Introducing: Our Community Members’ Stories Series

At inroads, we are proud to nurture movement leaders and grassroots organizations across the globe who are at the forefront of advancing abortion justice. This blog series highlights stories from both long-term and brand-new inroads community members, showcasing the collective power of their work and the impact of the inroads community.

Through these testimonies, we aim to amplify their leadership and highlight the importance of resourcing community building & grassroots movements and the critical role they play in advancing reproductive justice.

The Journey to Create 2+ Abortions to Break the Silence and Fight the Stigma

Karen is a retired elementary school teacher’s assistant who lived with the secret of her two abortions for many decades. Although her abortions allowed her to live a wonderful life, the shaming messages in our culture and the isolated silence those messages pushed her into hurt her for decades.

Like many people who have abortions, Karen grew up believing that she was the only one who had needed more than one abortion – and that it was an unspeakable shame. Today, Karen is at the forefront of breaking that silence and fighting stigma through her work with the collective, 2+ Abortions .

Her journey from isolation to activism is a powerful example of how community, connection, and digital advocacy can transform personal experiences into a force for change. Follow along for more on her story, with all italicized quotes from our member chat with Karen!

Image from Karen. She is the front row at the right, as shared by her “humbled & honored to be standing with the powerful leaders of Access Reproductive Care-Southeast.”

Impacted by Abortion Stigma

Karen had her first abortion when she was just 13 years old – at a time when she didn’t even understand sex or pregnancy. Her parents quietly arranged for the abortion, and after it happened, it was never spoken about again.

“It was hush-hush. Nobody talked about it. My parents never mentioned it again. It was like it never happened—but I felt totally changed.”

Years later, in college, she found herself in an unhealthy relationship and became pregnant again. Her boyfriend at the time dropped her off at an abortion clinic and left. She had a second abortion – but this time, the shame and stigma weighed even more heavily on her.

“I truly believed I was the only person to have had one abortion, and even worse, the only person to have had two.”

Growing up in the Deep South of the United States, Karen was surrounded by a culture where abortion was deeply stigmatized. For years, even up till she became a grandmother herself, Karen never told anyone about her abortion experiences – not even to her husband. The fear of being judged that she had grown up with made her feel like she could never fully be herself in relationships.

“I always felt like, if people knew this about me, would they hate me? It felt like all my relationships were fake or just not authentic.” 

For decades, Karen carried this burden of secrecy, believing she was alone.

Finding Community and Purpose

Everything changed when Karen’s son introduced her to Twitter, as it was known at the time. As she explored the website, she stumbled upon an ongoing thread about abortion, which led her to the work of ANSIRH at the University of California, San Francisco, where she discovered ongoing research on abortion stigma.

“Wow. Someone actually studies stigma? This is amazing. I want to share my experience, and if I can help reduce stigma, I want to do that.”

That realization and further internet research then led her to inroads, a global network of individuals and organizations working to reduce abortion stigma. She became an inroads member and followed an inroads conversation on Twitter around 2023, where activists from around the world were discussing stigma reduction strategies. She was captivated by the discussions and found herself drawn into the movement and network.

“I got involved in inroads just by pure luck and chance—and thank goodness for the Internet for that.”

Since first speaking publicly about her abortions in 2014, Karen has felt a deep moral obligation to use her privilege and voice to help end abortion stigma and protect abortion access for others, which she does in many ways.

By joining inroads and other abortion justice community spaces online, she was able to connect with people from around the world who were also working to dismantle abortion stigma. Although she has not been able to attend an inroads in-person gathering yet, Karen has found endless community and encouragement through inroads’ online spaces for community connection and members’ communication. In her, inroads has also found a dedicated member and passionate online voice of many years, for which we remain grateful!

“Inroads really helped me connect with a lot of people in the U.S. and globally. It gave me a sense of belonging and showed me I wasn’t alone.”

Inspired by the stigma-busting movement that she found with inroads, Karen has since tirelessly channeled her energy into destigmatizing and supporting people who have experienced 2+ abortions, as well as fighting the stigma of abortions – including championing the use of the plural (i.e. “abortionS” rather than “abortion”) when speaking about abortions.

Creating 2+ Abortions: A Safe & Transformative Space

Karen founded 2+ Abortions to challenge the stigma surrounding having more than one abortion and provide a safe space for those who, like her, felt isolated by stigma. The website provides validation, support, and resources for people who have had more than one abortion, reassuring them that their experiences are common and valid.

An infographic taken from the 2plusabortions.com website.

Currently, Karen also volunteers with OARS (Online Abortion Resource Squad) through the Reddit platform, where she offers emotional support to people seeking abortion care and access through the associated threads. In her approaches, she always emphasizes the importance of using compassion and providing reassurance to help people process their emotions and feel less alone in their abortion journeys.

“Most of my activism has been online, but it’s very gratifying. I hear from people who say my work has helped them, and that means everything to me.”

Through 2+ Abortions, OARS, and leveraging the connections made online in spaces like the inroads community, Karen is transforming abortion narratives globally – proving that abortion stigma can be dismantled in diverse and age-defying ways, as a full-time grandmother now to her grandchildren.

At inroads, we are proud to share Karen’s member story, honoring her tireless passion and advocacy that breaks boundaries in multiple ways while connecting with others online. We invite you to check out her website to find out more and to see how you can contribute to destigmatizing abortions in your everyday life.

👉 Visit 2+ Abortions to learn more: www.2plusabortions.com

You can hear more about her story in places like the Abortion, with Love Podcast (also founded by a powerful inroads community member) and in the Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights.