Does “sterilized” sound weird? That’s probably because most people say “I had my tubes tied” instead. I’ll agree, the idea of being “sterilized” implies we’re fixing something unclean. In the late 17th century, sterilization referred to destroying the fertility of the soil; by the late 19th century it meant making something free of organisms. Today, it means a doctor used clips to close someone’s fallopian tubes so they wouldn’t get pregnant.
Now let’s talk about the word “abortion.” Going back to the Latin, it combines “ab” — meaning “amiss” — with the “oriri” — meaning “arise.”
When you have an abortion, then, something is amiss with something arising.
Something is amiss. That sounds so inconsequential compared to the politics and religion swirling around the word “abortion.”
Why dissect the etymology of the word? Because words have power. But what also has power — especially in the case of Shout Your Abortion — are the stories beyond the words. And the women’s stories in these pages have power indeed — but not in the way I expected.
Disclaimer: I’ve no idea if there’s a god who judges women for the shit we do, but, well, if there is, that’s between the woman and her god. I’ve never been pregnant, but I believe every woman has the right to make that choice about her life and her body for herself.
So that’s why my reaction to Shout Your Abortion shocked me. In its pages, women talk about why they chose to end their pregnancies. As much as I — and the women and men closest to me — may talk about a woman’s right to choose, the reality of abortion isn’t something we’ve talked about nearly as much.
Shout Your Abortion will change that, because once you read the book — or even a smattering of stories on their website — you can’t un-read it. Was it a pleasure to read? No, not most of the time.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read it.
…the issue isn’t abortion, but how little control women have in other aspects of their lives.
In 2015, #ShoutYourAbortion started trending in response to congressional attempts to defund Planned Parenthood. Women used the hashtag to talk about their abortions. This book is a collection of these stories, as well as a sprinkling of stories from abortion providers in the Deep South. And, even when it’s hard to read, it’s harder to put down. We want, as liberal, enlightened women, to allow abortion — but maybe we don’t want to think about abortion.
Which is why, somewhere about halfway through the book, the pictures of women wearing shirts emblazoned with “Abortion is Normal” on the front started to get to me. Abortion is a medical procedure and in that respect, yes, is as normal as getting an eye exam or setting a broken arm. But these stories shouldn’t be normal. Yes, a woman should be free to not carry a zygote to term without feeling like a murderer — but the situations leading to many of these abortions shouldn’t simply be normal for women.
Story after story of women having so little control over other aspects of their lives, of women having to hide their abortions from the people they love, and women who — only after their abortions — escaped abusive relationships… none of these things make for fun reading. They don’t make for fun living. And yes, that they could rise above that life and make an affirmative, positive decision for their future, that’s pretty great. But they’re only taking control of their lives because birth control or trust failed them. And no, that isn’t every story, but there are enough to make it clear: The issue isn’t abortion, but how little control women have in other aspects of their lives. It’s unclear if that’s an unintended consequence of the compendium, but it is indeed a consequence.
The least remarkable thing about the book is that everyone who penned a page in it either had or performed abortions. The stunning takeaway is how easy it is for someone else to change the entire course of a woman’s life — and that’s absent of laws forbidding abortion.
So yes, by all means, please continue talking about abortions. But lets also keep talking about some of the realities that create women who find themselves unintentionally pregnant and unable or unwilling to raise a (or another) child.
Cathy Salustri is the arts + entertainment editor at Creative Loafing Tampa. Email her here.
Shout Your Abortion
Edited by Amelia Bonow & Emily Nokes
$24.95; 256 pages
November, 2018
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This article appears in Nov 22-29, 2018.