SYA worked with Detroit-based, Korean-born director Na Forest Lim to make a series of short, powerful films that demystify abortion pills and encourage people to keep them on hand.
Even if they make telemedicine illegal, even if they ban mifepristone, even if there’s a national abortion ban, we’re still going to be having abortions and helping each other have abortions. Fundamentally, it is unstoppable.
Amelia Bonow, Shout Your Abortion
The grassroots abortion-stigma-busting juggernaut Shout Your Abortion has released two new powerful public service announcements urging people across the U.S. to order abortion pills in advance to have on hand, in case they have an unwanted pregnancy.
Made by Detroit-based filmmaker Na Forest Lim, the short films follow two women—a teenager named Dani and a single mother in her 30s named Poppy—who find out they are pregnant and use abortion pills at home, supported by friends and family.
Both of the main characters have easy access to abortion pills: Dani’s friend arrives with pills in her backpack, and Poppy keeps a pack tucked away in her top dresser drawer.
Building on that vision of easy access, the Dani PSA shows what it looks like when abortion pills are already part of teenagers’ lives and a pregnancy never has the chance to become a crisis.
“The PSA with Dani depicts a world where a teenager finds out she’s pregnant, and it’s not a huge emergency,” said Amelia Bonow of Shout Your Abortion, which works to destigmatize abortion. “It’s not a struggle, because her friend has pills in her backpack. It’s not the worst thing that’s ever happened. It’s a thing that happens that they get through together.”
Both PSAs direct viewers to YouAlwaysHaveOptions.com, a website created by SYA with information on how to obtain abortion pills in all 50 states, regardless of restrictions, as well how to find medical and legal support resources related to self-managed abortion.
“We want people to know they can get free or deeply discounted pills in the mail in a matter of days,” said Bonow. “That is a totally good option, and not even just as a last resort.”
YouAlwaysHaveOptions.com directs people to Plan C, which offers clear, up-to-date information about telehealth providers and online vendors that provide advance provision abortion pills starting at $65.
In a landscape dominated by fear and restriction, the campaign insists on showing the reality that already exists outside those constraints.
“These PSAs depict a reality that is available to us right now, but that most people just simply haven’t known to be possible,” said Bonow. “By showing it, we help bring it into existence.”
The reality these PSAs portray is supported by decades of data showing that abortion pills are safe and very effective. Medication abortion successfully terminates first trimester pregnancies 99.6 percent of the time, with a 0.4 percent risk of major complications and an associated mortality rate of less than 0.001 percent (0.00064 percent)—lower than common over-the-counter medications.
About two thirds of abortions are now done with medications used at home, and one quarter are done by telehealth. Privacy, convenience and affordability are the primary reasons women prefer to obtain abortion pills by mail.
Poppy’s story reflect a growing trend: an increasing number of healthcare providers are prescribing abortion pills in advance of pregnancy. Advance provision abortion pills can significantly shorten the time between the decision to end a pregnancy and having an abortion by short circuiting the obstacle course to abortion access that exists in many states. When stored in a cool, dry place, abortion pills remain effective for up to two years, making advance provision a realistic option for many households.
For Bonow, advance provision is central to what “liberated” abortion access looks like:
“If you imagine what truly liberated abortion access might look like, I think about people just having pills in their homes. And that is a reality right now. But the vast majority of people, even those who know that abortion pills are a thing, haven’t considered that they can take steps to make that reality for their household happen right now.”
The films are designed not just to raise awareness about abortion pills, but to encourage people to obtain pills in advance, says Bonow:
“If even a fraction of the people would just go out and get a set of pills to keep at home, and make it known to some number of people in their lives that they have those pills and are prepared to share them, that would change the face of abortion access. If these medications are just in our medicine cabinets, abortion is normalized. You can’t put that back in the bag.”
SYA has teamed up with Plan C and a Michigan abortion fund—the Hydra Mutual Aid Fund—to air the PSAs on primetime television in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (UP), one of many abortion care deserts in the U.S. where people often have to travel hours for in-clinic care, even in blue states like Michigan. The local campaign also includes a billboard along U.S. highway 41 outside of Marquette, thousands of information postcards mailed to residents throughout the peninsula and a regional access guide.
“Beginning this campaign in Michigan is meant to remind us: Pills by mail, and in advance, are not only for red states! They’re an essential link in the many regions without adequate clinic access,” says Shout Your Abortion.
Faced with growing legal restrictions and an uncertain future for reproductive rights, many are ordering advance provision abortion pills as a proactive solution for autonomy, safety and peace of mind. Between September 2021 and April 2023, over 40,000 people requested advance provision abortion pills, reflecting a rapidly growing demand for this option.
Those numbers, Bonow argues, show that people are already building an abortion access system that does not run solely through traditional institutions. “Access to safe medications does not depend on laws or courts or doctors,” said Bonow. “Early abortion access is in our hands now because these medications are widely available outside of medical systems—revolutionizing access to abortion before our very eyes.”
Research reveals women’s motivations for ordering abortion pills in advance include concerns about growing legal restrictions, a desire for a backup plan, the need to avoid health risks and and a determination to take back control in an increasingly hostile abortion landscape.
Early abortion access is in our hands now because these medications are widely available outside of medical systems—revolutionizing access to abortion before our very eyes.
Amelia Bonow
Bonow sees the growing use of advance provision as one of the few hopeful developments in a political climate where abortion access is under constant attack.
“In this political moment, it feels like really good news to show people that this is possible, right now, no matter what,” said Bonow. “Even if they make telemedicine illegal, even if they ban mifepristone, even if there’s a national abortion ban, we’re still going to be having abortions and helping each other have abortions. Fundamentally, it is unstoppable.”
Bonow hopes the PSAs will help normalize abortion and encourage people to order abortion pills in advance to have on hand in case they ever find themselves with a pregnancy they cannot or do not want to continue.
“In this world where so much is so out of our control, especially politically, getting abortion pills to have around is a proactive thing that could change someone’s life in a profound way,” said Bonow. “If a critical mass of people were to take that step, we’d live in a different world.”
Shout Your Abortion hopes to raise $100,000 to distribute their PSAs far and wide on YouTube and other streaming platforms. To support this work, donate here.
Great Job Carrie N. Baker & the Team @ Ms. Magazine Source link for sharing this story.
