Canada is getting a new abortion podcast thanks to Vancouver-born Rachel Cairns.
Aborsh was originally intended to be a play but took a turn into podcast territory after the pandemic caused theatre performances to stagger.
It began with Cairns' own abortion and a subsequent unexplained, burning interest in the subject. As she dove deeper into the rabbit hole of reproductive rights and freedoms, she discovered a need, even desire, for conversations about abortions.
A single, shunned perspective
"Abortion often gets painted with only a handful of colours. It's still often described as a difficult decision, or a challenging decision... not to say that abortions aren't complex events in people's lives– it was certainly a complex event in my life. But I do think there is this shroud of secrecy [and] assuming that it was something that was hard," Cairns says.
The clandestine nature of the topic touches women across the world, including Cairns' own mother. "I learned about my mom's abortion stories for the first time– we have a very close relationship so I was really shocked– I was in my 30s, and she had never shared them with me before. I was also really shocked at the stark differences between our reproductive realities as young women in the world, just one generation apart."
Through having conversations about abortions with more and more women, Cairns found that despite the topic being generally shunned, abortions are eagerly discussed. "When I share my abortion experience with people, I find that, especially if they've experienced abortion, they want to talk about it [and to] share the good, the bad, and the ugly," Carins shares.
"Abortions are as old as time. They're super, super common and we have data that confirms that for a lot of people it's not a difficult decision," she adds. "If anything, it's a decision that they have tremendous confidence in."
Untapped territory
The play-turned-podcast aims to change the conversation about the subject. A different perspective is needed now more than ever, Cairns believes, in light of the leaked Roe v Wade case decision. "Usually we only talk about it when we need to be on the defense. I think it deserves more recognition and progressive coverage than we've traditionally given it," Cairns says.
In the podcast world, many abortion podcasts are American, according to her abortion-podcast-listening experience, leading Cairns to make the observation that in Canada, public conversations about reproductive rights and freedom is an "untapped territory."
Aborsh listeners can expect more than stories about individual abortion experiences. Through the podcast, Cairns shares that she aims to "expand the discourse and discussion beyond my own experience, and invite other experts and activists to talk about the work they do, and to holistically examine the components that inform and intersect with people's reproductive decisions and the social contexts [through which] we make our reproductive choices and live our reproductive lives."
During the first season, each of the eight 40-minute episodes will bring on various guests, from Vancouver's Joyce Arthur, Executive Director of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, one of Canada's key advocacy groups for reproductive rights and freedom, to part-Vancouverite Jessi Taylor, media spokesperson for Reproductive Justice New Brunswick. Cairns' mom also makes an appearance, in addition to a few bonus episodes with other interesting speakers.
Arthur shares some insight on Aborsh as well, hinting at the many topics it will cover.
"Why are doctors allowed to refuse this essential health service? Who are the people scheming to ban abortion? How did abortion get legalized in Canada? What’s the abortion pill, and what is radically inclusive healthcare? What is reproductive justice, and what can we learn from Indigenous midwives? And why are reproductive rights an economic issue?" she says via email.
The podcast first airs on June 13 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast-streaming platforms, with new episodes each Monday.
