Lucky Girl by Bridget Potter is about the author's illegal abortion when she was 19, living in New York in the 1960s. It was to be performed in a manner that was not safe, not done with an anesthetic and not performed by a medical professional, but the author was in desperate need. Back then, having a child before marriage was greatly frowned upon, and her unsupportive family would probably shun her if they had known. This is why, despite the legal and physical risks, she decided to have the illegal abortion. She pooled together all of the money that she had from her $60/week salary, and went to different locations around the state and country. At each station she was turned down because she was too young, the person performing the procedure had been thrown in jail, or because the procedure itself seemed a little bit too unsanitary/unsafe for her comfort. I think that the author's purpose in writing this essay was to show that if people desperately need something, they will get it, regardless of known dangers. She didn't have a lot of money, but found a way to have the abortion. The audience for whom this essay was written was a group of people who have an opinion of the value of choice to a person, and the author achieved this purpose through the autobiographic mode and by describing the desperation behind her own illegal abortion.
This image helps to symbolize the importance of an unborn child to a person's life, and how, if you're not ready for the child, you have the power to choose whether or not it is the right decision to keep it.
Image from: http://dadthing.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/positive-pregnancy-test-427x320.jpg
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