Giving Tuesday: Why ACP?

The abortion world has been turned upside down and women and clinics in 26 states are desperate. According to the Guttmacher Institute 58% of those people who could get pregnant live in states hostile to abortion rights. Abortion navigators and abortion funds are struggling to keep up with the need. So, why give to a group that just wants to talk about abortion? 

What if we had been helping people talk about abortion since 1973?

Here at the Abortion Conversation Projects we have always been inspired by Desmond Tutu’s famous quote: “There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in.” We think a lot about the simple strategy of starting conversations about abortion. What if we had been helping people talk about abortion since 1973 when abortion was decriminalized in the US? Would we be here now, losing bodily autonomy and rights, when other countries all over the world are opening up access to abortion? 

I think we have all been in situations where it was just too difficult to have a conversation about abortion—Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner when everyone is just trying to get along? Or, you’re just not sure how people will react, or whether they will think less of you for your views or your experiences. This “not talking” is so common that even when you need to talk to friends you worry that they won’t be supportive. And you don’t know because they haven’t been talking either!  

The anti-abortion folks have had 49 years of silencing and shaming people about abortion so it’s no wonder that we worry about what others might think. It’s called abortion stigma and it’s everywhere, inside and outside of us. We have made it our mission to challenge stigma on a grassroots level to make people comfortable with conversations about abortion. And it is getting better. And we are happy to say that many of the projects we have supported have been successful in breaking silence—Shout Your Abortion, AVOW in Texas, Repro Rights Freedom Walk, the WIN Fund Book Club, Focus on Abortion (book and exhibit) and many of the other 91 projects we have awarded seed grants to since 2012. 

ACP feels that pulling people out of the river is a good thing, a necessary thing, particularly now. But we also know that it's vitally important to walk upstream and see what's going on--that this foundational, yet simple work of getting people to talk openly about abortion is also essential.

If we don't talk about abortion, we've already lost. 

And we know-- with 91 projects and a decade of funding stigma busting under our belts-- that if we don't talk about abortion, we've already lost. 

So, we are working with groups globally, enthusiastic folks who have innovative strategies to engage people in abortion conversations. Starting on Giving Tuesday we begin our End of Year fundraiser to raise money for next year’s stigma busters. Your donations are our only source of funds for this work. From now until the end of the year we’ll be sending regular emails about some of our Grant Partners. 

You can donate anytime on our website or on Act Blue where you can even split your donation!

Thank you for your support, your conversations, and your commitment to abortion rights and access. 

________________________________

—Peg Johnston is a long time ACP Board Member and abortion provider since 1981.

Activists All Over the World Challenge Abortion Stigma

The Abortion Conversation Projects (ACP) has chosen nine new projects that are confronting stigma surrounding abortion even as access to abortion is threatened or outlawed. ” We received over 80 proposals, half of them from Africa, all using conversation as strategy to open minds and challenge people’s prejudice about abortion,” says Jeannie Ludlow, Chair of ACP.  The organization has now funded 91 Projects and offers support and expertise to both Grant Partners and applicants. 

“Ending Abortion Stigma” is a project in Haiti that will do a major outreach and education effort on abortion and reproductive health during International Safe Abortion Week in September and throughout the year. Abortion is illegal in Haiti and currently gang related violence has disrupted life there. 

ACP funded two projects from the Middle East/North Africa region (MENA) where abortion is largely illegal and there is very little public knowledge and information about abortion methods, policy and laws. Oppression of minority groups, ongoing violence, and political persecution complicate the problems for those brave enough to organize around abortion access and stigma.  “The Book of Abortion” is a project in Kurdistan that assembles vital information in one place for policy makers, academics, activists, and the public at large. “How to Terminate My Pregnancy” will make information about abortion access available in French, Arabic, and English to all MENA countries. 

Another Seed Grant was awarded to Clear Vision for Change in the DR Congo to do outreach and education in rural areas of the country. They are also working on a Safe App so that women can download information on abortion laws, access, and self care. 

In the U.S. two projects were chosen: AVOW-Texas for their outstanding “Let’s Talk About Abortion” efforts and “A is for …." a cultural organization that will produce a comic book about the need to travel to obtain an abortion since Roe v. Wade was overturned. The collection of comics will be edited by New Yorker Magazine artist Emily Flake.                     

Several existing Grant Partners received further funding. The North Dakota WIN Fund Book Club will expand their club and continue to read books about abortion and discussing abortion stigma and will help ACP in promoting abortion book clubs.  “Colours of My Dignity,” a Kenyan project uses trained “influencers” on What’s App to educate followers about the facts of abortion and to counteract the prevalent stigma about abortion.  Another Kenyan project, “Haven of Dreams” conducts highly effective Values Clarification training in the community, and they will also be re-funded. 

The Abortion Conversation Projects is committed to eliminating the stigma of abortion by supporting individuals and small groups engaged in innovative community-based projects that create new ways and opportunities to talk about abortion honestly and publicly. It has now awarded 91 Grant Partnerships since the program started in 2012. ACP fundraises each year to pay for seed grants and expenses. The all-volunteer ACP Board also offers consultations with people working on abortion stigma. ACP also expects to sponsor “Conversations” in the Autumn with stigma busters to support activists and exchange ways of discussing abortion stigma. To stay informed with ACP, email abortionconversation@gmail.com.

STIGMA BUSTING IS GLOBAL

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, what does that mean for Abortion Conversation Projects and our partners? While all of us at ACP deeply grieve the Court’s decision, we also understand it as one severe manifestation of abortion stigma in a larger landscape of extreme stigma—a landscape that is variable in its geopolitical contours and global in scale. 

The overturning of Roe undoubtedly makes our work harder. But it also stands as an invitation to all of us in the U.S. who find ourselves in worsening legal terrain.

It is an invitation for us to look to other places and countries for tactics and inspiration where activists and everyday people have been, for many decades, reducing stigma and providing care in contexts where abortion is illegal or severely restricted. It is an invitation to greater unity, resourcefulness, and risk-taking. There is much to learn.

In the spirit of global solidarity, we’re honored to share excerpts from our recent round of grant applications—82 applications in all, from all over the world, the majority of whom are working to reduce stigma in contexts where abortion stigma is pervasive, harsh, and dangerous. While we don’t have the resources to partner with all of these applicants, every single one has reminded us of the incredible courage and creativity that are possible in even the most difficult contexts. Their ideas have poured in from Poland and Texas, Kenya and Iraq, Haiti and Puerto Rico, New York City and Ethiopia, Kurdistan and Tennessee. They show us gaps and fissures in current work. They show us new ways of taking action. These are some of their voices:

“[Our project] will mobilize community singers and composers, social workers, health and community organizers. These groups will help in designing educational songs which will address unsafe abortion [...] through traditional dances. The singers will be local singers, who will then be equipped with the information about safe abortion and where to get it.”

We decided to take responsibility for this issue [...]

because no other group or organization dared to speak out before.

“Since abortion in [our region] is illegal, and forbidden by religion, no institution takes charge of spreading awareness and opening platforms for a discussion on this sensitive and important topic. We decided to take responsibility for this issue and provide a theoretical ground for a discussion amongst the youth, institutions, the education and health sectors in order to achieve change in our culture [...] because no other group or organization dared to speak out before.” 

"After my experience of abortion as a queer and non-binary person, I felt isolated and didn't see my experience reflected in broader conversations about abortion. I desperately wanted to connect with other LGBTQ+ people who had had abortions so that I could know that I was not the only one. However, despite a lot of digging, I couldn't find an LGBTQ-centered support group focused on abortion to connect with." 

Anti-abortion extremists […] have been able to stigmatize abortion

so deeply that even supporters often feel

awkward or ashamed when talking about it.

“Anti-abortion extremists use the word ‘abortion’ 4 times more than pro-choice advocates do, which means that they have been able to stigmatize abortion so deeply that even supporters often feel awkward or ashamed when talking about it. Messaging matters because it can help move people from judgment to empathy. At the core, the goal of [this project] is to bridge that gap and empower our supporters to feel comfortable talking about abortion and then bring these conversations to their own communities.” 

There is no place available [in our province] for young girls of reproductive age and women to discuss safe abortion practices and therefore large number of girls and women becomes victim of forced pregnancies. [...] This project will initiate storytelling sessions with young girls of reproductive age and women and will foster dialogue through storytelling on the topic of safe abortion practices, challenges faced in accessing safe abortion, and recommendations for strengthening services for safe abortion in [our province.]" 

“We use gender neutral language and acknowledge the ways colonialism, misogyny and racism have shaped how we view our body, cultural wisdoms, and herbal abortion. We want to smash the stigma, deepen the conversation, and bring accurate, safe and appropriate information to people seeking to integrate herbs into their abortion experience.” 

“[Our organization] is establishing the first formal national abortion storytelling program for people who had abortions in the United States during the pre-Roe years through 1980. [...] At a time when anti-abortion politicians are in positions of power to roll back rights and access, it is crucial that elders speak up loudly and move in alignment with current demands for abortion justice. [...] In doing so, we affirm the complexity and autonomy of younger generations and our younger selves.” 

“[Our] project is intended to make school and community environments safe for the girl-child to prosper intellectually and utilize her potential to the maximum without any hindrances and intimidation.”

Despite the negative outcomes of unsafe abortion on health and well-being of women and girls in [our region] devastated by decades of civil wars, where rape and violence against women are used as a weapon of war, the majority of women choose to end their pregnancies in secrecy which endangers their lives.

“Despite the negative outcomes of unsafe abortion on health and well-being of women and girls in [our region] devastated by decades of civil wars, where rape and violence against women are used as a weapon of war, the majority of women choose to end their pregnancies in secrecy which endangers their lives. Despite these situations, abortion remains a taboo [...] When it is discussed, it is often from a moral, rather than a human rights perspective." 

“[Our] society is very patriarchal and conservative when it comes to the rights of women and girls. We were inspired by the struggles of feminists in Argentina to propose this project and begin our advocacy for access to abortion [...] we are proposing a week of activities in conjunction with International Abortion Access Day.” 

Breaking the silence around abortion is

important and can save lives.

“Through outreach to women and girls, teachers, religious leaders, and community members, the project will deliver key messages: Breaking the silence around abortion is important and can save lives.” 

“Stigma prevents women from accessing abortion services [in our country] even when they are legally allowed to. [...] This same stigma associated to abortion also dissuades nurses and other clinical officers from performing abortion services. 

—Compiled and edited by Abby Minor, ACP Board Member

Conversation with The Choice VR

An Interview with Joanne Popińska, director of The Choice

By ACP Board Member Abby Minor

“I think I can do something different—something nobody else can do”

I recently had the honor of talking with Joanne Popińska, a film director and current ACP Grant Partner whose newest project, The Choice, had its world premiere at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam this past November. Popińska’s project blends techniques from traditional documentary storytelling, personal conversation, and animation, harnessing the power of Virtual Reality to bring special intimacy to abortion storytelling and listening. Now that The Choice is having its North American premiere at the prestigious South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) in Austin, TX in March, I wanted to share excerpts from our conversation, which challenged me to think about technology and abortion storytelling in new and productive ways. 

Abby Minor: I’m a little bit of a Luddite and am sometimes suspicious of the idea that new digital and media technologies are always improvements. Why Virtual Reality for your project? Why is this an important piece?

Joanne Popińska: Lots of people ask, could we just make the flat documentary; isn’t the story very compelling on its own? But what we started to learn—when the viewer is immersed in this virtual space, sitting across from another person, talking to her and actually selecting the questions, seeing their hands typing questions—this has a very strong psychological effect on our audience. Unlike with traditional documentaries, they don’t feel like, oh, I just watched  a documentary—they feel like, this conversation, this interaction just happened to me. We know psychologically that watching a documentary movie can make you more informed, but not necessarily affect your behavior. But talking to someone, which VR simulates, can change your attitude, and your behavior.

AM: Right, so you have deeply considered the rhetorical effects of Virtual Reality and how that works in this film, and it’s very much informed by your own background in psychology and sociology.

We want activists to know that VR is not scary

JP: Yes, I went about making this film in part as a sociologist, understanding the power of one-on-one conversation. When you put just two people in the room and let them talk, then things happen. That’s the whole idea behind The Choice. Of course as a filmmaker I want this to be experienced as art, but I also want to get out the message to activists that VR is a powerful tool. We want activists to know that VR is not scary, and it’s not just for geeks and gamers! It’s a really valuable tool for the abortion rights movement. We have gotten really strong reactions from people, anti-abortion people who have had big changes of mind and heart.

AM: Another rhetorical choice you made is to highlight the story of Kristen, a Texan who had a very wanted pregnancy and later term abortion experience. Sometimes in the abortion rights movement, we caution against highlighting more dramatic stories like this one, and we talk about how important it is to represent stories that are a little more common and uneventful. Why did you choose this particular story?

JP: My background in sociology also influenced the story I chose to highlight. At first I started recording interviews in Canada, because I felt like I didn’t have to be afraid—versus whenever I visit Poland, even with my progressive friends I am always careful. Being in Canada allowed me to start and to very quickly find people who were willing to tell their stories. And then I started listening to the stories and I realized—they will not convince my audience. My target audience are people who are in the middle, not sure what they think and who they should support. My other audience is anti-choice people—if I tell the story of a young woman who wanted to finish college, they are going to see her as “selfish.” So those stories are not going to be very effective for that audience. 

As a sociologist, I started analyzing—what does the debate look like? What are the questions people are asking? What are the stereotypes? So for example, one of the stereotypes I identified is that abortion is anti-family. So how do you answer to that? I wanted to answer that as a filmmaker—so I knew I had to highlight the story of someone who was really wanting to start a family. 

I intentionally did not record an interview with an activist—it’s natural when you talk about something over and over you sound prepared. But for non-believers, it starts to sound a little bit fake. I wanted people to have the experience of talking to a friend who’s telling you her personal story, maybe telling it for the first time. 

AM: And ultimately you chose to tell a story of someone in the U.S.—

JP: Yes, in the U.S., as in Canada, the stories we were hearing involved this element of personal choice, but also all the obstacles that come from the fact of living in the U.S. So the story we chose for the first chapter is a U.S. story and a second trimester abortion story. I was showing it to an activist in Poland a couple months ago, and she was like, “oh, but everybody agrees on late term abortion.” But actually it’s not that easy. Kristen, in Texas and at that time, had the right to an abortion, but she faced all sorts of obstacles. She was lied to by her doctors—in Texas they had started to introduce a bill that would allow doctors to conceal information about fetal anomalies. And because the doctors had delayed and delayed, her life was in danger—and all the months of hormones and attachment and—she was really devastated by that experience. 

AM: I’m thinking about how, in the abortion activism community we hear a lot about how important abortion storytelling is, as though telling abortion stories automatically changes the minds of people who are anti-abortion. But we don’t really talk about this idea that, actually not all stories are going to be effective, or that different stories are effective for different audiences. If the goal is for people who have abortions to normalize our own experiences, then yes telling our stories has value. But if the goal is changing minds and hearts of a specific audience, then we do need to be strategic. 

JP: I have had the opportunity to see that a lot of anti-choice people are human, they have hearts. So I have thought a lot about, how do I convince these humans? Or maybe not convince, but give them a chance to see the other side. For example, I’m a vegan. I realized as a teenager when I was berating people about not being vegan—that I wasn’t going to get anywhere with that. My partner, he switched to being vegan because the food I cooked for him is tasty! I stopped making him feel guilty about killing animals, and instead I showed him a completely different aspect of being vegan. The analogy with abortion is—my quest is to show people who are anti-abortion or not sure about abortion that pro-choice people and people who have abortions are also people, they have feelings, and some very deep thoughts. And with Virtual Reality, I think I can do something different—something nobody else can do. As a sociologist, a psychologist, and a virtual reality artist—I think I can give people a chance to deeply experience the other side. 

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To get updates about The Choice, sign up for the newsletter here. 

To support or sponsor this project, visit www.thechoice-vr.com/support

If you have a VR headset (Oculus Quest), keep your eyes open for festival screenings, as currently The Choice is having its festival circuit. The nearest one is SXSW, and there will be an option for in-person and online participation. Find more information at the SXSW 2022 schedule.

Also, Joanne and her team are currently preparing for an impact campaign. They plan to visit various states and cities, meet with local activist communities, and talk about how the project can be used for activists’ every-day work. You can contact the team if you want to invite them for such meeting: info@infiniteframemedia.com 

Journalists who want to view The Choice can request a loaner headset through the mail; get in touch with the team at info@infiniteframemedia.com or press@infiniteframemedia.com