By Casey King
I recently learned a shocking statistic about abortion in the United States. I had no idea that one in three women have had an abortion in the U.S. Talking about abortion seems like a taboo nowadays and when it is talked about it is often a touchy subject that people tend to tiptoe around. There is no open communication about just how common the choice is to have an abortion. So no wonder women feel that is something only they are going through, or feel they need to hide their choice.
This statistic came from the 1 in 3 Campaign, a campaign aimed to stop the prejudices that come with the choice to have an abortion and to encourage women to share their stories. So far over 550 women have gone to the campaign’s website to share their stories. The campaign hopes to open the conversation about abortion in a more empathetic way in order to end the shaming and start making some much needed changes.
The campaign held an online Speakout event on Thursday. Women of all different backgrounds came to share their stories online. Lizz Winstead, co-creator of the Daily Show, started out the eight-hour event with her story. Many other women, who each took their turn to tell how they made their choice with the pressures and struggles they endured, followed her.
Advocates For The Youth is one of the many groups that sponsor the 1 in 3 Campaign. Their president, Debra Hauser, spoke in a recent interview saying,
“…Young people have been raised for the last 30 years with anti-abortion rhetoric, stigma, shame and even violence…This gives women a voice, and puts us at back at the center of the political debate around abortion access.”
As of now, the United States is generally split 50/50 on the issue of abortion. For those who are pro-life it can be hard to feel compassion towards the women who have made the choice to have an abortion. There is a lot of shaming that our society has put on women who go through with this decision. Having women share their stories openly is a good way to start reminding everyone that there are real women behind this negative stigma that is being cast upon them. Using empathy as a way to end the prejudices can open the floor to discussion and change.
The 1 in 3 Campaign continues to empower women by encouraging them to share. There are so many ways to help change people’s ideas about what having an abortion means. For more information, a chance to share your story, and to find out ways to get involved in the campaign you can visit the 1 in 3 website at www.1in3campaign.org.