Issue #1 OLDER WOMEN REMEMBER AND SPEAK OUT

ABORTION: TALK ABOUT IT
Keep abortion accessible. Speak up and speak out.

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QUICK QUIZ
What percentage of American women have had an abortion by age 45?

A 5% B 10% C 18% D 24%

Correct answer: D 24%.* One out of every four women has had an abortion before age 45.

*Nothing fake about our facts. Check out References.

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We are a group of women who were deeply involved in making abortion legal decades ago. We have painful memories of the time when it wasn't. We recall desperate women trying to self-abort with toxic substances and harmful objects (such as coat hangers and knitting needles), throwing themselves down stairs, or resorting to back-alley procedures. Most Americans don't want to return to those days.

You don't either. So we are preaching to the choir. But too many choir members aren't singing, and abortion remains a hush-hush topic. This silence is dangerous, allowing abortion opponents to restrict its availability. Many people find a way around these restrictions, but too often, those with modest financial resources cannot.

To keep abortion legal and safe, all of us must talk about it in everyday conversations. We have to speak up to end the harmful stigma and shame surrounding abortion--and speak out against assaults on reproductive health care. We must insist that choosing to have an abortion is a profoundly personal decision.

OWRS (Older Women Remember and Speak Out) is developing ABORTION: TALK ABOUT IT, a series of short emails with reliable information that you can use to start conversations and support others doing the same. Share on social media. Forward to friends, family, and co-workers. Ask them to go to OWRSpeakout.org and sign up.

We can’t change something we don’t talk about.  

From Older Women Remember & Speak Out: OWRS Issue #1, September 2019, Archive