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2021 has been a lot. From the second year of the pandemic to attacks on abortion across the country, it has been a challenging year to be an abortion justice advocate. We hope you are taking time through the end of the year to rest and take care of yourself and your family. Because in January, we have to keep fighting.

Check out the powerful stories below that we hope will inspire you to stay in the fight for safe, legal, and accessible abortion in 2022. To read and share these and other stories, visit us on Instagram here

If you have a story of your own that you would like to share with us, click here.

1) Cara
“I have gotten an abortion. If I hadn't, my child would not be thriving - in fact, we would be barely surviving, as is the case for millions of families around this country. If politicians are not willing to provide social services to ensure a decent standard of living to all people, then they have absolutely no business intervening in the responsible decision not to carry a child into the world.”

2) Diane G., South Carolina
"My abortion was my way to care for and love myself. It allowed me to control the direction I wanted my life to take. As a patient greeter at Planned Parenthood, it is my job to make sure people make it to their appointment safely. They have also made the decision to take control over their future."

3) Heather, West Virginia
“When I was 19, I found out I was pregnant. I was young, broke, and in no way ready to be a parent. I couldn’t talk to my family about it and didn’t know what to do, but I knew having a child was not a good option for me. When I felt like I had no other options, I told my best friend’s mom, hoping she would have an idea of what to do. To my surprise, without hesitation, she offered to help me pay for an abortion, drive me over 2 hours to WV’s only abortion clinic, and take care of me while I recovered. That act of love and support from her saved my life. That abortion saved my life. Because I was able to get an abortion, I was able to choose the career I wanted, become a homeowner, and have a child when I was ready. I am so grateful for my abortion and for the support I received to get it.”

4) Khendall, North Carolina
"I've had 2 abortions and I'm proud! Abortion needs to be safe, legal, and affordable to the people of NC! I can't imagine the harm it would do if it wasn't. I researched methods online before the clinic and thank god an abortion fund came through with funding for me. Support choice."
 

5) Maryann
"I was 32. I was not ready for a second child. I found out that I was pregnant at 5 weeks gestation, and the abortion was at about 7 or 8 weeks. I was in a place where I was flourishing in terms of making big, adult decisions. There were a lot of new things in my life. I had just gotten a new job and was dating a new guy and settling into a new house. My new job didn’t really offer medical benefits upfront. My boyfriend and I at the time had only been dating for a month or two. Nothing really pointed to the direction of going full term with this pregnancy. I told my closest friend about the abortion. Of course, I told my boyfriend, who went and stuck it out the whole time. Because I was nervous, the staff shared with me some of the statistics about how common the procedure is. I became very educated through the process. Abortion is such a hard-line topic. I’ve changed a lot of opinions of my friends and families through talking to them about my experience. Access to abortion is not something that should be dictated by a bunch of men in suits.”



This year, we launched Abortion for Y’all, a campaign that aims to educate folks about the ways abortion stigma shows up in our lives and activate them to push back against attacks on our health care. One of the best ways to combat abortion stigma is by sharing our stories. When we share our stories, we reclaim our power and we remember why the fight for abortion justice must persist.

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