Travel blogger Alice Nettleingham made the decision to share a deeply personal story with the rest of the world, in the hope of providing other women who find themselves in her situation with a choice.
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Nettleingham backpacked through Thailand on her own for three months, a rather daunting feat for many women. But that alone doesn’t show the full the extent of her courage.
One day her trip took a more serious turn — after spending a night with a guy she met, she found herself pregnant. Although she knew she didn’t want the baby, she didn’t know what the local customs and laws were regarding abortion in Thailand.
She shared her experience on her blog, Teacake Travels, in a post titled “Pregnant: Where To Get An Abortion In Asia.”
In the post Nettleingham details where you can get an abortion in Asia, what the best abortion services in Asia are, and who you can talk to. While those she told about her own story reacted negatively: “‘You must have caught something’ / ‘How could you do that to yourself?’ / ‘You’re stupid’ / ‘You weren’t careful at all'” — her goal is for people to be able to speak about abortion more openly.
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And judging from the comments on the post, she has certainly inspired other women — and even men.
“Thanks for this excellent service, you are doing an awesome thing,” Andrew wrote.
“You’re so strong for sharing this story. I really am glad you’re feeling better these days and I truly hope this post has helped anyone who was in your position. Thanks for sharing this and offering this great insight,” Laura shared.
And commenter Shannon revealed that this is something she often thinks of, and is happy to have the information.
She wrote, “I always think about this and wonder what it would be like to handle the situation while traveling. You are incredibly brave and I’m so happy you shared this!”
The post has attracted a lot of attention, most of which is incredibly positive with people thanking Nettleingham for her bravery, because this a topic that we, as women, need to be able to speak about freely without fear of judgement.
Let us know your thoughts on this in the comments below.
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