NO,WEWON'TKEEPOURVOICESDOWN

Baileymerlin

discovering their autonomy. I think, too, of the women unable to seek out safe abortions due to stigma or sheer inaccessibility, hoping instead that ingesting large quantities of Plan B or throwing themselves down 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.

Talking about abortion is a deeply personal choice. One must decide who to tell and how to tell them. One must be 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?

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 anti-choice protestors for their inhumanity 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