Imagine if this hashtag were #HysterectomyStigma or #ColonoscopyStigma. Imagine if we had a global day of action dedicated to ending #BoneMarrowTransplantStigma or #CataractSurgeryStigma. It sounds ridiculous, right?

This is not an exercise in comparing the pain people go through when they have to make difficult medical decisions or undergo painful medical procedures. This is not pitting women who haven’t ever had an abortion against those who have.

This is the whole point: A woman must be able to make decisions about her health and her body with her doctor.

You don’t stop a woman from having an abortion by forcing her to listen to medically inaccurate information, or waiting 48 hours, or showing her the ultrasound against her will, or judging and stigmatizing her. You only make it unsafe.

There aren’t better health outcomes for women and their children as a result of abortion stigma. In fact, unsafe abortion is the cause of 13% of maternal deaths globally. How do we reduce that number? We end abortion stigma.

Here are some actions you can take to support the #Sept28 Campaign.

• Add your voice and story to the virtual mural.
• Visit the #Sept28 website.
• Sign the #Sept28 Manifesto.
• Follow the Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights on Facebook and Twitter, and check out their website.
• Combat every day abortion stigma by supporting films like Obvious Child.

Categories: Health

Tags: #Sept28, Abortion, abortion stigma, AbortionStigma, anti-abortion, anti-choice, Feminist, Pro-choice