Roslyn Banish: Focus on Abortion

3rd Floor Gallery

 Focus on Abortion: Americans Share Their Stories introduces the often-missing 

and most important element in our national conversation: the voices of those 

who have experienced abortion. The goal of this project is to widen public 

understanding of abortion, to promote civil discourse around this dangerously polarizing issue, and to reduce the profound stigma that surrounds it.

Few people talk about their abortions, so many Americans will be surprised to learn that one out of four women in the United States will terminate a pregnancy during their reproductive years. Of the fifty people who will be featured in this project once completed, most have had an abortion and all others are close to the experience, whether partners, friends, relatives, counselors, or professionals who provide abortion care. Each participant is represented by a photographic portrait and a first-person narrative. The stories shared here have the potential to deepen public understanding of abortion. As we learned from the Civil Rights and Gay Rights movements, strongly held beliefs can evolve and even change radically when we are 

confronted by others’ personal stories.

The subjects of these portraits come from diverse socio-economic backgrounds and generations. They live in urban, suburban, and rural areas throughout 

America, and together they provide a broad, multi-dimensional, and poignant picture of abortion in our country. These narratives touch on the breadth of circumstances leading up to the decision to end a pregnancy, the person’s ability to access healthcare, and their life after abortion.

Together these stories—which resist easy categorization—make a powerful 

argument: that individuals deserve the right to make their own decisions about their health and well-being, to decide if and when to have a child.

This exhibit of eight photographs is a work-in-progress; when complete, the project will be published as a book and will also travel as an exhibit to 

community venues. Please note that while the book format will accommodate in-depth narratives, the text represented here is excerpted from the full 

interviews. Three images here offer you the chance to listen to the broader story as an edited audio file by calling the number below the photograph.

Roslyn Banish, photographer and author, uses photographs and text to explore human issues. She received a master’s degree in Photography from the Institute of Design, Chicago, and has taught photography in England, Italy and the United States. Her work has been exhibited in England and the U.S. Published works are referenced on www.focusonabortion.org

This project received a Seed Support grant from the Abortion Conversation Projects to reduce abortion stigma.