You Know You Are Jewish When...

keepyourbsoutofmyuterus:

“Hypothetically speaking, what if someone doesn’t have enough money?” I asked.

The social worker looked at me, her eyes alighting on the silver Jewish star necklace I was wearing.

“Are you Jewish?”

I nodded. My face flushed, and I looked down at my shaking hands. I taught Hebrew school at my synagogue. I received the Rabbi’s Scholarship for Outstanding Work in the Jewish Community. I kept kosher. And I was 19 and pregnant.

“Ok that’s good, because there is a philanthropic Jewish women’s group that offers a scholarship of $250 to help cover costs. Would you be interested in that sort of thing?”

I wondered if I would have to write an essay or give them my SAT scores or show them my Bat Mitzvah certificate.

“How would I qualify?”

“By being pregnant, and by not wanting to be pregnant. And by being Jewish,” she replied. “Look, I’ll contact the president of the organization, and I can have a check made out to you by the end of the week. Sound good?”

It sounded great. And not because I had found a way to finance my abortion. But because for the first time since I found out I was pregnant, I realized that I wasn’t the first–nor would I be the last–knocked up Nice Jewish Girl.

h/t to my friend, SS, who sent me this link last week

[NB: More people than just cis women need and want access to abortion care.]

This isn’t meant to be a political blog or anything and I might lose followers for posting this, but I thought it was important to share with you all.