Cancelling the Stigma of Abortion

People so openly and profoundly talk about ending poverty, developing educational facilities in third world countries and providing equal access to clean drinking water. Any why wouldn’t they? After all, these are human rights and these need to be discussed in every human devoted platform.

Then why is it that people avoid the subject of abortion?

Is it because it’s so controversial? I believe that this is one of the most common reason why people avoid talking about abortion. I too feel that if I publically voice my opinion about pro-choice amongst some of my friends, I will be attacked.

This is the stigma of abortion.

The women (and men) who get an abortion – for whatever personal reason – decide to stay quiet about it due to the fear of emotional and physical attack. They are silenced of their need for support and acceptance because of this invisible barrier set by society that screams anti-abortion.

This situation, right now, reflects the situation bout rape from the past.

Victims of rape and sexual assault were (and still largely are) kept quiet, not necessarily of their own will, but because they fear the shame that others would put them through.

And while there is a general consensus that rape is wrong, this silence still continues.

So imagine what it would be like for the people who have had an abortion? There is no clear line whether abortion is right or wrong and there are so many people all over the world who think that people should be denied of this human right. (Please do note that I am saying people and not women because abortion affects BOTH men and women, though in a different magnitude.)

I have seen some TV shows in which the parents don’t really want to have a baby, but they try to find their way around it and accept it, instead of getting an abortion. In fact, the mere mention of the possibility of abortion is nowhere to be found in the shows.

I am yet to come across a show as liberal and righteous as Orange Is the New Black that shows abortion in what it truly is, a human right. (Not that OINB did, but I love that show and it is one of the few shows that celebrates diversity, nudity and consent.)

Abortion is being largely discussed in politics now-a-days, and just like amongst common everyday people, the politics have been divided into two segments: the ones who believe on this human right and the ones who refuse to.

The day when abortion is treated like a human right, which it is in a few beautiful countries like Canada, is still to come. We wait like we did for when rape culture was yet to be marked as wrong.

I hear the screams of all the people that have been silenced, and I want you to hear them to.