Wrapping Humanity Around the Abortion Narrative
I want to create a space for people who have experienced abortion to come together to tell their stories without shame or fear of judgement. Not a space to judge and argue right and wrong, but simply a space to be – to be seen – to see others – to see ourselves. As Brené Brown says, “People are hard to hate close up…move in.”
I’ll open the conversation by sharing my own story and then inviting others to share theirs. Topics for discussion include: the pro-life movement’s hyper-focus on the pregnancy and not the woman; the effects of evangelical purity culture; the need for authentic sex education; the shame created by the church around sexuality; the lack of female empowerment; the ways in which the church has weaponized shame and the abortion issue; how women are shamed for having sadness or grief about their experiences with abortion (which can be quite common regardless of ones beliefs); the damaging effects of disenfranchised grief; and how even women who are totally fine with their decision still find it hard to share their stories with others due to the stigma placed by our culture.
12:00 am | Kori Meyers |