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A 25-year-old abortion counselor has filmed herself having a surgical abortion and posted the video on YouTube, saying she wants it to help banish stigma surrounding the procedure.
Emily Letts, who works at the Cherry Hill Women's Center in New Jersey, explains in an article for Cosmopolitan.com that ironically, despite being a sex educator, she hadn't been using any birth control and 'wound up pregnant' by mistake last November.
In her three-minute YouTube video she is seen being wheeled into the operating theater before being filmed from the waist up as doctors remove the embryo from her womb. She remains awake throughout, numbed only by local anesthetic.
The video has been watched 36,000 times and has prompted strong reactions from pro-life campaigners as well as those supporting Miss Letts' actions.
Caught on camera: Emily Letts, an abortion counselor from New Jersey, 25, has filmed herself having a surgical abortion at around three weeks into her pregnancy in a bid to banish stigma surrounding the procedure
Because she was only in the first trimester of pregnancy, Miss Letts says that she could have swallowed an abortion pill instead of going in for surgery.
However, she 'wanted to do the one that women were most afraid of.'
'I wanted to show it wasn’t scary - and that there is such a thing as a appositive abortion story. It’s my story,' she continues.
She does not state if she was in a relationship at the time, merely stating that the 'guy wasn't involved' in her decision to terminate her pregnancy. 'I knew I wasn't ready to take care of a child,' she notes.
During her abortion Miss Letts - dressed in a hospital gown - practices relaxation techniques such as deep breathing and humming.
Keeping calm: In her three-minute YouTube video she is seen being wheeled into the operating theater
Eyes wide open: She is then filmed from the waist up as doctors remove the embryo from her womb - she remains awake throughout, numbed only by a local anesthetic
She also talks to a member of staff who stands by the bed holding her hand and supportively rubbing her arm.
Once the short procedure is over, she exclaims: 'Yeah, cool, I feel good. I’m done.'
'I don't feel like a bad person. I don't feel sad. I knew that what I was going to do was right - it was right for me and for no one else'
About a month after her procedure Miss Letts, a former professional actress, candidly reflects about her experience with viewers.
'I don’t feel like a bad person. I don’t feel sad,' she explains, pointing out that many of the patients at her clinic assume that everyone feels guilty after having an abortion.
'I knew that what I was going to do was right - it was right for me and for no one else.'
Her video has been watched more than 36,000 times since it was uploaded on March 14 and the comments panel has been disabled.
'I don't feel like a bad person. I don't feel sad. I knew that what I was going to do was right - it was right for me and for no one else,' Miss Letts said after her procedure
Miss Letts said after she went public with the footage and posted it to Facebook women started sharing their own stories with her.
'I had one women who messaged me saying she'd had an abortion that week and she was plagued with guilt.
'Her boyfriend called her a killer, but she said she was recovering well and appreciated the video.'
'I feel in awe of the fact that I can make a baby. I can make a life, I just want to tell my story'
However, along with the positive remarks there were also a lot of angry reactions.
'I got... "You deserve to die", "you killed your baby,"' Miss Letts recalled.
According to the National abortion Federation 1.3 million abortions are performed in the U.S. every year, with 20 to 24 year olds accounting for the bulk of procedures.
Like Miss Letts, most abortions (88 per cent) are carried out in the first trimester of pregnancy and fewer than two per cent occur at 21 weeks or later.
After her abortion Miss Letts was fitted with an IUD, a small T-shaped device made from plastic and copper that is placed in the uterus to prevent pregnancy.
'I feel in awe of the fact that I can make a baby. I can make a life, I just want to tell my story,' she concludes.