Ariel Okhah, otherwise known as Changed by Grief TFMR on social media, joins me to explore the complex realities of termination for medical reasons (TFMR), legal and ethical considerations, the importance of nuanced understanding in reproductive, and her personal experience with TFMR.
TFMR is 4x more common than infant loss and stillbirth combined, but nobody talks about it- until now, because a YouTuber has shared his family’s story of choosing a TFRM for a Trisomy 21 diagnosis. Expectedly, this story has been catnip for the anti-abortion advocates, but it has also brought to light the fractures within the pro-abortion community and pressuring everyone to answer the question of what it really means to be pro-choice.
TFMR is wildly misunderstood in all areas of reproductive health including pregnancy, perinatal loss, abortion, and grief, and Ariel is changing the narrative around what life during and after TFMR looks like. Other topics we discussed are crisis pregnancy centers, the financial and social implications of abortion decisions, navigating complex grief, and the legal battles of deciding what is best for our own children.
Sources
Recommended Media & Resources
Return to Zero: Hope (Support Group)
Time to Talk TFRM (Podcast)
After Tiller (Documentary)
The Devil is Busy (Documentary)
Perilous Passage: Birth in America (Documentary)
No One Asked You (Documentary)
