According to the World Health Organization, almost half of all pregnancies worldwide are unintended (https://www.who.int/health-topics/abortion). Around 60% of unintended pregnancies are terminated. Although it is considered a human right for a person to decide for themselves whether or not to carry a child to term, abortions are still highly stigmatized and - as in Germany - often criminalized. The women concerned are often accused of being insensitive and irresponsible. Against this backdrop, there are various initiatives to break the silence surrounding abortions and talk about abortion experiences in the media. For example, the "We had an abortion" (“Wir haben abgetrieben”) campaign in the magazine "Stern" in 1972 was influential. As part of the EMSA research project (https://www.tu-ilmenau.de/mpmd/research/emsa) funded by the Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA), the Media Psychology and Media Design Group at Technische Universität Ilmenau compiled a current overview of public speaking about personal abortion experiences. Both mass media and social media are covered and positive as well as negative effects are addressed.
Döring, N. & Schumann-Doermer, C. (2023). Öffentliches Sprechen über persönliche Abtreibungserfahrungen: Zwischen Empowerment und Disempowerment [Public Speaking about Personal Abortion Experiences: Between Empowerment and Disempowerment]. Zeitschrift für Sexualforschung, 36(04), 223-232. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-2191-9640