Dear Beloved Abortion Storytellers,

We collectively grieve the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse its own half-century of precedent, paving the way for abortion to become a crime again across the country. This heartless decision ignored our voices and abortion stories. Last year, over 6,000 people told the Supreme Court that we had abortions and we wanted access to remain for us, our loved ones, and generations to come. They turned their back on us.

This moment is crushing. For those of us who’ve had abortions, we are so deeply heartbroken and grief-stricken because the moment we always knew would come is actually here. For those of you who are actively trying to have your abortions right now, we cannot imagine the pain, confusion, and uncertainty you are feeling right now. We know what access to our abortions meant to our lives and our ability to decide if, when, and how to grow our families.

The pain you feel inside is very real. Your heartache is real. This moment is especially painful for all of us who must continue on with our day, hiding deep despair because we’re not ready to tell our loved ones that we need abortions. It’s hard for all who are still trying to get our abortions, navigating this chaotic and confusing moment.

We deserve a moment to cry, scream, yell, and catch our breath. We deserve a moment to be furious with a nation that prides itself on freedom, yet took ours in an instant. We deserve a moment to be angry with people who built careers off depicting our abortion decisions with disgust and frivolity. We deserve a moment to wail in agony because this is one more attack on our decisions alongside the ongoing genocides of our communities by white supremacists, politicians, and police officers. This nightmare is too much for any of us to hold. We deserve a moment to process this pain.

There are so many calls for us to vote and take action—we should do those things, but first, we must tend to our hearts and to each other.

We’ve been having abortions for over 3,000 years. In this moment, we must look toward the past to journey safely into the future. We must carry the wisdom of our ancestors who have had abortions and provided one another with loving, healing abortions for thousands of years. We are often all we’ve got. Share your abortion wisdom with your community. Pay it forward: Offer all the things you needed for your abortion to someone else in need, whether it was a smiling face, a kind word, a hand to hold, a place to stay, a meal to nourish you, or money to make it through. When you get to the clinic, it’s OK to meet the eyes of the others in the waiting room and smile. We’re in this together. Together, we must help each other navigate the system to get our abortions.

As people who have abortions, we are a brilliant, intuitive, and innovative community. We instinctively know what we need and how to show up for each other. We need that tenacity and courage now. Move with the grit and determination of all who came before us to provide safe abortions to one another.

Refuse to be silenced. Our abortion stories deserve to be heard. Your story deserves to be listened to. You deserve to be loved. When you feel ready and safe, tell everyone in your life about your abortion. Make them realize that everyone loves someone who had an abortion—and they love you! And, as Rihanna says, if they want to break bread with you, this is the moment they need to pull up and show up for all of us who have abortions.

This moment calls for the leadership of people who’ve had abortions to lift our voices and demand abortion care for ourselves and our loved ones. We will always show up for one another because people who have abortions are the future, and we deserve to be loved and protected. We can do this.

Take a breath. When you’re ready to take action, we’ll be ready for you.

Love,
The We Testify Abortion Storytellers