About me
*Views are my own!
After frustration at not being able to rattle me with insults, an online anti-abortion troll called me "just an abortionfluencer." I decided to embrace the label!
Hi! I’m Colleen. I’m known among our abortion rights community on my “The Abotionfluencer” Instagram and TikTok platforms for calling out the lies of the various unscrupulous actors of the Forced Birth Lobby in the United States, as well as sharing legal insights (w/ the support of a legal analyst friend!), the latest abobo news (sometimes it’s good!), and medical facts about reproduction issues. I also attempt to equip folks with the best ways to respond to anti-abortion trolls — lately, that usually means various snarky ways to remind these intrusive creeps that our rights are NOT up for debate.
Abortion rights are human rights, and we need to get LOUDER about this fundamental right to our bodies -- thus, me starting a Medium blog.
I do a lot of graphics-intensive quick-bytes on Instagram, so I wanted to leverage this Medium space to write more in-depth pieces on the abobo shennanigans going on in the U.S. So, here you’ll find feature stories, investigative pieces, latest news, abobo access information, etc.
A bit about me
I’m one of those 1 in 4 women in the U.S. who has accessed abortion. Twenty years ago, it was fully covered by insurance, and even though I had to endure anti-abortion harassment outside the clinic — lunatics screaming over a 12-foot wall they scaled with ladders — it was quick, relatively unobtrusive, not too painful, and one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
And though I never regretted it personally, I grew up in the era of white feminism and leaders like Hillary Clinton using the slogan, safe, legal and rare. As our rhetoric shifts to abortion on demand without apology and reproductive justice, let us remember that abortion is healthcare, and there are no "two sides" to this issue. We have let bad faith actors, milquetoast politicians, and the media perpetuate this myth for far too long, and now our rights are quickly disappearing. People with uteruses in the United States have a constitutional right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — and access to ALL options in repro healthcare is a fundamental part of these rights. We must fight.
And with all my extreme privilege as a white woman, I strive to center our BIPOC sisters and the devastating, outsized impact abortion bans have had and will have on these marginalized communities due to healthcare disparities and systemic racism that continues to plague most, if not all, our major institutions.
In addition to my social media and writing advocacy, I was awarded Volunteer of the Year two years running at my local abortion fund and advocacy org, Cobalt Advocates — who are increasingly more in demand as the sea of red states around Colorado continue to pass draconian abortion bans (click the link to donate, please!). I try to stay very active with Cobalt, like this year (2024), I’m on their annual fundraiser gala planning committee. I have also acted as a Lobby Lead for local reproductive and trans rights organizations, and have joined signature-collecting campaigns to get policies on the ballot to protect bodily autonomy rights in our state. Aaaand I try to attend rallies and protests when I can!
I’m also an advocate for a company called Childfree by Choice. Are you ready to make your childfree lifestyle permanent, but are having trouble with financial barriers? Use my referral link to check it out!
My “day job” is a content producer & writer/editor in the medical industry. I’m married to my best friend. We are happily child-free, and that means our snuggle-bug Beatrix kitty gets allllll the love and spoiling! I smell flowers, pet kitties and doggies, delight in learning new things, and love to hike our beautiful Rocky Mountains, ride my bike, and travel. My dream is to some day retire to a tiny home commune with my hubs in a country where we can get good healthcare. A girl can dream. (And if I can convince my 6’4 husband that living in a tiny house WILL work. 😂)
(Like what I do? Then please consider buying me a coffee. I’m all alone in this little creative studio, so all the coffee would help! ;-))
