One of the many prices women pay for the stigma attached to abortion is that they don’t realize they have a right to medical skill, kindness, and a clean attractive abortion facility, just as they do with any other health care. If they are keeping secrets, they may not tell even other women about bad experiences—or good experiences. So each woman who is thinking about abortion is on her own. And they may not report substandard care to health authorities because they don’t want to jeopardize their own confidentiality. Or they may not even realize that they deserve better.

My organization, the Abortion Care Network has a section on its website called “Considering Abortion.” This and “How to choose a Quality Clinic” gives you very important information about what you should expect from an abortion provider. As you are reading this, someone you care about needs this information, so please pass it on.