Reproductive rights advocates are encouraging people to declare their support for abortion access with a new social media campaign. #OneinFour, launched on Twitter Monday by a consortium of groups such as Planned Parenthood, Advocates for Youth, NARAL, We Testify, #VOTEPROCHOICE and Shout Your Abortion, is named for the one in four U.S. women who will have an abortion by the age of 45.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlAt3nkjpdL/?taken-by=zoebuckman
“I had an abortion at age 35. Two decades later I remain grateful to have had the ability to exercise my right to end my pregnancy,” Deb Hauser, president of Advocates for Youth, declared in a campaign press release. “Every person should have the right to determine if, when and how many children they will have. It is more important than ever to shatter our silence, share our stories and vocally and visibly stand in support of abortion care.”
Heidi Sieck, co-founder of #VOTEPROCHOICE, also shared her story in the group statement. “I am one of the #OneInFour people who has had an abortion,” she said. “We cannot return to a time of shame, backroom abortions, mangled bodies and sometimes, death… We will stand strong, own our power and refuse to go back.”
The campaign, created in anticipation of the eventual nomination of far-right judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court by President Trump, seeks to foster public declarations of support for abortion at a time when such support is most critical. Kavanaugh would be the fifth vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark Court case legalizing abortion nationwide, leaving room for states to then criminalize and prosecute providers and patients.
Advocates are urging Senators to hold a vote on Kavanaugh’s appointment until after the November elections, and activists are putting pressure on members like Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, two Republican women who have previously bucked party lines on healthcare, to reject any nominee who would not treat Roe as legal precedent. Activists who participate in the #OneInFour campaign on social media are similarly encouraged to tag their own Senators in their posts, amplifying the message on Capitol Hill that abortion rights supporters are a vocal and active majority.
Many prominent feminists have already begun sharing graphics and personal stories with the #OneInFour hashtag to demonstrate their support for safe, legal abortion access.
I had an abortion at nineteen and I am 100% sure it saved my life. No one should be forced into motherhood before being ready and I definitely wasn’t ready. Now I’m happily married and hope to have a kid someday, when I am ready #oneinfour #shoutyourabortion
— emily jane ♈️ (@EmilyJOBrien16) July 9, 2018
https://twitter.com/MonicaLewinsky/status/1016401169944600578
I am one of the #oneinfour, and I will fight forever to make sure every person can make their own personal health care decisions. https://t.co/GVXQ1KEcwv
— Dawn Laguens (@dawnlaguens) July 9, 2018
I’ve been overwhelmed by your messages over the last week sharing stories of being among the #oneinfour women who will have an abortion. (I’m #oneinfour too.)…. pic.twitter.com/2WmO86vlxY
— Cindi Leive (@cindi_leive) July 9, 2018
In my early 20’s, I had an abortion. I wasn’t ready to become a mother. So grateful I was able to get a safe abortion. My father, a surgeon, told me stories of the women he wasn’t able to save when they tried to give themselves an abortion. We must protect this right. #oneinfour pic.twitter.com/P4DtnVnQe3
— Tiffany Shlain (@tiffanyshlain) July 9, 2018
If you aren’t #OneInFour who has had an abortion in the US, then you know and love someone who is. Fight for Roe v. Wade and demand your Senators oppose Kavanaugh.
— Lauren Rankin (@laurenarankin) July 10, 2018
“The stories of these brave women remind us that we can’t forget how important it is for abortion to be legal in this country,” Kaylie Hanson Long, National Communications Director of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said in a statement. “Let’s be clear about what the stakes are: women’s lives, futures, health and ability to be equal in this country.”
The #OneInFour campaign seeks to make “the vast numbers of women of all demographic backgrounds who rely on the right to safe and legal abortion” more visible—especially those who stand to lose the most if Roe were at risk, like rural and low-income communities and women of color.
“We Testify storytellers have spoken about the intersection of abortion and immigration, religion, transgender health, being denied an abortion,and how our ability to access abortion impacted our lives,” Yamani Hernandez, Executive Director of the National Network of Abortion Funds, said in a statement. “We’re leading the way to solutions.”
