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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