Spearheaded by internet personality Madeline Ford, women worldwide have taken to social media to speak out about their experiences with reproductive care access. Women have started to speak out about past assaults, abortions, and more, reigniting the conversation after the overturning of Roe V. Wade.
Women are now creating an online safe space for each other and finding support through this online movement. Take Madeline Ford, whose video regarding her assault story started it all. Her video touched upon the stigma associated with sexual assault victims and the significance of reproductive care access through organizations like Planned Parenthood to evade risks following sexual assault.
As a stitch to Ford’s video, abortion doula Mel shared her own story, explaining the impact of her work. In the video, Mel says that she feels privileged to be given the trust to help people through such a vulnerable time. Mel is based in California (which has legalized abortion) and has claimed to have had several patients come to her from out of state simply for her services. Later in the TikTok, she explains how necessary access to reproductive care is and why having this conversation is crucial to spreading awareness.
As of now, well over half of the states in America have banned abortion, thereby limiting access to reproductive care. In the state of Texas, upon finding a fetal heartbeat, an abortion is prohibited. The only anomaly to this law is if the pregnancy is deemed a medical emergency. This law has raised angst amongst a large portion of the population, who believe that abortion should be an inherent right. Health and fitness coach and assault survivor Mik Zazon is one of these supporters. In a video, she explains how birth control helped her escape what could have become a much more toxic/dangerous life. Despite the prevalence of stories like these, nearly half of the states in the US have an abortion regulation to some extent.
Fortunately, while reproductive care access has morphed into a matter of politics and religion, many individuals agree that, in the end, women should have a choice when it comes to their bodies. The Pew Research Center has stated that over 60% of people surveyed wanted to legalize abortion. Additionally, even children have begun to speak out about their views on abortion. One example is 12-year-old Addison Garnder, who spoke out about the unfairness of having to put her body through the physical trauma of pregnancy simply because of another individual’s poor choices. She states that we cannot ignore her life at the expense of others and wonders where the concern for her future is. All of this, coupled with the fact that there are over 30,000 pregnancies resulting from assault each year in the United States alone, is enough to prove the necessity for reproductive care access.
Overall, it is safe to say that reproductive healthcare and rights are a vital part of ensuring that all women feel safe. While this may seem out of reach, with digital movements such as this one taking the media by storm, this reality may be closer than we think.
Works Cited
Holmes, Melisa M. “Rape-Related Pregnancy: Estimates and Descriptive Characteristics from a National Sample of Women.” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, vol. 175, no. 2, Aug. 1996, pp. 320–325, www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(96)70141-2/fulltext, https://doi.org/10.1016/s0002-9378(96)70141-2.
Office 202 296-4012, Public Policy. “State Bans on Abortion throughout Pregnancy | Guttmacher Institute.” Www.guttmacher.org, 9 Apr. 2024, www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/state-policies-abortion-bans#:~:text=41%20STATES%20HAVE%20ABORTION%20BANS.
Pew Research Center. “Public Opinion on Abortion.” Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, Pew Research Center, 17 May 2022, www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/.
“What Does Senate Bill 8 Say about Abortions?” Www.sll.texas.gov, www.sll.texas.gov/faqs/abortion-senate-bill-8/#:~:text=It%20prohibits%20a%20physician%20from.