It's apparently not enough for thousands of women have chosen to end the lives of their unborn babies to remain silent about their decision – so they've taken to Twitter to publicly celebrate their abortions under the viral hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion.
Under that hashtag, women are revealing why they decided to abort their babies, and they claim the abortions enhanced their lives.
Activists Lindy West, Amelia Bonow and Kimberly Morrison launched the hashtag on Sept. 19 after the House voted to defund Planned Parenthood.
In a tweet Tuesday, West wrote: "I set up #ShoutYourAbortion because I am not sorry and I will not whisper."
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Bonow explained her decision to abort in an expletive-laden column published on Salon titled, "My abortion made me happy: The story that started the #shoutyourabortion movement."
"Pregnancy is what happens sometimes when people have sex, and an abortion is what happens when a woman becomes pregnant and does not wish to procreate – if she is lucky. If she, and whoever knocked her up, and her non-baby, and society at large are f---ing lucky. There are zero abortion clinics in the entire state of Mississippi, and I had an abortion five blocks away from my apartment, because I am so lucky. I remember this experience with nothing but gratitude."
Bonow continued, recalling the actual procedure:
"I am not kidding when I say that I have had visits to the bank that were much more unpleasant than that particular morning at Planned Parenthood. The only thing that happens at the Madison Avenue Planned Parenthood on Saturdays is abortion. Every person you see in the clinic is having an abortion, or helping someone have an abortion. The moment I entered the clinic that morning, I felt myself lift and become stronger because of the women around me. I felt connected to every woman I saw, and I tried to make them know this with my eyes. ... The nurse called my name and smiled at me; I kissed my boyfriend, rose to my feet, and walked toward the end of a mistake. ...
"The procedure I had is commonly referred to as a Vacuum Aspiration, which tickles me because vacuuming is a thing you do in order to remove unwanted detritus from your life, and aspirations are hopes for your future, which can be destroyed by having children you don’t want. It did not hurt. It felt strange, in the same way that it feels strange when you are having your blood drawn and as the suction kicks in, you feel a quiet internal 'pop' as something leaves that used to be inside of you. The whole thing was over in three minutes. I have had more painful experiences flossing my teeth when it’s been awhile. ...
"I’m telling you my story plainly, proudly, flippantly even, because we have all been brainwashed to believe that the absence of negative emotions around having an abortion is the mark of an emotionally bankrupt person. It’s not. I have a good heart and my abortion made me happy. It’s perfectly reasonable to feel happy that you were not forced to become a mother. Your life belongs to nobody but you; don’t ever let someone make you feel any other way."
Some examples of the #ShoutYourAbortion tweets include the following:
Huffington Post Deputy Editor Nina Bahadur lamented, "Anti-abortion activists have attempted to co-opt the hashtag, showing just how common it is to shame and belittle women who have had abortions. The women who are using the hashtag to speak out in the face of insults, trolls and threats are a powerful reminder of how important these conversations are."
Some pro-lifers are responding to the abortion celebrations with the following tweets: