Woman films her own abortion: even pro-choicers are appalled
Emily Letts, a 25-year-old American woman has filmed her own abortion in a bid to "show it wasn't scary". Dina Rickman, despite being passionately pro-choice, is far from impressed
It takes 37 seconds and four cutaways for Emily Letts to explain she’s having an abortion. First the fresh-faced American is in a car, sans make-up, vulnerable, before the scene switches and we see her dressed up, and smiling at the camera. Then she’s in a dark room. The footage is grainy, like it’s being filmed on a smartphone. Finally, Letts is sitting in what looks like her living room. The shot is a close-up, the atmosphere almost confessional. “Hi”, she says to the camera, breathlessly, before explaining that she’s a counsellor working in a US abortion clinic and she’s pregnant. Suddenly Letts is walking into a procedure room in a surgical gown and hat, ready to have a termination.
The three minute long non-graphic video was uploaded to YouTube in March, and went viral after winning an award for breaking abortion stigma. For some, it is a taboo-breaking, stigma-busting triumph for the pro-choice movement. US website Feministing called it an “important, useful intervention” and praised Letts for helping to demystify abortion. Predictably, pro-life bloggers are up in arms, with some calling Letts - who let’s remember is only 25 - a “witch from hell”. For me, it’s an awkward and uncomfortable watch - there is barely a second of the video that did not make me squirm.
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