On having an abortion as a Black woman

Over at Ebony, Tasha Fierce writes about her experience getting an abortion last month as a Black woman. 

Last month, I had an abortion.

I’ve been a strident advocate for a woman’s right to choose since I was a pre-teen, and it’s still difficult for me to say those words. So many assumptions about my life can be made on the basis of that admission, and the shame is real. For White women in American society, the shame of having an abortion is mainly centered on their individual behavior. For Black women, our behavior reflects on Black folks as a whole, specifically other Black women—so the scope of the shame is much wider. An unintended pregnancy can call your responsibility into question, and regardless of your age, the specter of the stereotypical Black teenage mother casts a long shadow.

As Fierce writes, Black women’s reproductive choices are so often subject to policing and shaming, creating a situation in which “we’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t.” Kudos to Fierce for fighting the stigma — and for yelling at those asshole anti-choice protestors trying to use her race to guilt her out of ending her pregnancy.