*All participants have been anonymised. 

**This work recognises the difficulties and trauma that can be associated with seeking abortion care in any circumstances and in no way aims to diminish or challenge that.  

Abortion access is fragile and many people around the world are still forced to travel for abortion healthcare. As we see a rise in restrictions, ongoing abortion bans, and gestational limitations, the need for logistical and emotional support for abortion seekers is more urgent than ever. Sharing personal accounts with peers, and for others to bear witness to, is a powerful act of solidarity. Lived experience has the power to uplift and empower, build solidarity, and destigmatise.  

In the lead up to the 2018 referendum to repeal the Eighth, an Amendment to the Irish constitution that banned abortion in the country, the ‘In Her Shoes: Women of the Eighth’ Facebook page was founded. It was created to inform public opinion ahead of the referendum by creating a platform for people to share their lived experience of abortion-seeking under the 8^th amendment and encouraging people to ‘take a walk in her shoes’. But it became much more than that – people were able to share their experiences for the first time, connect with peers and build a community space for healing.  

 ‘What we didn’t anticipate was the level of outpouring – the vital need for women that have been shamed or stigmatised, that have been living with a secret, to finally bring it to the light. Healing, and a weight lifted, “I am not alone”. “I am not a criminal”.’  
In Her Shoes page moderator

Abortion Support Network’s #ITravelled campaign is part of this mission to destigmatise abortions. ASN have created a space for people forced to travel for abortion care ‘to share and be heard, and to bear witness for those who should have been able to access abortion care at home – but instead were forced to travel’. The campaign will include a story sharing archive, collecting and collating people’s first-hand abortion travel stories.  

In a world where abortion stigma pervades, being forced to travel for essential healthcare can add an additional layer of shame or isolation for abortion seekers. For many, the journey to a clinic overseas, or in a different city, is a harsh reminder of the reality that their reproductive autonomy is not a given. 

My PhD research in the Sociology of Reproduction explores the affective dimension of travel from Ireland for abortion care, focusing on shame, shaming, and stigma.  

I know first-hand from my own experience of travelling for abortion care, and from the expereinces of my research participants, that secrecy around abortion travel can lead to a negative self-image, social isolation, shame and stigma.  

Abortion secrecy can ‘distance women from needed social-emotional support’*. One of my participants, Fiadh*, put it perfectly when she reflected, ‘I just think the secrecy feeds the shame … And it’s just a very dark, vicious circle’. 

_{* Kate Cockrill and Adina Nack ‘“I’m Not That Type of Person”: Managing the Stigma of Having an Abortion’, 2013.} 

Difficulties of abortion travel 

For those forced to travel for care, the barriers to accessing abortion are greater than those faced by women and people who need abortions where it is accessible to them. Added challenges can include:  

• financial constraints, (some of those I spoke to had difficulty even raising the money to make an international phone call),  
• logistical considerations,
• conscientious objection,
• information barriers and censorship,
• stigma,
• delayed access meaning that second trimester abortions are more common,
• and increased secrecy and shaming.

The physical journey is a barrier in itself, with participants recalling that they felt ‘drained’, ‘exhausted’, ‘sick as a dog’, and ‘trapped in a moment of anxiety’. Bronagh, a study participant who had to travel, said, ‘I felt making people travel for [abortion] is so unnecessary. It’s a punishment. It’s about making it harder’.  

These difficulties are compounded by the stress of navigating unfamiliar healthcare systems, potential language barriers, and varying legal landscapes, all of which can increase fear, anxiety and stress for the abortion seeker. On top of everything else, there’s the emotional burden that the secrecy, stigma and isolation imposed on people who are forced to travel. These factors mean support and solidarity for people who travel is even more important, as they are unable to rely on local support networks. 

One of my participants, Niamh, said ‘it was very secret. I had to say I was going away and I had to lie when I came back. People were like, ‘Oh, how did you get on?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, great yeah’ and I wasn’t great. I was in a fucking clinic having an abortion. It wasn’t great. It was a nightmare. When I travelled, I was so paranoid because it was such a secret.’  

Storytelling for Healing, Empowerment and Peer-to-Peer Witnessing 

Storytelling has long been a powerful healing tool and a way to connect and share knowledge and support with our peers, particularly in bearing witness to experiences that exist in the margins of society. These connections are crucial to remind women and people who have travelled for abortions that they aren’t alone. Sharing abortion travel stories creates a sense of solidarity, reduces stigma and normalises the process of seeking abortion care. This is a crucial part of the larger reproductive justice movement. 

‘It has helped me in that respect as well as helping me to be able to manage my emotions a little bit better. Certainly, the talking and writing about it has been amazing’.
Caoilfhoinn, abortion travel study participant

Carrie Rentschler, a feminist media studies scholar, highlighted how social media platforms can foster mutual support and emotional connection in her work on rape culture. She argued that the ‘response-ability’ of certain social media and websites enables mutual support, sharing of experiences, and witnessing – all of which make it harder to deny those lived experiences. 

In the same way, in the ‘radical sharing’ of taboo experiences like abortion care we can create a “politics of care” that promotes solidarity and emotional support. Aine put it perfectly when she told me, ‘it’s extremely cathartic for me to talk about it you know? To be seen as well as to be heard. To be listened to. It’s massive’.  

For people forced to travel for abortions, telling their story is not just about sharing facts, it’s about reclaiming their agency and voice. It’s about saying, ‘This is my experience, and it matters.’ The act of sharing personal stories helps people see that they are not alone in their experiences. It normalises and destigmatises abortion, and abortion travel, and reminds others who may be going through something similar that their feelings are valid. 

There’s something incredibly powerful about hearing from someone who has been through the same thing you’re going through. That’s why peer-to-peer sharing is such a critical part of the journey for people seeking cross-border abortion care. When someone shares their experience of navigating abortion travel, it offers both practical advice, emotional support and a sense of solidarity.  

Destigmatising Abortion: One Story at a Time 

Ultimately, the power of story sharing is in breaking down the walls of stigma and shame that surround abortion and travel for abortion care. By sharing stories and witnessing each other’s experiences, we are challenging the negative portrayals of abortion, normalising the process, and building peer support. Abortion is not a shameful secret, it’s an essential medical procedure, and a deeply personal choice that people make for many reasons. When we come together to share our stories and bear witness to each other’s reflections, we offer our support, and we take one step closer to a world where everyone has access to the care they need without fear of judgment or stigma. As Áine so poignantly said ‘when the secrecy is gone, that’s when the healing starts.’ 

Amanda-Rose O’Halloran-Bermingham 

If you need to travel for an abortion, and need support to do so, you can contact us on [email protected] and someone from our helpline will get in touch with you.

To share your abortion travel story as a part of our online archive, fill in the I Travelled Form

We need your help to support our work to help people travel for essential abortion care. Please donate if you can, to ensure we can say ‘yes’ to everyone we hear from.