Abortion
If You Don’t Support Jemima Kirke’s Abortion Story, You’re Not As Pro-Choice As You Think
Abortion is legal, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Legislators and activists across the country work every day to limit women’s access to abortion, making it more difficult to obtain one and more shameful to admit it. The stigma surrounding abortion is toxic, and if the reactions to a recent pro-choice PSA are any indication, it isn’t going away soon.
Actress Jemima Kirke recently appeared in a three-minute PSA for the Center For Reproductive Rights and told her personal abortion story. Kirke became pregnant in 2007 at age 22, but felt that her lifestyle at that time wasn’t ‘conducive to raising a healthy, happy child’ and it wouldn’t be fair to the child, so she chose to abort. She paid out of pocket, draining her checking account and still needing to borrow from her boyfriend and forego anesthesia to be able to afford the procedure.
As you might expect, the PSA has caused a stir. A Buzzfeed post about the video drew a mixed bag of responses, with plenty standing in support of Kirke, but also many who are either staunchly anti-choice or going with the old standby:Â “I support a woman’s right to choose, BUT…“
“I Support abortion to a certain point. Late-term abortion? No way, that’s infanticide. But if it’s in the first trimester, then a woman should be able to without harassment.” – Rachel P.
“…i think that abortion should safe and legal but i think that it should also be a last resort. even if you find yourself in a situation where you have had unprotected sex, you have 72 hours to take the morning after pill. i think that women owe it to themselves to make use of these resources to avoid having to make such a weighty and potentially psychologically scarring decision.” – Elizabeth M.
“Women have every right to decide what they want to do in this case. But no liberal bullshit is gonna change the fact that getting pregnant when you’re not ready to have a child is irresponsible. There are plenty of reasons to end a pregnancy. This is not one of them.” – Brent F.
Oh, the privilege in being able to tell other people what they should and shouldn’t do with their bodies based on your own circumstances, education, and access to resources. Too bad your personal feelings about abortion have nothing to do with someone else’s uterus.
