Abortion clinic worker Emily Letts filmed herself having an abortion to show women that there is such a thing as a positive abortion story. Letts’ video went viral after winning a video contest sponsored by the Abortion Care Network, which aims to combat the stigma surrounding voluntary termination of a pregnancy. The video has amassed over 430,000 views and the share of comments ranges from supportive to outraged.
“Hey! I’m pregnant,” a smiling 25-year-old Letts says toward the beginning of the clip. She lets out an uneasy laugh and then a long sigh before announcing, “I’m going to be having an abortion tomorrow morning.” The three-minute non-graphic video follows Letts through her decision to terminate, terminating her first pregnancy of about two to three weeks, and her thoughts afterward. The footage shows the quick procedure being performed, while Letts hums and breathes through the procedure, assuring herself that she is a strong woman. After the procedure is performed by her co-workers at the Cherry Hill Women’s Center in New Jersey, Letts looks directly into the camera to explain she doesn’t feel like a bad person or guilty about ending her unwanted pregnancy because she knew it was right for her.
In a candid piece with Cosmopolitan, Letts delves further into abortion procedures and the reasoning for her own. She points out that while searching the Internet, she was unable to find any videos showing the procedure. While she aimed to inspire others, she knew her co-workers wouldn’t escape backlash for her willingness to share her story. She admits in the article that she couldn’t sleep after posting, for fear of people judging her for revealing something so intimate. What Letts didn’t expect is that people would start telling her about their own stories. Overall she writes, “I am grateful that I can share my story and inspire other women to stop the guilt.”