Break down the stigma through communication design: a partecipatory design project for a campaign on medical abortion

Medical abortion, is a safe and effective method for terminating pregnancies. Despite its widespread use and legal availability in many countries, stigma and misinformation persist, hindering access and comprehensive understanding. Stigma related to abortion can have significant consequences: it can discourage individuals from seeking safe and legal healthcare options, leading to potential health risks. Therefore, addressing this stigma is critical to ensuring the well-being and autonomy of individuals seeking medical abortion. One of the most powerful tools that can be used to help break down these ideological barriers is communication design: it is crucial in shaping societal debates and influencing public views on complex, contemporary issues. It serves as a vital medium for disseminating information, presenting options, and evoking emotions. When dealing with sensitive and intricate subjects like abortion, the intersection between ethical considerations and design research and practices becomes evident. This paper presents a project for a communication campaign on medical abortion created through a participatory design process which saw, in addition to the figure of the designer, the participation of stakeholders, activists, individuals with personal experiences of medical abortion, anthropologists, experts in reproductive health and users. The idea behind the project is to move away from the standard narrative on these issues, exploiting the language of animated communication to convey information on the topic in a clear, engaging, empathetic and effective way. The collaborative and user-centered approach of the project highlights the potential for communication design to create meaningful change in public perception and policy surrounding reproductive health.