Focus on Abortion: Americans Share Their Stories introduces the often-missing and most important voices in the abortion conversation: the voices of those who have experienced abortion, and shows us the faces of the individuals whose stories we hear.

“Some doctors who didn’t even know me, didn’t speak to me, didn’t know what I looked like, got to choose my fate.”

Roslyn Banish will discuss her book with an in-store audience on Sunday afternoon, November 14, beginning at 3pm sharp. Please call the store at (415) 586-3733 to reserve a seat, as audience size is limited. Proof of vaccination and masks will be required of all in attendance.

The event will also be streamed live on Bird & Beckett’s YouTube channel and Facebook page, and archived for later viewing.

In Roslyn’s book, sixty-two individuals, each of whom has had an abortion or is close to the abortion experience — including partners, friends, relatives, counselors and professionals who provide abortion care — are represented by a photographic portrait and a first-person narrative.

The storytellers come from diverse socio-economic backgrounds and generations. They live in urban, suburban and rural areas throughout America. Together, they provide a broad, complex and poignant picture of abortion in our country. 

Few people talk about their abortions, so many will be surprised to learn that one out of four women in the US will have an abortion during their reproductive years. These narratives touch on the complex circumstances leading up to the decision to end a pregnancy, the person’s ability to access healthcare, and life after having had an abortion. The tellers’ nuanced stories have the potential to mitigate the profound stigma that surrounds abortion.  They also have the potential to widen public understanding of abortion, a lesson learned from the Civil Rights and Gay Rights movements that proved how deep-seated beliefs can evolve once people give voice to their personal stories.

Roslyn Banish, after receiving a Master’s degree in photography at the Institute of Design, Chicago, has documented human issues, using photographs and first-person narratives. Published works include Focus on Living: Portraits of Americans with HIV/AIDS. She has taught photography and exhibited her work in England and the United States. She lives in San Francisco.