Abortion Stigma

God, there’s a lot of stigma around abortion. We certainly get our share of hearing the antis slur words of hate to us that propagates stigma (like in Anti-Antis post Monday); but sometimes, we fight it at work, too.

Yesterday, during a counseling session, a patient folded her arms, looked straight at me and declared, “I am not the same as the other girls in the waiting room. I’m not the same as the rest of them having an abortion.” I’ve heard this sentiment before and asked her to tell me more. She followed with, “I’m married. I have kids. I was using birth control when I got pregnant. I mean, I’m older; and I’m a professional. I’m a responsible person! I’m not the type of person who gets an abortion.” Her statements implied that the other patients were irresponsible, in non-monogamous relationships, unstable, and unprofessional. And who, exactly, is the type of person who gets an abortion?

I’ve learned not to grind my teeth and get offended when women suggest they may be better than other women having abortions because the reality is, they’re just regurgitating all that awful, untrue stigma. I turn experiences – like yesterday’s – into learning opportunities with the women and each time, I hope I don’t sound preachy. I usually handle those conversations by initially putting the focus on her and not the other patients; generally women are worried about being judged and stigmatized for having an abortion (e.g. “I’m not a bad mom. I love children! It’s just we weren’t planning for anymore…it’s such a bad time! My husband just lost his job. The economy is so bad...”). I usually say something along the lines that it sounds as though she’s a good mom who cares very much for her children, and that it must’ve been very frustrating to find out she was pregnant when she did everything she could to prevent an unwanted pregnancy (especially under her present circumstance). Almost always, women uncross their arms, soften their eyes, and take a deep breath; then, I follow-up with the lesson learned: who gets an abortion.

I tell her:

- Most women who have abortions already have at least one child.
- Over half of women who have abortions used some form of birth control the month they got pregnant.
- Most are concerned about the financial implications of having another child and/or the overall well-being of the family unit (perhaps the relationship is rocky already, for example).

Usually they don’t know that. Why would they? Most staff that start working at the clinic don’t even know. (We get trained in it!) My hope is that clients realize they aren’t so different from anyone else having an abortion…and hopefully realize then, that they are not alone. I try to touch on stigma and state the fact that at least three out of 10 women will have an abortion by the time they’re 45, which means they probably know quite a few people who have had an abortion: they probably just don’t know it because of stigma.

I wish there was some solution to this. I don’t know what it is. I wish we could stamp out all the negative connotations about abortion and instead show the truth: someone you love has had an abortion. It’s not uncommon. Regular girls have them. It takes strength, courage, bravery, and determination. There’s nothing irresponsible about it and it’s not a frivolous choice. People who have abortions think about the future. They think about now. They think about others.

I know there are some projects out there tackling stigma...but especially now, it feels like our country is incredibly divisive. It's sad. It's scary. I hate it. And I hope it can change.

Awesome Guttmacher Video

Recently, Guttmacher put out a pretty great video that is a general overview of abortion in the United States. It addresses a lot of key points (most women seeking abortion already have kids, are religious, etc) that most people seem to miss in the abortion debate.

It's a great piece to share with friends, pro-choice and anti-choice alike, and it is also very aesthetically pleasing as well.

Hope you enjoy!

Times They are a-Changing

Last week the Guttmacher Institute released their newest study, "Characteristics of U.S. Abortion Patients, 2008." The study provides an interesting overview of how various abortion rates have changed since 2000.

The statistical percentages in the report are based on women seeking abortion care, not on total women in the U.S. Some stats haven't changed too much. Women 20-24 still have the highest share of abortion procedures at 33.4%, as do women who have never been married at 45%. There has been some shift in race and ethnicity stats. The share of procedures obtained by non-Hispanic, white women decreased from 40.9% to 36.1% while the share for Hispanic women increased from 20.1% to 24.9%. Of all the statistical changes, what stands out most to me is the economic status. The proportion of abortion patients living under the federal poverty line increased from 26.6% to 42.4%.[1]

Almost half of all women obtaining abortion care live under the federal poverty line. I am amazed at this statistic, and I work all the time with women who can't afford their abortion and don't have health insurance. As the economy declines further, we must worry that this number will continue to rise. We should all be worried about what this means for women and their access to safe, affordable health care.

In 2008, 57% of women had to pay out of pocket for their abortions and 13% received "financial assistance" (read: grassroots abortion funds' donations). Amazingly, 20% received abortions paid for by Medicaid and 12% by private insurance.[2] No doubt these numbers could change if the national and state governments get their way. With many politicians pushing spending cuts and a recent national health care bill that isn't too friendly toward abortion care, what does the future hold for these numbers? It seems a real possibility that the women included under Medicaid and private health insurance could be forced into the out-of-pocket and abortion-fund categories. What does this mean for already cash-strapped abortion funds? What does this mean for women?

What will happen is that more women will have to push back their appointments, increasing their prices and complicating their ability to get to their appointments. More women will have to carry unwanted pregnancies to term. More women will be forced deeper into poverty.

I wonder if this is just a sign of the current times or is telling of more to come.

[1] Jones RK, Finer LB and Singh S. Characteristics of U.S. Abortion Patients, 2008. New York: Guttmacher Institute, May 2010: 6.
[2] Jones RK, Finer LB and Singh S. Characteristics of U.S. Abortion Patients, 2008. New York: Guttmacher Institute, May 2010: 10.

Religious AND Pro-Choice?

There are so many deeply rooted assumptions about people who are pro-choice, about women who have abortions, and about people who work in reproductive rights that it's truly astounding. I sometimes think we could have a whole blog just dedicated to all the myths and stigma surround abortion. One of my favorites is that you can't be spiritual - or religious - and be pro-choice (or have an abortion).

In fact, most of women who have abortions consider themselves Protestant. You might even be surprised to know that we truly owe many clergy during the 1960s and 1970s our gratitude for helping to pave the way for making abortion legal in the USA. Surprised? Believe it or not, there was a group called the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion in New York in the 1960s. The founder was an American Baptist Minister. This set the groundwork for the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.

A brief list of well-known pro-choice religious organizations/groups include:
- The Episcopal Church (USA)
- The Presybterian Church (USA)
- Unitarian Universalists
- United Church of Christ
- United Methodist Church
- Union of American Hebrew Congregations
- National Council of Jewish Women
- More...

Are you surprised? You might be. I even know Abortioneers who sometimes are unsure of what their religion teaches about abortion and whether, according to their own church, if they are doing "something wrong" by working in Abortionland. Maybe you wonder sometimes, too. If so, hopefully some of the above resources will help put your mind to rest that many mainstream religious are actually pro-choice.

I was raised in a conservative Protestant church that's anti-choice. I struggled, trying to reconcile my personal beliefs with the beliefs I was taught by people I trusted. Eventually, I realized I was my own person, with my own set of beliefs and I simply didn't accept the things I was taught (it wasn't an easy process). I've made the choice not to be religious; but I've thoughtfully learned (throughout the years) about religious groups that more closely shared my pro-choice view: there are plenty out there and that certainly helped me at times when I considered switching churches.

In high school, while I was practicing my religion of origin, Bill Clinton was up for President. I remember confiding in my Catholic friends that I didn't accept Clinton because he was pro-choice (even though I wasn't old enough to vote). My closest friend at the time told me that our favorite teacher confided in her that his family prayed about which candidate to vote for, and prayed, specifically, about the abortion issue. Their answer: that they should support Clinton and support a woman's right to choose. I recoiled at such a notion and believed that no god would send such an answer in a prayer to anyone. I know that to this day, that teacher, whom I'm still in touch with, is very devoted to their religion. The religion just happens to be on the pro-choice list.

Certainly a lot of women I see ask, "I just hope god will forgive me." I always ask, "Well, what do you believe about god? Do you believe your god is a forgiving god?" I've never heard a woman say, "no" (and I want to say that I personally don't believe there's anything to be "forgiven" of!).

...So, I'm just wondering if any of you have had similar struggles and what you've done - or what you're doing - about it. Feel free to share!!