"I had an abortion.” Those four simple, honest words incited a raging controversy during the Democratic convention. As Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) President Gloria Feldt was preparing to address the convention, the conservative media were busy informing their constituencies of an “outrageous” and “insensitive” PPFA initiative. What was the initiative? On the Planned Parenthood Website people could purchase a T-shirt that stated simply “I had an abortion.” Of course, Gloria Feldt’s message about reproductive rights was lost in the barrage of conservative media outrage. That was the intent.
So what was going on? There are many wonderful and informative items for sale on the
Planned Parenthood Website. There are books, brochures and videos. The T-shirt in question is one of many. It was not produced by Planned Parenthood, but we determined that its message was consistent with our work.
The T-shirt delivers a message that is intended to confront and subvert the sense of shame surrounding abortion that has been so deliberately created by the anti-choice movement. “I had an abortion” is a statement that breaks a silence.
One in three women will have an abortion by the time they are 45, yet abortion remains an unspoken reality in our society. The T-shirt is a way for women to take ownership of their personal experiences and to communicate their stories. Planned Parenthood believes that it is particularly important to help women do so now when honest, open discourse is so desperately needed.
The anti-choice movement never yields in publicly discussing abortion . As part of their rhetoric, many anti-choice activists declare that they had abortions. Their motive is to place a scarlet letter in our minds and then to re-criminalize abortion. Planned Parenthood’s motive is to spark to discussion and cast off shame.
Women who have abortions are the same women who have children, and they make both of those decisions with thought and heart and moral deliberation.
As an organization, Planned Parenthood does more to prevent unintended pregnancy and the need for abortion than any other group. Our belief that every pregnancy should be a wanted pregnancy and every child a wanted child is the very core of our mission. Reproductive rights and the ability to control one’s own fertility are fundamental human rights. Planned Parenthood’s goal in selling the T-shirt is to remind people that abortion policy affects real people and that guaranteeing safe and legal abortion is critical to our rights and our health.
Anti-choice forces have never worked harder to shame women into silence about the realities of their lives. Planned Parenthood’s duty is to empower women who wish to share their experience - free from the stigma, prejudice and censorship other wish to impose.
--Patricia A. McGeown, President/CEO Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood
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