I’m not really sure what to make of Angie Jackson, a 27-year-old mother who’s live-Tweeting her medical abortion.
In an interview with blogger Jessica Wakeman at The Frisky, Angie discusses her reasons for sharing her abortion in such a public way:
“[W] what I was trying to say to people who find themselves in this position is that I was relieved to find out that I had this non-surgical option [the abortion pill] and that I was early enough [in my pregnancy] to get it. I was so relieved to see how simple it’s been. The actual process has been like a menstrual period. It’s not foreign or scary.”
De-mystifying both medical and surgical abortion is an admirable goal; a lot of women who seek abortion care don’t really know what to expect, and this lack of knowledge can cause unnecessary worry and stress. And just as it’s every woman’s right to choose what is best for her and her family, it’s also every woman’s – heck, every person’s – right to share their reasons in as public a manner as they want. It would be nice to think that Twittering an abortion is one more step in the long-overdue normalization of a very common medical procedure, but is anyone well served by reducing a complicated subject to 140 characters?
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Sarah's first book, Generation Roe: Inside the Future of the Pro-Choice Movement, will be out March 2013. For more information, follow her on Twitter @saraherdreich, or check out saraherdreich.com. |
Because something is “very common,” that doesn’t make it right. The taking of a life should never be so common it’s considered “normal.”
Why NOT utilize technology and social media to de-stigmatize? Using twitter is the quickest and easiest way to make sure her experience reaches as many people as possible. And, really, she doesn’t have to reduce the experience to 140 characters (and she didn’t) she ‘tweeted’ multiple times in succession to continue her thoughts. She also tweeted her blog posts, which went into more details about her decision and experience.
Regardless, I really feel as if some prochoicers are kind of missing the point without even realizing it. For some women, abortion isn’t a “complicated” decision. It’s very cut-and-dry, matter-of-fact. And that’s ok. The problem is, even a large part of the prochoice community emulates the antichoice myth of “anyone who gets an abortion is heartbroken over it”. Or, that to be considered “worthy” of exercising their choice, women absolutely must be shameful and regretful about it. Otherwise, they’re “unworthy whores”.
Now, that’s not really prochoice, is it? Why *shouldn’t* she shout it from the rooftops? Either it’s something to be ashamed about, or it’s a legal right that women sometimes exercise to fully control their life. We can’t have it both ways.
Welcome aboard, Sarah!
If she’s having a medical abortion, how many tweets is she actually going to be able to post? How long does it really take to swallow a mifepristone tablet? I think the concept of live-blogging the abortion is interesting, but I wonder how much this will actually do to reduce stigma. Snaps to her, though.
Serena, thanks for the welcome! I don’t know how many tweets she posted about the actual abortion, but since the process takes a couple of days, there were a lot.
Midwest Feminist – I should have mentioned the blog as well, and I apologize for the oversight. You’re right, it does go into more detail. I agree that abortion is a very matter of fact decision for many women, and I was in no way trying to imply that a woman should be heartbroken about having an abortion, or must act in a certain way to be “worthy.” It’s definitely no one’s place to say how someone should feel about having an abortion. I am just not sure (one way or the other) that, when we are shouting it from the rooftops, Twitter is the best way to do it.