Salon.com has a great piece today on the new surge of pro-choice activists and their not-so-traditional methods.

Author Laura Barcella focuses primarily on the controversial “I had an abortion” t-shirts put out by feminist Jennifer Baumgardner (who also is working on a film of the same name).

While this new unapologetic attitude has gotten a lot of criticism, I think it’s about goddamn time. The longer women give into the notion that abortion should be accompanied by shame and secrets, the harder the fight will be to protect choice.

The amazing Kathleen Hannah of Le Tigre says, “It sounds fucked up, but having an abortion was one of the best things I ever did…It was one of the first things I did on my own; I worked at McDonald's, raised the money and did it. I'm really, really passionate about pro-choice, because I wouldn't be here talking to you right now if I'd had a kid at 15.”

Now, why should that sound “fucked up?” Making a decision about your body and your future isn’t something that should be looked down upon.

The Salon article also discusses websites, such as imnotsorry.net, that provide a space for women to talk about their experiences openly. Founder of the site, Patricia Beninato, says that “it's the positive experiences that are being silenced, not the negative ones.”

Clearly the decision to have an abortion is a private one, and some women are just not going to want to talk about it. But by creating spaces and opportunities for open discussion, and by fostering an environment where we don't have to feel shame over our constitutional right, we are making an invaluable contribution to the fight for choice.