Mainstream Media on Abortion

Glamour Magazine has a great piece on abortion up this month. While many feminist and reproductive rights publications write about this issue over and over again, this is the first piece I've seen in a glossy magazine to give such a balanced and thoughtful take on the issue. The whole thing is definitely a must-read, but one of my favorite parts was this intro:

In the end there’s little drama to the procedure, but that doesn’t make it a simple experience. How could it be, when abortion inspires culture-quaking political and religious debates and feels too charged to discuss, even woman to woman? “No one talks about abortion on a personal level—there’s too much stigma attached,” says Aspen Baker, the cofounder of Exhale, an after-abortion counseling help line.

In a perfect world, no woman would ever need to end a pregnancy. But in reality, one in three women will have at least one abortion by the time she is 45, and these women run the gamut of ages, races, backgrounds and beliefs. “I’ve seen every type of woman in my office, from Catholics to Muslims to mothers with three kids,” says Dr. Oyer. “I’ve even treated someone I recognized—because I’d seen her before, protesting right outside my clinic.”

Let's hope this fair and balanced take on the issue is a sign of the times, and that there are many more pieces like this to come..