Two current viral campaigns, called “Shout Your Abortion” and “#OneInFour,” suggest that abortion is an unquestionable good. The Shout Your Abortion website broadcasts this trendy creed, loud and strident and clear: “Abortion is normal. Our stories are ours to tell. This is not a debate.” The group’s website also provides the option to buy a T-shirt telling the world that you’re proud of your abortion, or even purchase an “Abortion Is Freedom” button that might make Orwell cringe.
The #OneInFour campaign, backed by groups such as Planned Parenthood and NARAL, has inspired a series of high-profile women to testify to the power of their own abortions. Based off an estimate from the Guttmacher Institute that one in four women will have an abortion by age 45, the campaign’s message is simple: A lot of people have abortions, so abortion is okay. If you extend this particular illogical train, abortion should really never be questioned: If you’re a woman, and you’re pregnant, there is no party to consider but yourself. “We don’t need anything more complicated than an individual woman’s wish about her body and her life,” one testimony goes.
Ah. Except it is more complicated, and everyone knows it — especially women who have been pregnant.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member