Changing the Conversation: Abortion Onscreen
Abortion has been depicted on screen since the silent film era, but the stories told haven’t always reflected the real experiences of people who have and provide abortions. As creators and storytellers, Hollywood can have a consequential impact on how people who have abortions see themselves and their experiences, educating the general public on what happens during an abortion, and how they can offer support to their loved ones who need care. With your help, we can make sure the characters who have abortions on screen are as nuanced and varied as the people who have them in our communities.
Through our partnership with the Abortion Onscreen Project at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) at the University of California, San Francisco, We Testify and ANSIRH are proud to support creatives, writers, showrunners, directors, producers, and anyone who wants to represent people who have abortions on screen or on the page as they conduct research and create courageous characters.
Read our Guide and about our Abortion Onscreen Awards below.
On screen, characters having abortions have shifted over time to show more thoughtful, nuanced, and accurate depictions, but we still have more work to do. Hollywood can be a thoughtful partner in telling stories about abortion by reflecting the real people who have abortions every day. From showing how a character affords their abortions or how abortion is part of parenting decisions to depicting how common abortion is through conversations between characters or simply showing that queer and trans characters have abortions too, we can change the conversation to show the wide range of abortion experiences.
We Testify and the Abortion Onscreen Project have deep experience working with creators, writers, directors, and producers to talk through how Hollywood can make abortion depictions more accurate and reflective of our real abortions. Let us know how we can support you, from presentations and brainstorms with your writers’ rooms to supporting you as you develop your characters and narratives or learning the ins and outs of abortions. We’re here to help!
Abortion Onscreen
The Abortion Onscreen Awards
Abortion has been depicted on screen since the silent film era, but the stories told haven’t always reflected the real experiences of people who have and provide abortions. As creators and storytellers, Hollywood can have a consequential impact on how people who have abortions see themselves and their experiences, educating the general public on what happens during an abortion, and how they can offer support to their loved ones who need care.
In March 2022, We Testify and the Abortion Onscreen Project presented the first Abortion Onscreen Awards to recognize excellence in cinematic achievements of abortion depictions in television and films. The various category winners were awarded the "Mife Award,” and recognized on We Testify and ANSIRH’s social media.