Many Voices - Many Choices

Seattle's Feminist Women's Health Center (FWHC) has a section of their website dedicated to women's stories of why they chose to have an abortion. The section, entitled, "Many Voices - Many Choices," features more than 500 personal stories addressing questions of why, how, and to whom these women have felt compelled to share their experience(s) with.

One woman, identified only as "Kellie" writes,

Two years ago I was unexpectedly pregnant, and I got an abortion. I was surprised that it was so easy, both physically and emotionally. I had grown up hearing and believing the rhetoric of the opponents of abortion, so I was terribly misinformed about what would really happen. When I saw first-hand that abortion is NOTHING like they portray it, I became so angry. Why are the women who really know not voicing the truth as loudly as the opponents are voicing these ridiculous lies? Reading Amy's story made me decide to write mine out here (thank you, Amy).

In addition to the stories shared, FWHC offers an explanation as to how publicly sharing one's story can help those who've had abortion: offering a sense of healing following a clearly difficult decision; telling the truth to help empower others; and sharing one's experience to counter anti-women extremists.

To read others' stories, or share your own, click here.

Photo by TheTruthAbout..., courtesy of flickr.com