The rape kit just sat there on the cold metal table next to the cot, daring me to open it, to begin the examination. I was on call in the ER in a small, sterile room, after midnight—just me and the young woman on the dilapidated cot in front of me. I had chosen to go to medical school on the heels of two seminal Supreme Court decisions on women's health: Webster v. Reproductive Health Services and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. I had participated in Take Back the Night rallies during college. I had marched three times in Washington, DC, for women's health rights. But theory and policy were one thing, reality quite another.
强奸工具刚好坐在婴儿床旁边的冷金属桌上,不敢让我打开它,开始检查。午夜过后,我在急诊室的一间无菌小房间里待命,正好是我和那个年轻女人躺在我面前破旧的婴儿床上。我选择在最高法院关于妇女健康的两项具有开创性的决定之后去医学院:Webster诉生殖健康服务案和Planned Parenthood诉Casey案。我在大学期间参加了“夺回夜晚”集会。我已经在华盛顿特区游行了三届,以争取妇女的健康权。但是理论和政策是一回事,现实则是另一回事。