When I worked at Planned Parenthood, one of my job duties was to talk to patients about abortion. And one thing that I was always struck by was how seriously the women to whom I spoke took the decision. It was never impetuous or hasty, but a hard choice. The choice that these women decided was best for them.

These experiences are probably the reason why this recent story caught my eye: a woman in Florida, Angie Jackson, made the decision to have a medication abortion (also known as the abortion pill), for a few reasons that are outlined in this article. Then she decided to tweet it, in real-time.

Jackson’s reasons for tweeting her abortion are twofold: first, she aimed to demystify the abortion process. Second, she felt that using Twitter was the only way for her to “get the support she needed.” I can understand both of these reasons. The concept of abortion is discussed so often in our culture, but almost always as a controversy, and very rarely as an actual medical procedure. As a result, it seems that women can think of abortion in frightening or macabre terms. And, again in my experiences, it can be hard for individuals to see through all the misinformation and view the procedure for what it actually is. In regards to Jackson’s second reason, having a support system is an extremely important part of the process of having an abortion… just like it is with any medical procedure. And I am glad that Jackson was able to get the support that she needed.

As you can probably imagine, Jackson received quite the backlash from her decision. After creating a Twitter hashtag (#livetweetingabortion), individuals outside of her followers could begin tracking Jackson’s tweets. And some of them had incredibly harsh things to say to her. According to the linked article (and not correcting for spelling or grammar), one user wrote: “Scorpion mothers will grab one of their children from their backs and eat it if she gets hungry. So u’re @ the same level?” Another simply told Jackson: “u’ve been an advocate 4death 4 aLongTime.”

While I will admit to having mixed feelings about Jackson’s decision to tweet her experiences (mainly because I’m not convinced that controversial types of advocacy are always worth the backlash that typically ensues), I remain, as always, somewhat amazed by the level of vitriol that anti-choicers direct towards women who choose to have abortions. For a group of people who talk about being open to and welcoming humans in all “forms,” they sure can have a difficult time practicing what they preach. And as I said above, while I do understand that abortion by its very nature tends to be controversial, such vindictiveness aimed towards a woman who is undergoing a legal medical procedure is disturbing. And it’s always a slippery slope. What’s next? Are anti-choicers going to begin to violently attack women who speak about their birth control use? Or men who openly discuss getting a vasectomy?

The anonymity of the Internet generally brings out the worst in people, as the odds of someone being held accountable for their words are low. Even with that in mind however, whenever I see or hear people verbally attack a woman for her choice to have an abortion… I can’t help but think of those women I used to talk to when I worked at Planned Parenthood. The women who struggled to make the best choice they could. They didn’t deserve that kind of abuse. And, despite possible disagreements about her method of advocacy… neither does Angie Jackson.

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