Abortion stigma can be broadly defined as a negative attribute mostly ascribed to women/abortion-seekers who seek to terminate a pregnancy that marks them, internally or externally, as inferior to ideals of morality, societal chastity and expectations. Going further, it can also be defined as a shared understanding that abortion is morally wrong and/or socially unacceptable. This is why service providers might have negative attitudes towards people seeking abortions. Let’s break down this stigma further. 

Stigma can be split into three components – perceived, internalised and enacted. Perceived stigma is the pregnant person’s perceived awareness regarding the devaluing attitudes around their abortion and the way they think these might result in any form of discrimination. Internalised stigma refers to any devalued opinions, or societal norms, customs and expectations related to abortion that might affect the pregnant person’s self-image and create any form of guilt, shame or general sense of negative feelings. And enacted stigma refers to any actual experiences of discrimination or negative treatment related to the pregnant person’s abortion. 

At this point, it is natural to wonder how stigma exists in society; or in other words, how to identify stigma? Stigma can take the shape of 

1. Labelling: Labelling is when abortion as an act is considered morally wrong and deviant and as an extension, the person who seeks it and provides the service are considered as deviants. The problem with this is that by labelling it as ‘deviant’ or out of the norm, there is very a dangerous denial of the fact that abortions are a very common and safe process. 
2. Stereotyping: Stereotyping is when individuals who seek abortions are linked with negative traits such as lack of compassion for life, promiscuity and selfishness. Furthermore, abortion providers are branded as cold, unfeeling and greedy.
3. Separating: Abortion-seekers and providers are also moved into a separate category. Separating creates a false “us” versus “them” dichotomy. This separation serves to shame those marked by the stigma of abortion. Silence and the fear of exclusion perpetuates this separation and participation in stereotyping.
4. Discrimination: Finally, stigma leads to increased and overt discrimination against people who seek abortions and also against providers.

If stigma is to be tackled, it is important to understand how it is perpetuated in society. Stigma is perpetuated at four levels- individual, community, institutional and legal. As the name suggests, individual stigma is stigma (internalised, enacted and perceived) perpetuated by individuals. This can be experienced by the person undergoing an abortion, service-providers and individuals who are involved in abortions. Stigma at the community level is perpetuated by socio-cultural norms and attitudes toward abortions. Stigma at the institutional level is perpetuated by policies and practices within health facilities, professional societies and medical education institutions. These can have the effect of marginalizing abortion and the people who are involved in providing abortion care. Stigma at the legal level is perpetuated by how barriers to abortion and reproductive health care are written into laws, and how policymakers and institutions interpret those laws in ways that discriminate. In addition, stigma can also be perpetuated by how mass media portrays abortions, the people who seek them and the people who provide them. 

So how does stigma affect those seeking abortions? Well, for starters it affects the quality of services that are accessible. Stigma, internalised and external, affects the experiences of the individuals seeking the procedure. The pregnant person might not want to go to a healthcare centre with certified professionals and might opt for an unsafe abortion instead. However, we know that unsafe abortions might lead to severe complications and injuries to the individual which will inturn affect their health and also add to their physical, mental and financial stress. Stigma also creates institutional barriers as it might restrict areas and access points for abortions. When bias seeps into policy making, quality care is denied and this might also lead to the service being selectively provided to some and denied to most. Furthermore, at the community level or socially, if it is known that a person has terminated their pregnancy, it is most likely to be received terribly. They will be subject to judgements, unsolicited advice and comments and this will have an impact on their mental health.  It is important to understand that stigma prevents people who really need to access an essential service from accessing it.