What does pro-abortion mean?

We thought some of you may want to know what ‘pro-abortion’ means and why we identify as such.

There is nothing wrong with the word ‘abortion’ and there is nothing wrong about having abortions. When we say ‘pro-abortion’, we destigmatise and normalise abortion experiences.

The idea of ‘choice’ is not always meaningful when people can face multiple barriers when making decisions about their reproductive and sexual health. Barriers may include proximity and availability of services, the cost of abortion, restrictions on abortion and social and cultural stigma. These very real realities impact on how we make decisions. When we say ‘pro-abortion’, we demystify the illusion of ‘choice’.

The politics of abortion - the pro-choice and so-called pro-life movements - and their claims of binary outcomes such as empowerment or trauma are reductive and do not accurately reflect the lived experiences of abortion. When we say ‘pro-abortion’, it makes way for subjectivity, nuance and contradictions.

We continue to identify ourselves with the pro-choice movement so that people can immediately understand where we are coming from, so then we can start having critical conversations about the limitations of the notion of ‘choice’.

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The Abortion Project aims to create a safe space where people with lived experiences of abortion can sit down, have a chat, and not feel constrained by pigeonholing their experiences into any binary. We are here for the grey area, the uncomfortable and the diverse.