http://youtu.be/m1DhscWRT9w
Despite all the pro-choice rallying in our country and around the world, it can still be hard for women to come out and speak openly on the topic of abortion. In light of that, and other obstacles to women’s reproductive health, Jemima Kirke, of GIRLS fame, has featured in a new video where she candidly talks about her experience of an abortion during her college years.
Whilst it’s easy to mentally file this video under ‘the U.S. health system be fucked‘, monetary barriers to abortion also exist here in AU.
Generally speaking, Medicare or private health insurance usually only partially cover abortive procedures. As most states only offer terminations in private clinics, patients generally pay some out of pocket expenses. A 2012 paper by Sexual Health and Family Planning Australia estimated the cost of an abortion to vary between $600 and $2000 depending on a large array of factors including which state the woman sought the procedure in.
Jemima reflects, “the tricky part, is that we think we do have free choice and we are able to do whatever we want. But then there are these little hoops we have to jump through to get them.”
Kirke’s PSA forms part of the US Draw the Line campaign, which Meryl Streep and Amy Poehler have also put their names to.
