Guest Author - Candance Gordon

I first heard about “Our Truths” magazine when I was reading an issue of “Hip Mama” and read a review of their current humor issue. Humor about abortion? Really? Of course, I had to check it out.

“Our Truths” was started in Mexico City in 2004 as a grassroots project. Now, the public project for the after-abortion counseling talk line Exhale, it’s the only bilingual abortion magazine published in the U.S. According to the mission statement on this bi-yearly magazine’s website, their goal is to “transform the divisive social climate that surrounds abortion by creating a public space for women to share their stories”. Like their publisher Exhale, “Our Truths” calls their abortion stance pro-voice, not pro-choice.

The magazine does give women a forum to express their opinions and share their stories on the issue of abortion. In their current Winter edition, women look at using humor to deal with the stress and pain associated with the difficult decision to have an abortion and how people react to trying to “lighten the mood” on the subject. It’s all about humor, whether about selling your eggs, dealing with stereotypes of women who have abortions or therapy through laughing yoga. I thought the stories were well-written and provided a unique perspective on our different ways of coping, even though they were a little hard to follow because each story in presented in both English and Spanish.

To me, Chrissy Hyre’s article, “Not What You’re Expecting” was by far the most interesting. She shares the story of anonymous blogger, N, and her controversial blog, “What to Expect When You’re Aborting” where, using humor, sarcasm and honesty, she recounted her own pregnancy and abortion and the aftermath. According to the article, many women sent N their own funny abortion stories, and offered compassion. But one of her critics launched a personal attack against her and her family, revealing her full name as well as the name of her parents, and even named her employer. N and her mother began receiving death threats and the blog was archived for a while. It was a very jarring reminder of how polarizing abortion is in this country and how dangerous it continues to be for women and their families.

I was pretty impressed with this magazine, but more than anything I think it’s an important publication for women and for the pro-choice movement. It’s one of the few places where we can share our stories and receive support from women just like us.

Make sure to check out the “Our Truths” website to read back issues of the magazine and also make sure to visit the Exhale website to learn more about their valuable services and how you can get involved.