A movement that encourages women to brag about having an abortion will release a coffee table book in November that features “abortion stories” and “abortion art.”
#ShoutYourAbortion, a movement acclaimed by Planned Parenthood, began in 2015 when Seattle bartender Amelia Bonow had an abortion at a Planned Parenthood clinic and shared on Facebook her “near inexpressible level of gratitude” for it, reports KUOW. When her friend, Lindy West, shared that Facebook post on Twitter, other women began touting their “abortion stories” as well.
From there, buttons, tattoos, and clothing designs showcasing the theme of flaunting abortion sprang up – all of which will be featured in the soon-to-be-released book:
None of the “stories” in the book express sorrow or apology for having an abortion. In fact, Bonow said she hopes the book will foster a normalization of the procedure. She said nothing about abortion ending an unborn human life.
“Our culture is all warped about abortion because the anti-choice movement has made abortion seem like a bad thing that bad people do, instead of a normal thing that normal people do,” she told KUOW.
“I think we should be making and engaging with all sorts of creative work about abortion, and of course fashion is part of that,” she said. “The way I see it, the conversation about abortion is starting to percolate to the surface in all kinds of ways, and stuff like abortion positive t-shirts are a part of the overall change.”
Bonow said she is “proud” of women who have had abortions.
“We should be proud of surviving all the things we’ve survived, and for choosing to love ourselves,” she said:
“Wearing a piece of clothing that tells the world that you had an abortion — or that you support people who have abortions — causes an undeniable ripple effect,” she added. “You send a message to every single person you see that it is possible to have an abortion without hating yourself for it and taking that self-hatred to the grave.”
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