Abortion as a comic: "I have never regretted it"

Ms. Zejn, why do you need a comic about abortion?

Julia Schaaf

Editor in the "Life" section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

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Although abortions are very common, the topic is little talked about.

It is said that every fifth to sixth woman has an abortion in her life.

That is why it was important to me to tell a very ordinary everyday story.

It should not be about an emergency such as an act of violence or medical reasons.

Having a child just doesn't fit my protagonist at this point in time.

One thing is clear to Anja: it doesn't work.

Is this everyday life?

There is still no one hundred percent safe contraceptive.

You could also say: every woman who at the end of her fertile phase did not accidentally become pregnant at some point, was also lucky.

A demolition can be something that is simply a part of life.

Still, are the women alone with it?

I made a call on Facebook and Instagram and interviewed about 20 women for my book.

This has confirmed my perception that the topic is kept secret and that no one exchanges ideas.

Many women don't open up.

My protagonist and the women with whom I conducted interviews live in an educated bubble in the big city.

I think it's even less of a problem there than in rural areas.

There it can be difficult to even find a practice that will carry out the abortion.

How did the women you interviewed feel with their decision?

Actually, everyone got along well with it, except for one who would have loved to have a child but was urged to take this step by her boyfriend.

In retrospect, this woman was very sad.

Overall, my research has shown that an abortion is not something that will be regretted for a lifetime.

The women are sure of their decision.

And they feel good about the decision too.

That is something completely different from what is communicated to you socially.

Namely?

There are many prejudices: that you don't talk about it, that it is something bad, that it burdens you psychologically.

Probably simply because Section 218 is still in the Criminal Code.

After all, if something is considered a criminal offense, one has to feel guilty.

I grew up in a catholic village.

Even though my parents weren't particularly conservative or Catholic, I grew up thinking that abortion is a cruel act that you will regret for life.

Unfortunately, I can't even say where it came from, whether it was already communicated in school.

But I must have picked up that thought somewhere.

It was only as a grown woman that I understood that it didn't have to be that way.

Did your interviewees feel guilty?

No not at all.

Incidentally, this is also the finding that can be found in the literature on the subject: If the decision has been made without pressure, women can deal with it well.

The alleged "Post Abortion Syndrome", according to which an abortion brings about traumatic stress disorders similar to a war trauma, was invented by American anti-abortionists on the drawing board.

There is no scientific evidence for this clinical picture.

However, it is still communicated by anti-abortionists in order to scare women who are unintentionally pregnant.