Although the abortion industry wants to say that abortion is not a decision women make lightly, the industry also wants to say that the decision is an “easy” one for many women, a decision in which they take pride. Both can’t be true, and for most post-abortive mothers, abortions are not easy and are certainly not something they will ever celebrate. That has not stopped the abortion industry and radical abortion activists from trying, yet again.
#ShoutYourAbortion began several years ago as an attempt to normalize and de-stigmatize abortion, with the founder of the movement claiming, “My abortion made me happy.” Post-abortive women are encouraged to share their stories, and #ShoutYourAbortion tends to highlight the stories that make abortion seem like an easy choice that is a positive good in women’s lives. Townhall reports that there is now a “Shout Your Abortion” book to further the agenda of the abortion promoting group.
The book tour has enlisted B-list celebrities to share their abortion stories. Celebrities’ stories have the power to shape people’s opinions perhaps even more than peers. Often, people look up to celebrities and admire more than their acting ability and good looks. When celebrities loudly “celebrate” their abortions, people are more likely to accept the lies they are being given by the likes of #ShoutYourAbortion. The truth is that abortion takes innocent human Life. The truth is that many mothers and fathers come to regret their abortion.
Using celebrity abortion stories to push for accepting abortion as something to praise makes a mockery of the pain and grief many people experience following an abortion decision. Tragically, the entertainment industry is notorious for coercing women into abortion. Many celebrities have discussed past abortions publicly, and their descriptions leave no doubt that ending the life of their preborn baby is not a decision they celebrate.
1) Nicki Minaj- In a 2014 interview with RollingStone, Minaj discussed an abortion she underwent as a teenager. She discovered she was pregnant while she was still a student at an elite high school for performing arts in New York. She told RollingStone, “I thought I was going to die. I was a teenager. It was the hardest thing I’d ever gone through.” She decided to undergo an abortion, which she says “haunted me all my life.” Although Minaj declares she supports abortion, there does not seem to be anything celebratory or empowering about a young teen who feels she has no alternative to undergoing an abortion that haunts her well into adulthood.
2) Sinead O’Connor- The eccentric performer has openly discussed an abortion she underwent following a painful breakup. O’Connor is candid that she did not want and abortion, but, like Minaj, she felt she had no choice. She has said in interviews, “I had become happily pregnant and was crazy about the father of the baby. But it didn’t go well between us. We argued a lot.” Feeling isolated, ill during the pregnancy, and uncertain about the future, O’Connor turned to abortion. O’Connor insists that she supports legalized abortion, but there is no doubt that the decision to end her child’s life in abortion was devastating. In her song, “My Special Child,” O’Connor commemorates the child lost to abortion, stating, “You were precious to me / After all I called you into being / I wanted you to know that / Yes, you were precious to me.”
3) Eminem- While not known if the story in Eminem’s song “River” is based on real-life experience or entirely fictional, the gripping emotional drama surrounding an abortion is hauntingly real and shows the emotional pain of fathers following abortion. The song, a collaboration between Eminem and Ed Sheeren tells the story of a dysfunctional relationship and an unplanned pregnancy. Eminem, the character in the song, pressures his girlfriend to choose abortion, and raps, “I can’t keep my lies straight, but I made you terminate my baby; This love triangle left us in a wreck, tangled.” Elsewhere in the song, he says, “What else can I say? It was fun for a while, bet I really woulda loved your smile, didn’t really wanna abort, but f*** it — what’s one more lie, to tell our unborn child?”
Mothers—and fathers—deserve to know that abortion is not their only option and they can choose Life for their child. Following an abortion, they deserve to know that their grief and pain will not be ignored and there is healing and hope. #ShoutYourAbortion is nothing but an ideologically-driven publicity stunt that ignores the real, and often very painful, human stories about abortion that don’t fit their narrative.
