Following the outcome of the US election and the defeat of Mitt Romney, many women are today breathing great and heavy sighs of relief – grateful that their right to choose will remain protected.
But with the social stigma that continues to surround abortion unlikely to abate any time soon, there are still battles to be won.
Leslie Cannold had an abortion. Or maybe she didn’t. What does it matter? Why do you care?
By LESLIE CANNOLD
Look at the women around you – wherever you may be right now.
One in three women will have an abortion in their lifetime. And if you haven’t yet, you can stop looking at each other now.
We actually aren’t born feeling ashamed of anything. We’re not ashamed of our nakedness, we’re not ashamed of our bodily functions, our sexual desires, our reproduction or abortion. We learn, from our communities, what is shameful. And it is the real or perceived oversight of those communities that make us feel shame.
Now shame is about fear, but what are we afraid of?
In ancient times, if a woman brought shame on her name, or her family, or her community she could literally be thrown out of that community. Cast out. She could be stoned. In some places in the world today, that is still the case.