“I believe unconditionally in the right of people with uteruses to decide what grows inside of their body and feeds on their blood and endangers their life and reroutes their future. There are no ‘good’ abortions and ‘bad’ abortions, there are only pregnant people who want them and pregnant people who don’t, pregnant people who have access and support and pregnant people who face institutional roadblocks and lies.” –Lindy West
With all the public rhetoric around abortion in the United States, there are often misconceptions about who is accessing abortion care and who abortion care is meant to serve. The bottom line is that anyone with a uterus might at some point need/want an abortion. 1 out of 4 women in the United States will have an abortion by the time they reach age 45. The data shows that people of all gender, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds access this care.
Below are a few resources that illustrate who really is getting abortions–and it’s not who you think. We have all likely absorbed some stereotypes about the ‘typical’ person getting an abortion. Here are a few resources to help broaden that definition and understand in a more data-driven, holistic way how varied the people getting an abortion truly are.
For the data: Demographics by the Guttmacher Institute
If you want hard data, the Guttmacher Institute is your friend for all things sexual and reproductive health-related. They conduct epidemiological research regarding these topics in the United States and globally.
For your commute to work: The Abortion Diary Podcast
Each week, this podcast features the story of a person who had an abortion. The one question the host, Nikia Grayson, asks each participant is, “Why do you want to tell your story?” It’s a fantastic window into the varied life situations in which people find themselves when pregnant, the reasons people choose abortions, how differently people feel about the abortions they choose to have, and much more. Stay tuned for specific episode recommendations in the future!
Stars who have had abortions — they’re just like us: 11 Powerful Women Who Have Spoken Out About Their Own Abortion and Celebrities Share Their Abortion Stories After Restrictive Laws Pass
Check out online postings — and even an entire book — of people’s abortion stories: Shout Your Abortion
The “#ShoutYourAbortion” movement began in 2015 in response to the federal government’s revived efforts to defund Planned Parenthood. This decentralized, grass roots movement seeks to normalize and destigmatize abortion by uplifting personal stories. The founders of the movement have now compiled many of these into a multimedia book, which is available for purchase.
If you are more of a visual learner: The Abortion Diaries (The documentary, different than the podcast!)
Directed by Penny Lane, this documentary features 12 women of all different backgrounds who share their experiences with abortion. Penny Lane weaves these stories together with her own diary entries to present the unique yet unified experiences of these women. Of note, this documentary was made about 10 years ago, so please forgive some of the statistics which are slightly out-dated.
The Abortion Library 