FAQs

“D&C” means “dilation and curettage,” which is a surgical procedure used for abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy. It is also the procedure used to treat many miscarriages in the first trimester. In states with abortion bans, some doctors are hesitating to perform this safe and common procedure because they fear losing their licenses or going to prison.

I use the term to signify that most people who can get pregnant use the word “woman” to identify themselves, but some trans or nonbinary people, for example, may not.

The “+” also signifies the loved ones who suffer when someone is denied an abortion. The corollary is that, in the words of Sarah Schulman, “Abortion is a collective experience.” “[A]long with the one in four American women who have had abortions, the people in their lives and extended communities have also benefited. Abortion is actually a collective experience of autonomy that is good for both individuals and for society. . . . `We had an abortion’ is the appropriate response accompanying an image of the multigenerational, multigender group surrounding an abortion” (The Fantasy and Necessity of Solidarity 60-61).

Search the National Network of Abortion Funds to help women+ get access to abortion care.

Sign up for independent journalist Jessica Valenti’s Substack newsletter Abortion, Every Day or follow Jessica on social media.

Read more stories of how abortion bans are affecting people’s lives at Abortion in America.