Arizona for Abortion Access wants to destigmatize open discussion of abortion while being crystal clear with voters about what a ballot measure would do.
When Emma Burns, then a 19-year-old college student in Flagstaff, Arizona, found out she was pregnant with twins, she felt scared and alone.
Abortion wasn’t openly discussed in the rural community where she grew up, where the sole clinic provided abortions just one day a week. Arizona’s mandatory 24-hour waiting period required two separate visits. Still, Burns was ultimately able to obtain a medication abortion, a decision she said saved her life.
Now, Burns shares her experience as she gathers signatures for a proposed ballot measure that would enshrine a right to abortion in Arizona’s constitution. Telling her story, she said, puts a human face on the fight for abortion rights and has helped others in her community feel less alone.
“When I speak in Flagstaff about abortion, the aftermath is always astounding to me,” she said. “I will tell my story and I won’t sugarcoat it. It was uncomfortable, it was painful, it was scary. But it was the best decision and I would make it again, and I would continue to make that decision if that’s what served my future.”
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