some stairs would be enough to trigger a miscarriage. I think about how women now are not so different from our notso-long passed ancestors, forced to seek the services of a midwife or witch to ingest an herbal tincture that could prove fatal to themselves. I think about how ten-year-old rape victims are not guaranteed safe medical abortions and how the doctors performing them are subject to fines and even imprisonment. Somehow, talking about abortion is still a political act, and an important one. Eliminating stigma is the only way forward if we are ever to have abortion access equity. And yet.
and willingness to sacrifice a pregnant person for a clump of cells they will no longer care about once it is a living, breathing human in need of resources. I’m ready to drag abusers into the streets and shine a light on their fury. I’m ready to stop viewing abortions as things to be done in the shadows and instead as essential health care. No, I’ve never had an abortion, but I would have no qualms about getting one. Well, that small Southern voice at the back of my head would. That voice is quiet and irrational; I rarely listen to her. The longer I involve myself in health-related advocacy work, the softer that voice becomes.
I’m ready to stop whispering about Talking about abortion is a deeply abortion behind closed doors for fear of personal choice. One must decide who violence or stigma. When the truth is no to tell and how to tell them. One must be longer whispered, it becomes a roar. prepared for danger should the wrong person hear about their abortion, for it could very well bring them harm. Why would I disclose something about myself that could get me killed? ABOUT THE AUTHOR We’ve had this discussion before: People who get abortions do not do so lightly. But I’m ready for us to move beyond deeming whether or not someone receives a “morally acceptable” abortion. I’m ready for those who seek abortion services to find them readily and free of charge (because if you can’t afford an abortion, can you afford a child?). I’m ready to publicly shame antichoice protestors for their inhumanity
Bailey Merlin is a writer and bi+ activist with a background in media, medicine, and health. She holds an MFA from Butler University and an MS from Harvard Medical School, and her writing has been published in literary magazines such as The Lascaux Review, ellipses..., Honeyfire Literary Magazine, Bandit Fiction, Anti-Heroin Chic, Chantwood Magazine, Drunk Monkeys, Dime Show Review, Streetlight Magazine, Into the Void, among others. Based in Boston, Bailey lives in an intentional community with a dynamic cast of humans, a toddler, a dog, a cat, and a friendly ghost. You can find her work on baileymerlin.com.
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