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{"id":36258,"date":"2020-10-01T15:30:38","date_gmt":"2020-10-01T19:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/?p=36258"},"modified":"2020-10-01T17:03:11","modified_gmt":"2020-10-01T21:03:11","slug":"amanda-shires-and-jason-isbell-take-compassionate-stance-on-abortion-with-the-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/amanda-shires-and-jason-isbell-take-compassionate-stance-on-abortion-with-the-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Amanda Shires and Jason Isbell Take Compassionate Stance on Abortion with “The Problem”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photo Credit: John Shearer<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Amanda Shires goes where country artists have rarely gone before with her new song, \u201cThe Problem,\u201d a heart-rending ballad that shines a spotlight on abortion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gentle piano notes act as a guiding force as Shires and her husband Jason Isbell narrate the story of an 18-year-old couple who are met with a surprise pregnancy and face a challenging decision. The lyrics take us into the complex inner dialogue as the couple weighs the options, the singers\u2019 emotional, steady voices transporting the listener into the thoughts they share aloud with one another, Isbell asking \u201cWhat do you want to do?\u201d with Shires responding \u201cI\u2019m scared to even say the truth, this has been the hardest year.\u201d \u201cIs it even legal here?\u201d Isbell ponders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shires\u2019 character carries the weight of the situation on her shoulders, stating that she\u2019s trying not to think of names while wondering \u201cIs a chrysalis a butterfly?\u201d before packing a punch at song\u2019s end where she vulnerably shares \u201cDo you think God still sees me\/Coming out of this twilight sleep\/I\u2019m not sure who I am\/Staring into my empty hands.\u201d But what makes the song especially poignant is Isbell\u2019s unwavering support for his partner\u2019s decision, the two singing in unison \u201cIt\u2019s gonna be alright\u201d before he assures her, \u201cI\u2019m on your side.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n<\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Written four years before its timely release on September 28th 2020 – International Safe Abortion Day – Shires channeled the stories of friends\u2019 experiences into these teenage characters. But Shires also has a deep personal connection to the subject matter, sharing in in an interview with <a href=\"https:\/\/theboot.com\/amanda-shires-jason-isbell-the-problem-abortion-song-yellowhammer-fund-listen\/\"><em>The Boot<\/em><\/a> that she had an abortion when she was in her late 20s. She became pregnant not long after Isbell’s 2012 stint in rehab for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2013\/06\/10\/190372187\/jason-isbell-a-southeastern-songwriters-path-to-sobriety\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">alcohol and cocaine addiction<\/a>. Shires determined that terminating the pregnancy was \u201cthe absolute right decision\u201d and was met with support by Isbell. The two later married in 2013 and welcomed a daughter, Mercy Rose, in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To give back to those in the same position she was once in, Shires is donating 100 percent of the proceeds from \u201cThe Problem\u201d to the <a href=\"https:\/\/yellowhammerfund.org\/\">Yellowhammer Fund,<\/a> an Alabama-based abortion fund and reproductive justice organization. \u201cIt’s regionally specific to where we live; Jason is from Alabama. Unfortunately in our area, there is not enough support, community education or access,\u201d Shires shares in a statement to Audiofemme. \u201cYellowhammer provides access to women’s health and women\u2019s reproductive issues where options for terminating pregnancy are fewer and far between. I prefer women to have access to healthcare instead of taking it in their own hands to their detriment. I wanted the proceeds to go to Yellowhammer because we believe in the same things – being able to make choices without shame or state interference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yellowhammer Fund Executive Director Laurie Bertram Roberts is \u201chonored\u201d that Shires chose the organization as a beneficiary, saying the \u201cbeautiful\u201d song brought her to tears the first time she heard it. \u201cThere’s so many things in the song that resonated with me,\u201d Roberts shares with Audiofemme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The words in between Shires and Isbell\u2019s voices particularly struck a chord with the activist. As co-founder and former executive director of the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund, Roberts has spent countless hours on the phone fielding calls from those seeking an abortion for themselves or a loved one. She describes how Shires\u2019 piece captures the very essence of the people on the other end of the line. \u201cThe thing that resonated with me is it sounded so much like so many of our callers,\u201d Roberts says. \u201cThe conversation was just so real to me. It’s so much of what people relay back to me in conversations over the phone; they sit and have that conversation with their significant other or their parents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>“The Problem” is powerful because it puts a human face on what can be an agonizing decision, regardless of the circumstances. Roberts says that the Americana-singing couple resemble the variety of ages and backgrounds the clinic sees in its clientele. \u201cThey look like people who would be at a clinic more so than what people have in their mind as a stereotype of who would go to a clinic,\u201d Roberts explains. \u201cI also think it’s groundbreaking that she was even willing to share it. She’s in a long line of abortion storytellers, but there aren’t many that have done it in song.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Laurie-Bertram-Roberts-764x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36254\" width=\"438\" height=\"587\"\/><figcaption>Laurie Bertram Roberts. Photo credit: Yellowhammer Fund<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>While all of the lyrics contribute to the compelling story, when Shires sings in her Dolly Parton-esque voice, \u201cNo one even has to know,\u201d it directly correlates to how Yellowhammer staff engages with patients, assuring them that whichever decision they choose will be met with compassion. \u201cThose are strategic choices that people have to make because of the culture of shaming and stigma that we have around abortion,\u201d Roberts states about a woman\u2019s decision whether or not to publicly share that she\u2019s terminated a pregnancy. \u201cSomething I’ve talked about with my staff is the power of having all of your options, whether or not you choose to have an abortion or not. Sometimes being able to weigh all your options makes your parenting more powerful, even in an unplanned pregnancy, because it means that when you go ahead and decide \u2018yes, I’m going to parent,\u2019 you’re not resentful about it. You don’t feel trapped, because even if it was unplanned, you had all your options and you were like \u2018I choose this.\u2019 Even though you didn’t plan to get pregnant, you chose what option and what road you wanted to take, and that is a very different journey than ‘I’m pregnant and I didn’t plan on being pregnant and now I’m stuck.\u2019 I think about those things all the time for our people that call us. They should not have to weigh those things, it should only be their decision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Shires emotionally bares \u201cThis has been the hardest year\u201d followed by Isbell\u2019s simple, yet haunting question, \u201cIs it even legal here?\u201d Roberts remarks that their exchanges echo sentiments expressed by Yellowhammer\u2019s clients, while also breaking through the larger media narrative surrounding abortion. Though attempts have been made to restrict access and services across all 50 states, abortion remains legal in the US; this is the first statement people hear when they reach the Freedom Fund voicemail, though Roberts explains that that media coverage on potential clinic closures tends to obfuscate that simple fact. \u201cThat’s something I’ve heard over and over again for the last six years of doing this work,\u201d Roberts remarks in regards to Isbell\u2019s question. \u201cAll we see is this very politicized information around abortion, not reality. The thing I like about the song is that it’s not angry, politicized, it’s not any of that – it\u2019s just a story about life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amanda Shires goes where country artists have rarely gone before with her new song, \u201cThe Problem,\u201d a heart-rending ballad that shines a spotlight on abortion. Gentle piano notes act as a guiding force as Shires and her husband Jason Isbell narrate the story of an 18-year-old couple who are met with a surprise pregnancy and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":36257,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9113],"tags":[11078,9547,511,11058,11081,11080],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/AmandaShiresfeatimg-2.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36258"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36258"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36288,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36258\/revisions\/36288"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}