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Woman causes outrage in U.S. after Tweeting that she was having a miscarriage during a boardroom meeting
A woman who used Twitter to announce she was having a miscarriage during a board meeting has sparked an outcry.
Career guru Penelope Trunk posted the message in which she also explained she was relieved about the miscarriage, because it meant she would not have to go through an abortion.
It read: ‘I’m in a board meeting. Having a miscarriage. Thank goodness, because there’s a f***ed-up 3-week hoop-jump to have an abortion in Wisconsin.’
Within hours the Tweet had circulated worldwide, with Trunk being branded callous as she was called upon to defend herself by The New York Times, CNN and even Oprah.
The 42-year-old has since responded to the outrage by telling Grazia magazine: ‘It’s no different to me saying what I had for lunch. I thought nothing of it until the horrified followers’ replies started flooding in.’
Trunk, who is a mother-of-two, discovered she was pregnant in August, despite claiming to have used birth control.
Having experienced two abortions and a miscarriage in the past, Trunk was sure she did not want another child, and had booked a termination in neighbouring Chicago, due to a three-week waiting list in her home state of Wisconsin.
Hence, she claims she was relieved when she realised was losing her baby ‘naturally’, and was prompted to share the news with her 20,000 Twitter followers.
She said: ‘I believe that any woman would choose miscarriage over an abortion. It’s as if nature has made the decision for you.
‘To accuse me of a cruel disregard of those women whose hearts are broken when they lose a baby is wrong. When I had my first miscarriage, aged 38, in between the births of my sons, I was inconsolable.
‘I didn’t get out of bed for weeks. The difference is I desperately wanted that baby.’
‘To me, my Tweet was a public service announcement. It got people talking about the taboos of miscarriage and unwanted pregnancy. I have no regrets.
‘It’s time women started honestly sharing their experiences…to those who don’t want to know, what would I say? Don’t log on.’
Indeed some of Trunk’s followers were more sympathetic with others, with one responding: ‘Life and death are both scary things. Sometimes the best ways to deal with them are to reach out to others. And yes, to make jokes about them too.’
Trunk claims she was left ‘stunned’ by the backlash, adding: ‘I was just stating a fact. To those who call me callous for being so matter-of-fact about losing a baby, I ask, what do you want from me?
'Do you expect me to cry every time I talk about it? It’s a fact: I’m happy I lost that baby.
‘It may be a truth a lot of people find unpalatable, but I believe it’s a reality for more women than have the courage to admit it.’
A woman who used Twitter to announce she was having a miscarriage during a board meeting has sparked an outcry.
Career guru Penelope Trunk posted the message in which she also explained she was relieved about the miscarriage, because it meant she would not have to go through an abortion.
It read: ‘I’m in a board meeting. Having a miscarriage. Thank goodness, because there’s a f***ed-up 3-week hoop-jump to have an abortion in Wisconsin.’
Within hours the Tweet had circulated worldwide, with Trunk being branded callous as she was called upon to defend herself by The New York Times, CNN and even Oprah.
The 42-year-old has since responded to the outrage by telling Grazia magazine: ‘It’s no different to me saying what I had for lunch. I thought nothing of it until the horrified followers’ replies started flooding in.’
Trunk, who is a mother-of-two, discovered she was pregnant in August, despite claiming to have used birth control.
Having experienced two abortions and a miscarriage in the past, Trunk was sure she did not want another child, and had booked a termination in neighbouring Chicago, due to a three-week waiting list in her home state of Wisconsin.
Hence, she claims she was relieved when she realised was losing her baby ‘naturally’, and was prompted to share the news with her 20,000 Twitter followers.
She said: ‘I believe that any woman would choose miscarriage over an abortion. It’s as if nature has made the decision for you.
‘To accuse me of a cruel disregard of those women whose hearts are broken when they lose a baby is wrong. When I had my first miscarriage, aged 38, in between the births of my sons, I was inconsolable.
‘I didn’t get out of bed for weeks. The difference is I desperately wanted that baby.’
‘To me, my Tweet was a public service announcement. It got people talking about the taboos of miscarriage and unwanted pregnancy. I have no regrets.
‘It’s time women started honestly sharing their experiences…to those who don’t want to know, what would I say? Don’t log on.’
Indeed some of Trunk’s followers were more sympathetic with others, with one responding: ‘Life and death are both scary things. Sometimes the best ways to deal with them are to reach out to others. And yes, to make jokes about them too.’
Trunk claims she was left ‘stunned’ by the backlash, adding: ‘I was just stating a fact. To those who call me callous for being so matter-of-fact about losing a baby, I ask, what do you want from me?
'Do you expect me to cry every time I talk about it? It’s a fact: I’m happy I lost that baby.
‘It may be a truth a lot of people find unpalatable, but I believe it’s a reality for more women than have the courage to admit it.’
