Abortion is not a dirty word

The writers of Louisville’s Abortion Resource want to make a clear statement in support of people who make the decision to have an abortion.

If you have ever had a pregnancy scare, thought about having an abortion, supported someone through an abortion, chosen to give birth to a child, or had an abortion or abortions, we support you and encourage you to feel secure in ANY decisions you have made.

Abortion is not a dirty word.

40% of female presenting people in the U.S. will have an abortion in their life time.

People of all ages, racial and ethnic groups, people of all socio-economic status, mothers (61%of people having an abortion have one or more children) and people with no children, single and partnered people, queer and straight people all have abortions. If all of these people are having abortions, why is it so stigmatized? Humans are faced with tough decisions every day, but few are scrutinized more than when a woman decides for any number of reasons, that now is not the time to have a child.

I contend that making the decision to have an abortion can be health and responsible.

We are the ones who must decide whether or not we have the economic, emotional and social resources to have and raise a child. When these factors are not conducive to procreation, an abortion offers an alternative route to unwanted parenthood. I embrace this notion of individual control over the course of our lives.

We all experience pregnancy on a vast continuum of joy and despair.

This is where Choice is necessary. In the end, we honor and respect the breadth of experiences in people’s reproductive lives, including the normalcy of abortion. This private decision is about defining family and our own existence in the world, and we should never feel guilty about our choices.

Note.

This piece was originally written as a response to the Genocide Awareness Project coming to the University of Louisville. Myself and the other organizer of the Feminist Alliance of the University of Louisville wrote and distributed it as a flier, handing out hundreds of copies over the course of the 2 days they were on campus.

So thanks W. for all your ass kicking work and for being such a fabulous person.