Abortion Stigma
One in four American women will have one or more abortions in her lifetime. These are people with families, jobs, friends, hopes, and dreams.
Abortions have been part of people's lives for thousands of years. If you have not had one or more abortions yourself, chances are that someone close to you has. Abortions are common and safe. Abortion is an important component in the spectrum of reproductive health care. Abortions are a normal and necessary part of people’s lives.
Yet the barrage of misinformation about abortions and the people who have them has created a culture of shame and secrecy associated with this common experience. This is abortion stigma.
To learn more about abortion stigma, check out our My Abortion, My Life project. If you have an abortion story or first-hand experience with abortions you can also share your story to help break the cycle of silence, shame, and stigma surrounding abortions.
Patients to Advocates Fellowship
If you have had an abortion and would like to get involved in the movement for abortion access, and reproductive health, rights, and justice, you might be a great candidate for the Patients to Advocates fellowship program. Patients to Advocates is a paid, year-long leadership development program that prepares people who have had abortions for civic engagement around reproductive health, rights, and justice. The program was created as a collaboration among NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio Foundation, New Voices for Reproductive Justice, Ohio Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, and us at Preterm. Fellows participate in educational modules and utilize their knowledge in legislative visits, door to door canvassing, panel discussions, and media interactions. Each cohort is comprised of people who have had abortions from various racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. Fellows have been featured in national and local media outlets such as Fusion, Huffington Post, and Vice.
Click here to visit the Patients to Advocates website to learn more and fill out the application.
