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Group declares April ‘Abortion Wellbeing Month’

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April is not just the first full month of spring, apparently it is also the month people who have had abortions and their allies step back and recognize wellbeing.

This month is Abortion Wellbeing Month, according to the pro-choice, “pro-voice” group Exhale.

Four years ago, Exhale declared April “Abortion Wellbeing Month” — dedicating the entire month to raising awareness about encouraging wellness for women who have had an abortion.

“Understanding the whole picture of abortion in our lives is significant for our health and wellness after abortion,” the group’s founder and executive director Aspen Baker said in a statement. “Each of us is more than just one person with our own thoughts and feelings — we are members of our families and communities.”

“We’re in relationships. We experience nature. We share faith and spiritual beliefs. And abortion, while an event that happens in our body, is connected to so much more of who we are and what we believe in the world,” she added.

Exhale, which describes itself as the “premiere organization addressing the emotional health and wellbeing of women and men after abortion,” advocates for openness for those who have had abortions.

It seeks to hear and support all the feelings both women and men have after an abortion, which, according to the group, can range from feelings of sadness and loss to feelings of joy.

“This month brings us together, across our diverse abortion experiences, with our common need for understanding and wellbeing. We ask that our friends and family be there when we need them, without judgment and without blame,” Exhale explains about the month of April on its website.

The group offers a variety of ways people can recognize and participate in Abortion Wellbeing Month from sending an e-card to support somebody who has had an abortion to sharing personal stories about abortion, calling the Exhale “Talkline” to talk about abortion with a counselor, and raising awareness on social media.

The group is also promoting a poem for the month on its website by “Pro-Voice Fellow” Kate Hindman titled “After an Abortion…”

“It’s okay to think you killed your baby/It’s okay to feel like you have a second chance at life/It’s okay to feel empowered/It’s okay to feel grief/It’s okay to think you made the best choice/It’s okay to think you made the worst choice,” the poem begins, concluding that any and every emotion is okay after an abortion, regardless of the circumstance.

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Caroline May