"There are so many other people other than women who have abortions."
He's a trans man, and he had an abortion. Here's why he's sharing his story ...
He's a trans man, and he had an abortion. Here's why he's sharing his story ...
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00:00When we think about the very specific idea that abortion access is a women's issue,
00:06that's hurtful because there are so many other people other than women who have abortions.
00:13Had I not been given access to an abortion, I'm not sure that I would be here today.
00:31When I was a junior in college in 2001, it was usually a rule that I wouldn't walk outside
00:40by myself at night, would always have a friend with me, but that night I didn't. I was
00:49sexually assaulted by four men. One of the things that came of it was an unwanted pregnancy.
00:58I often say my abortion saved my life because at the time that I got the abortion,
01:04I was suicidal, I was depressed. This person that was on staff heard me and heard my cry
01:14for help and set me up at a rape crisis center. I didn't realize how expensive it was going to be,
01:23and so I ended up having to get a payday loan because it was $300, I still remember,
01:27and I think I ended up paying about $1,000 to pay that loan back.
01:37At the time, I was identifying as a cis woman, but I was masculine presenting. When I went
01:44to the clinic and told them that I was pregnant, I don't know if it was actually them
01:52like giggling or like looking at me funny, or if it was my anxiety that made me feel like that's
01:59what was happening, but you could kind of feel the tension like you don't belong here. Inclusive and
02:06affirming reproductive health care is important because had I gone to the clinic and somebody
02:13said, hey, like, what do you want to call these different parts of your body as we talk about
02:18them, that question might have changed my life. It would have let me know that there is
02:25a wide variety of people who are welcome here, including me.
02:34I didn't expect to still be one of the only
02:38Black trans men talking about having abortions this late in the game.
02:53You never know who you are talking to or who your message is reaching. If your message is
03:00reaching someone who is trans and it's not inclusive, it tells that trans person that
03:07they're not welcome in the space that you're curating. When you say it's a women's issue,
03:13it makes it seem as if trans people don't exist or if non-binary people don't exist.
03:18That is one of the most easily recognizable manifestations of transphobia is erasure.