Polly Richards Babcock

Polly Richards Babcock is working on a memoir, the process of which can lead down unexpected side trips, such as the one she pursues in this story, which was inspired by the current version of the ongoing assault against Roe v. Wade. She has had artistic lives as a ceramic sculptor and photographer before becoming swamped by the need to write. She lives in San Francisco with her Netherland dwarf rabbit, Oliver.

The Procedure

When blonde, angelic-looking Annie asked if she could stay with me while she recovered from her intended abortion, I concealed my shock and said, “Sure. You can sleep on the sofa.” At nineteen, a decade before Roe v. Wade made abortion legal, I naively relied on inconsistent condom deployment and boys’ assurances that withdrawal was effective. This was the first time I had been confronted with the consequences of my bohemian carelessness.

Issue 55, November 2021

Polly Richards Babcock

Polly Richards Babcock is working on a memoir, the process of which can lead down unexpected side trips, such as the one she pursues in this story, which was inspired by the current version of the ongoing assault against Roe v. Wade. She has had artistic lives as a ceramic sculptor and photographer before becoming swamped by the need to write. She lives in San Francisco with her Netherland dwarf rabbit, Oliver.

The Procedure

When blonde, angelic-looking Annie asked if she could stay with me while she recovered from her intended abortion, I concealed my shock and said, “Sure. You can sleep on the sofa.” At nineteen, a decade before Roe v. Wade made abortion legal, I naively relied on inconsistent condom deployment and boys’ assurances that withdrawal was effective. This was the first time I had been confronted with the consequences of my bohemian carelessness.

Issue 55, November 2021

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