Thursday, January 31, 2013

Removing the stigma


Yes I HEAR stigma everywhere! One of my missions in life is to help remove the stigma from abortion and put it where it belongs, because if should be stigma somewhere it should be on the people that unconsciously and compulsively coerce, manipulate vulnerable women to bring new life into this world that are in no position to take care of and protect emotionally and physically and because of these unresolved childhood wounds when they grow up put life on this planet in danger.  

“I HEAR stigma everywhere:

“Abortion should be rare”
“Abortion is a tragedy”
“Abortion is only 3% of our budget”
“I am pro-choice but I’d never have an abortion”
“I am not like those other women”
“I don’t believe in abortion as birth control”

You may have heard these statements. You may have said these words yourselves. You may have thought these thoughts.

The reality is, however, that without us there is no choice. Without providers, the right to abortion is just an idea – it is just something on paper that means nothing to women in actuality.

So, what does it take to keep 47 million women and their loved ones silent? You have to spend millions of dollars to shame them – to tell them they are murderers over and over until they believe it themselves. And you must threaten and intimidate and ultimately murder those who provide them this care. For over 35 years abortion providers have been the buffer between the anti-abortion movement and the women who have abortions. We have tried to protect women and shield them from the hostility of the antis as well as provide them with impeccable medical care. This is not working.

To me, eradicating stigma is the single most important thing we can do for abortion rights in this country and it is my life’s work.

I believe my work is to honor women. Making an abortion decision is a time when a woman acts with intention. When she chooses a path for her life and the direction she will travel. I want to NOTICE that moment of acting with intention and hold it up high for the woman to notice and to feel and own as hers. I invite her to experience her life as though she were in charge of it. There are many times in a woman’s life where “life happens to them” and abortion stands out as a time when I can support a woman to be the actor in her own life – the chooser – not a victim but an intentional, deliberate and ethical person choosing what is best for them.”  http://lilithfund.org/

Also read the excerpt in the link below from the book “"Breaking Down the Wall of Silence: The Liberating Experience of Facing Painful Truth" By Alice Miller

No comments:

Post a Comment