"Self-Induced Abortion in the United States:" Comment

This is one topic that I was startlingly unaware of, especially the fact that “1 out of 10 abortions [are] self induced,” I was blown away by this 2018 statistic, but the more I think back to our module on abortion, the more melancholic I become when thinking about the sheer volume of women that feel so backed into a corner, so to speak, that they would risk such intervention. Yet, it would be wrong to judge women for this consequence as it remains such a contested issue in society that it actually becomes less surprising that women still seek risky alternatives. Reading this, I felt transported back to pre-1972, when women often risked their lives seeking an abortion to avoid severe social stigma for what can only be deemed a natural act. Today, the responsibility still falls on women to “take care of the situation,” and those women who as you said “are mostly minorities or of low income” most likely see no other alternative than self-mutilation. It is sad when a society’s prejudices impact women’s choices so extensively. I think adding more appropriate links and media will augment the page significantly. For example, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyFJjrrAhT0 which focuses on how states with stricter abortion laws (hence, higher stigma) have a higher rate of self-induced abortions. There are also some testimonials online by women who have carried out their own abortions, here is one example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esT4WGbt9h8. You could also contrast that with testimonial from women who self-induced abortion before the 1972 Roe vs. Wade, and example of which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSP2zh1CnnE, which shows how there is still so much work to be done as things have not changed as drastically as I would have hoped by 2018.