By Jeremiah Rivera
The battle on whether taxpayers should fund abortions has been a topic on social media after several federal officials threatened to “de-fund” Planned Parenthood in September. The hashtag Shout Your Abortion has become the latest chapter in the lengthy argument.
Writer Lindy West recently tweeted her views on the idea of abortions and how it ought to be something that should not be whispered about or shrouded in secrecy.
West is a writer and film critic who won the 2013 Women’s Media Center “Social Media” award. She wrote a post for the Guardian’s website explaining why she started the campaign.
“I set up #ShoutYourAbortion because I am not sorry, and I will not whisper,” said West. “I realized that, even among my pro-choice friends, I never, ever talk about my abortion. We need to chip away at stigma, at lies, at the climate of shame.”
On a male to female ratio at York the student body for females is 66.1 percent compared to males at 33.9 percent, according to collegefactual.com. York College students are involved with several Twitter debates over the rights of women to control their own bodies. Pro-life advocates counter on Twitter with messages on Shout Your Murder.
With the campaign getting more popular, some women are now empowered, and outspoken on the subject as opposed to past years when the negative stigma of abortion was more vocalized.
“I’m not surprised that something like that would develop on the back this,” said the Director of the Women’s Center Ebonie Jackson.“Everyone is entitled to express their opinion so in theory I’m okay with it. I don’t agree, but I’m okay.”
West shared a Facebook link to a post from another writer Amelia Bonow. Bonow’s post also talks about the liberation of having the freedom of not being forced into
motherhood. “My abortion was in 2010 and the career I’ve built since then fulfills me and makes me better able to care for kids I have now,” said West.
“It’s brave of these women to first of all to share something private and intimate, especially since there’s such a stigma attached to it,” added Cheyenne Hamilton, a member of the Women’s Center at York College. “It’s such a judgment that’s always been seen as if you have an abortion you’re just an awful person.”
Republicans are vowing to reject any proposal that includes public money for Planned Parenthood. The Congressional Budget Office released a statement saying that cutting off the Women’s Health Organization from federal money would actually increase public spending by an estimated $130 million over years.
Planned Parenthood receives $500 million annually from the government. Planned Parenthood came into the spotlight this past summer after an anti-abortion group called Center for Medical Progress and Live Action released several videos showing employees discussing the logistics of fetal tissue donation and reinvigorated the national debate over abortion.
