisor and said, “Excuse me, I am going to need to schedule one abortion, please.” It was very early in the pregnancy, only two to three weeks.

Patients at the clinic always ask me if I can relate to them — have I had an abortion? Do I have kids? I was so used to saying, “I’ve never had an abortion but…” While I was pregnant and waiting for my procedure, I thought, “Wait a minute, I have to use this.”

Go here to read the whole thing.

Naturally, a lot of people are upset about this. What do you think?