Testimonial Injustice, Epistemic Violence, and Abortion

This paper describes the mechanisms by which passive and active forms of social power result in testimonial injustice and epistemic violence inflicted upon women who have had abortions.  These forms of imposed power result in the silencing of women who have had abortions, thereby denigrating their embodied wisdom, stigmatizing their actions, and excluding them from policy and political discussions.  I argue that attentiveness to the personal testimonies about the experience of abortion can help disrupt the structures that perpetuate testimonial injustice and give recognition to the real dangers faced by those who may want to disclose their experiences.