#ShoutYourAbortion is a pro-abortion social media campaign where people share their

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

experiences online without "sadness, shame or regret" for the purpose of "destigmatization, normalization, and putting an end to shame." Tens of thousands of people worldwide have shared their abortion experiences online using the

hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag operator that is prefaced by the hash symbol, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services–especially Twitter and Tumblr–as a form of user-generated tagging that enable ...

#ShoutYourAbortion. The Shout Your Abortion campaign was started on September 19, 2015, by American activists

Lindy West Lindy West (born March 9, 1982) is an American writer, comedian, and activist. She is the author of the essay collections '' Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman'' and ''The Witches Are Coming'' and a contributing opinion writer for ''The New York Ti ...

, Amelia Bonow, and Kimberly Morrison, in response to efforts by the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

to defund

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

following the Planned Parenthood 2015 undercover videos controversy. The hashtag has received both positive and negative attention within social media and the mainstream media.

Background and origin

On September 18, 2015, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to suspend funding of

Planned Parenthood Federation of America The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

for one year, pending investigation of allegations regarding Planned Parenthood's practices with respect to fetal organ and tissue donation. Shout Your Abortion co-founder Amelia Bonow reported she "cried all day" in response to the House of Representatives attempts to defund Planned Parenthood. On September 19, 2015, Bonow turned to social media, speaking out in defense of Planned Parenthood on her

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page. Bonow expressed gratitude for what she described as an "incredibly positive experience" of an abortion procedure she had at a Planned Parenthood facility and Bonow publicly discussed her abortion without "sadness, shame or regret". Two other activists, Lindy West and Kimberly Morrison, became involved. West took a screen shot of Bonow's Facebook post, added the hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion, and then sent Bonow's Facebook post out to her over 60,000

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

followers with the introduction: "The campaign to defund PP relies on the assumption that abortion is something to be whispered about." An image of Kimberly Morrison's unshaved armpit with a tattoo that reads "fuck the

patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...

" was used as the logo for the Shout Your Abortion social media campaign. The hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion soon trended worldwide, including in the US, Australia, UK, and Ireland. On September 22, 2015, the #ShoutYourAbortion hashtag was used over 100,000 times in a 24-hour period. While 2015 is acknowledged as the start of #ShoutYourAbortion as a social media campaign, the efforts of

Sue Perlgut Sue Perlgut is a Second-wave feminism, second-wave feminist who was a central figure in It's All Right To Be Woman Theatre, a women's theater collective founded in 1970 in New York City that operated without a director. Perlgut studied education ...

and other second-wave feminists who suggested that women confess their abortions publicly provides historic precedent from the 1970s.

Support for abortion rights

Lindy West, Amelia Bonow, and Kimberly Morrison encouraged other women to share positive abortion experiences online using the hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion in order to "denounce the stigma surrounding abortion." On September 19, 2015, West tweeted: "My abortion was in '10 & the career I've built since then fulfills me & makes me better able to care for kids I have now #ShoutYourAbortion." West said, "I set up #ShoutYourAbortion because I am not sorry and I will not whisper." Within days, tens of thousands of other women worldwide shared their personal abortion experiences. Tweets included: "I've never wanted to have children, so I had an abortion. I'm thriving, without guilt, without shame, without apologies. #ShoutYourAbortion"; "I've had 2 abortions. I don't have to justify or explain them to anybody. My life is more valuable than a potential life. #shoutyourabortion"; "In 1988 a late-term abortion got a teenage me back on track for college, career, & motherhood. #ShoutYourAbortion"; "My abortion was the most compassionate option for the baby and me. #ShoutYourAbortion", and "I had an abortion. My body, my life, my choice. End of story. #shoutyourabortion."

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

's executive vice present,

Dawn Laguens Dawn Laguens (born 1964) is the former executive vice president and chief brand officer of Planned Parenthood and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. She is vice chair of LPAC, the LGBTQ+ social justice and women's equality super PAC. She is strat ...

, publicly supported the Shout Your Abortion social media campaign saying: "We're happy to see more and more people coming forward...these stories are a powerful reminder that women should never feel shamed or judged." In an interview with ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', Bonow expressed that perhaps she and her friends, whom Bonow described as "irreverent, foul-mouthed ladies" were better able than those currently inside the traditional abortion-rights organizations to talk frankly about their positive experiences with abortion. Within days of the launch of the social media campaign, Bonow was contacted by

NARAL Pro-Choice America Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America and commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, politics, political action, and advocacy efforts to op ...

and Planned Parenthood with advice for harnessing the current outpouring of attention in order to turn Shout Your Abortion into something bigger and more organized. In November 2015, an official Shout Your Abortion web site and

YouTube channel YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in San B ...

were launched.

Criticism and backlash

In addition to positive abortion stories and support for the

abortion-rights movement Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pr ...

, the social media campaign received backlash and criticism as

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...

activists also began using the hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion to combat these beliefs.

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

reported: "it should surprise no one that this has turned into a bit of a fight." Anti-abortion activist

Gianna Jessen Gianna Jessen (born April 6, 1977) is an American anti-abortion activist. She was born during a failed instillation abortion attempt. The 2011 film '' October Baby'' is loosely based on Jessen's life. Early life Jessen was born April 6, 1977, in ...

tweeted: "My medical records: 'Born during saline abortion.' I didn't have an abortion. I Lived through one. #shoutyourabortion." Conservative blogger

Michelle Malkin Michelle Malkin (; Maglalang; born October 20, 1970) is an American conservative political commentator. She was a Fox News contributor and in May 2020 joined Newsmax TV. Malkin has written seven books and founded the conservative commentary ...

urged her Twitter followers to "Shout this LOUDER: #PPSellsBabyParts." Former Republican member of the House of Representatives, and 2012 presidential candidate

Michele Bachmann Michele Marie Bachmann (; née Amble; born April 6, 1956) is an American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2007 until 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican P ...

said, "#ShoutYourAbortion gives a new meaning to

macabre In works of art, the adjective macabre ( or ; ) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in natu ...

." Other critical tweets included: "When did making someone else pay dearly for your mistakes become empowerment for women? #shoutyourabortion"; "All of humanity past and present looks upon what has become of modern feminism and shakes its head in disgust & disbelief #shoutyourabortion"; and "All great genocides start by dehumanizing the victim. #ShoutYourAbortion." Other Tweets included: "I am pro choice. However, abortion is a difficult decision and not something to 'shout' about."; "Ladies there are so many wonderful ways to celebrate being a strong independent & intelligent woman, #ShoutYourAbortion is not one of them."; and "Regardless of your stance on abortion, why can't we all agree it's not something to brag about?" On Twitter, the hashtag #ShoutYourAdoption was created in response to #ShoutYourAbortion, to promote

adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, fro ...

instead of abortion. In response to online criticism, actress

Martha Plimpton Martha Plimpton (born November 16, 1970) is an American actress and member of the Carradine family. She started her career as a teen actress in film before transitioning to adult roles on stage and screen. She has received several awards includ ...

, co-founder of the abortion rights organization ''"A is for"'' created a " Mean Tweets" style video along with comedian

Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, actress and musician. In her Stand-up comedy, stand-up routines she critiques social and political problems, especially about race and sexuality. She starred in the Ame ...

and other prominent contributors to the Shout Your Abortion social media campaign. The video shows the women "laughing off the

trolls A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human be ...

" on Twitter. Critical tweets included: threats, references to racism, and calling the women "baby killers".

Media attention

Media responses to the Shout Your Abortion social media campaign were mixed. Mic.com, a media company focused on

millennials Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s a ...

described Shout Your Abortion as Twitter users "bravely fighting stigma in the most inspiring way". Writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', Shout Your Abortion co-founder Lindy West said, "there are no 'good' abortions and 'bad' abortions, because an abortion is just a medical procedure" and "a

foetus A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Prenatal development is a ...

is not a person." Ian O'Doherty writing for ''

The Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

'' commented on the social media campaign saying abortion is "not really something to shout about" describing abortion as "the only medical procedure which deliberately ends a life", saying it can at best be described as "a necessary evil". O'Doherty said "abortion should be legal, safe and rare" concluding "it's not an act of patriarchial

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...

to say that." Writing for ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

'', Nicole Brodeur commented that "If abortion is a political football, #ShoutYourAbortion is a

Hail Mary pass A Hail Mary pass is a very long forward pass in American football, typically made in desperation, with a very small chance of achieving a completion (American football), completion. Due to the difficulty of a completion with this pass, it makes r ...

– women publicizing an extremely personal decision in order to save what they believe is every woman's right." Writing for

Jezebel Jezebel ()"Jezebel"
(US) and

, Shout Your Abortion co-founder Amelia Bonow summarized the social media campaign by saying: "they can't figure out how to shut us up" furthering, "there are too goddamned many of us and you cannot reverse a viral shift in cultural consciousness. " Co-founder Lindy West said that getting the discussion out in public is the whole point of the social media campaign, saying: "you never have to feel ashamed of your personal medical decisions," "You can speak about them at full volume." Shout Your Abortion was described as marking a significant tonal shift in the cultural conversation about abortion in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', by Caitlin Gibson. She described Shout Your Abortion as a shift away from describing abortion as a less-than-desirable outcome and a distancing from

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

's frequently-quoted 2008 remark that abortion should be "safe, legal and rare", saying the campaign moves the discussion away from extreme cases involving

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...

, medical emergencies or severe birth defects.

Book

''Shout Your Abortion'' (2018,

PM Press PM Press is an independent publisher, founded in 2007 by a small collective of people, that specializes in radical literature. Previously based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the press relocated to Binghamton, New York, in 2022. Bookstores In ...

): Amelia Bonow (Editor), Emily Nokes (Editor),

(Foreword). The book is a compilation of photos, stories, interviews with abortion providers, and examples of the artwork created through the movement. The stories come from all over the country to provide a comprehensive lens into what it's like to get an abortion in the US.

2019: #YouKnowMe

The You Know Me Movement is a similar 2019 internet movement against

stigma and a response to the

Fetal heartbeat bill A six-week abortion ban, also called a "fetal heartbeat bill" by proponents, is a law in the United States which makes abortion illegal as early as six weeks gestational age (two weeks after a woman's first missed period), which is when propone ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, specifically the passing of anti-abortion laws in 2019 in

Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States. It borders Tennessee and North Carolina to the north, South Carolina and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Florida to the south, and Alabama to the west. Of the List of states a ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

References

External links

Official website - Shout Your Abortion

Postings to #ShoutYourAbortion
on

My abortion made me happy: The story that started the #shoutyourabortion movement
- Shout Your Abortion co-founder Amelia Bonow's story published by

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

Abortion Tweet Theater
by ''A is for''
#ShoutYourAbortion Co-Founder Discusses Hairy Armpits and Fighting Stigma
- published by KQED Arts {{Portal bar, Feminism, Human sexuality, Internet, Society Abortion-rights movement Hashtags 2015 in women's history 21st-century social movements Internet-based activism Social media campaigns