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Darcy Burner asks more women to 'come out'

June 14, 2012 @ 5:27 pm (Updated: 10:07 am - 6/15/12 )

Listen to Darcy Burner asks more women to "come out" about abortion

Congressional candidate Darcy Burner didn't think her request to have women stand up if they've had an abortion would become a controversy, but she hopes it will inspire more women to "come out" about their personal experiences.

At a women's health conference in Rhode Island the First Congressional District candidate asked women in the room to stand if they have had an abortion. She says about 150 women stood. Then about 2,000 women stood after she asked if the rest of the audience would support a woman who has had an abortion and is "willing to come out about it."

BurnerAfter the speech, Burner talked with a few of the women who stood up. They "never felt as loved and supported" as they did when everyone stood with them.

In an interview with Burner, she uses the term "coming out of the closet" several times.

Her message about abortion was inspired by the success of the gay rights movement.

There was a time when people felt they had to conceal their sexual orientation or gender identity because society shamed.

As more and more people came out about their homosexuality, others were able to see there's nothing wrong or shameful about being gay, she says.

"Women who've had an abortion should feel like it's okay to come out of the closet and talk about their decision," Burner says.

"People think they don't know women who've had abortions, when in fact their mothers or their sisters or their co-workers or their friends often have. Women being able to come out of the closet and being able to say 'I've had an abortion' would change people's view of what it meant."

I asked Burner a question I've never asked anyone before, "Have you had an abortion?"

"I have not had an abortion, but I've been in a situation in which during a very high-risk pregnancy my doctor sat me down and said their was a very real chance if I continued the pregnancy I wouldn't survive," she says. "The choices that are made at that moment are incredibly difficult and no politician has the right to make them for any woman."

She believes abortion rights will become an issue in the congressional races across the country as those in the GOP try to restrict women's access to medical care.

"It's easy for opponents of abortion rights, and women's rights in general, to paint the worst possible pictures. To claim that the only people this ever happens to are horrific horrible people and they're not. They're your neighbor, they're your co-worker, they're your mother, they're your friend," Burner says. "Politicians don't get to stand between women and their doctors."

The race to replace Jay Inslee is a crowded one that includes John Koster, who opposes abortion but did not return my request for a comment. Among the Democrats - Suzan DelBene, Laura Ruderman, state Rep. Roger Goodman and state Sen. Steve Hobbs.

By LINDA THOMAS

AP file photo

Related: Burner abortion move sparks strong debate

More from Linda Thomas

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Comments (100)


  • Add A Comment

  • dori monson fan wrote...
    will the real harvard grad
    June 15, 2012 2:17 am
    please stand up!? my name is, my name is....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    ... Darcy is lying about her "high risk" pregnancy...
    June 15, 2012 5:06 am
    Why would she lie? She's got an advanced degree in economics from Harvard, doesn't she? She's a liar, a narcisist and has zero credibility. Your typical Dimocrat....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Cash wrote...
    longwayhome
    June 15, 2012 5:14 am
    Go back home for god's sake... The last time I looked it takes a man and a woman to make a baby so the dude should not have or in this case be allowed to have an opinion? Go away and stay there...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • SickofSeattleite wrote...
    it's okay to come out of the closet about abortion?
    June 15, 2012 5:43 am
    why should society embrace these women. They have technically made the decision to end what would be a persons life. Who said people that got abortions were horrific? What they are doing is HORRIFIC!!! Even if these women had their babies would it really ruin their lives? I think parenthood can make you a better person. I think being a mother is a rewarding experience. I think that these women are scared of responsibility and make poor choices, how is this an unborn babies fault?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • mobeta wrote...
    Another show of the whacked side of liberalism!
    June 15, 2012 5:47 am
    She is mentally disturbed like most liberals anyway! Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters and list is very long, she make take the cake. She probably can't make it in the private sector so she has to keep trying to live off of us the tax payers and many will vote for this whack!
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  • Bindi Blue wrote...
    War on women
    June 15, 2012 5:55 am
    I notice you didn't challenge Ms Burner's assertion that the GOP was trying to restrict women's access to health care. Is critical thinking out of style? You did the same thing with the stats about women being paid less than men! It's lazy of you -- you don't ask probing questions if you are in agreement with the subject on a given topic. Maybe you should be a publicist instead of a reporter.
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  • circuitfr wrote...
    wow
    June 15, 2012 6:20 am
    mynorthwest has gone loony. I love how pro choice people say unless a baby can "live on it's own without any assistance" (I.E. the womb, ambilical cord) then they are not a person and can be killed. Then why wouldn't it be OK to kill any child until they reach say 10 years old and can take care of themselves? Same principle. If you don't want your kid, kill it, after all, without you, it can't take care of itself. The sad fact is, .0000000001% of abortions might be because of a catostrophic medical issue, the 99.9999999999% of all of them are selfish people who couldn't stop sleeping around. Every person has a right to govern their own lives as they see fit unless they infringe on the rights of another human being. That's the issue when woman say you have no right to tell me how to live. We as a society used to have standards and morals and shame was useful. Now it's not. Food stamps were too shameful, here's a credit card...(get the point?) No shame=no guilt=no responsibility. There are plenty of places in the World to live where you have no rights and people will kill you for showing your face. Here in America, I wish we were the Country our founders had intended were EVERYONE had the same right to life, liberty, and happiness. Sadly, thousands of babies every year get killed in the name of "Women's Rights"
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  • mnpat wrote...
    Darcy says, "She believes abortion rights will become an issue in the congressional races across the country as those in the GOP try to restrict women's access to medical care."
    June 15, 2012 6:18 am
    Yup, anyone that expects people to PAY for their care is anti woman. BAd enough story on the first day, even worse to post a follow up story.....must be looking for attention eh.
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  • artimus wrote...
    Incredibly poor judgement.
    June 15, 2012 6:21 am
    Burner should save her Microsoft dollars - she doesn't stand a chance of being elected in Washington. Her track record is alarming and she's tremendously unlikable. Maybe her and Dino Rossi and commiserate on their shared plight.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Basso wrote...
    Run Forest....Run
    June 15, 2012 7:03 am
    Make the scary lady go away...Nice job Washington, unfortunately this is what we breed and cultivate in this state. Sad really.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Cbrew wrote...
    How absolutely disturbing... stand up and be cheered for killing an innocent?
    June 15, 2012 7:13 am
    Sorry, I just can't see the willfull termination of an unborn child's life as anything other than murder. These women are murderers, it doesn't matter how you spin it. Doesn't matter how many doctors try to say, "well the unborn fetus at such and such stage doesn't have it's capacities yet" it does not matter, where it is in development, the bottom line is you killed a life that would otherwise have grown into a unique person like everybody else in this world. That is murder, plain and simple. Women who do this then come back and try to say they're proud of it, are flat out liars... They are guilty and they look guilty and they try to hide their guilt because they KNOW THEY DID WRONG. Look into a newborn baby's eyes and you tell me how you could possibly imagine killing that baby. Abortion is evil, i'm sorry that's how i see it, it's not political to me, it's not a movement it's nothing but pure evil. It should be a crime.
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