Discussion Guide

As a discussion leader, you can decide what format will work best for your post-play discussion. This guide is designed to be flexible and adaptable. You know your audience, and that should guide your questions and planning for how best to open up the space for meaningful conversation.  

You can stay in one large group, or you can break up into smaller groups and share information after reconvening with the larger group. If you do small group work, be sure to set time limits of 15 minutes or so for group discussion. Leave 3 to 5 minutes for each of the small groups to share back their main takeaways.  It always takes a few minutes to get people set up in groups, so be sure to plan accordingly.  

Consider how you want to set up the room to promote dialogue.  For instance:

• Do you have the ability to create a large circle of chairs so people can see each other? 

• Will you be having microphones that can be passed to make it easier to hear everyone?

• Can you set up discussion groups in the space you have?  

Here are some sample guidelines for having conversations about sensitive topics.  Stating these up front can help to set an inclusive and affirming tone for your conversation.

• Listen to understand rather than to respond 

• Critique ideas rather than individuals

• Everyone should speak for themselves, not for a group

• Make space for everyone to participate

• Commit to listening and learning together

Here are some helpful ways to structure your questions and approach that will foster respectful dialogue:

• Ask open questions that do not lead the group to a right answer. Let them discuss and struggle with issues together.

• Set a tone for a respectful and inclusive post-play discussion by acknowledging that this can be a hard topic to discuss openly. 

• Affirm the full range of values that may arise in your group around abortion. We build community by creating space for and understanding the full spectrum of experiences around abortion. 

• Allow for complexity and diversity of thought in the room and remain respectful to participants. If there is a need to draw the line because people are no longer respecting those in the room, you can bring people back to the guidelines above.

We recommend choosing some questions from the list below and adding your own, if desired. Be sure to leave time at the end to brainstorm next steps — and lift up a call to action with your attendees. As a discussion leader, you may choose the call to action in advance with some local organizations engaged in the fight for reproductive health care access and rights. Or you may work with the attendees to develop one together.

You can find resources on how to take action here.

1. We all hold assumptions about issues based on information that we’ve been taught or our own experiences. What assumptions did you hold about people who have abortions? What assumptions did you hold about people who wanted an abortion but were denied? Were any of them challenged after seeing the play?

2. After seeing the play, have your views on abortion and/or the people who seek abortions changed? If so, in what ways? 

3. Before seeing the play, had you ever considered what happens to people who are turned away and unable to get the abortions they want? How were your previous perceptions challenged or supported? 

4. Can you name 2 or 3 barriers to abortion care that you heard shared in the play? Were you aware of the obstacles people face in accessing abortion care in the United States? 

5. How are barriers to abortion impacted by systemic inequities such as those in the health care system? What does that mean about the kind of support people might need to access essential abortion care?

6. How do you think these obstacles have changed since the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey in June of 2022?

7. How have you seen racism impact access to healthcare in your community? How do you think or imagine that impacts someone accessing an abortion?

8. Before seeing The Turnaway Play, had you considered how racism plays a role in policies around access to abortion and support for low-income parents ? Why or why not? Has your opinion changed?

9. When was the first time you heard about abortion? What was the context of the conversation? What did you take away from that conversation, and how does it reflect in your understanding of abortion now? 

10. In the play, Dr. Foster finds out that the federal right to an abortion was overturned while she is presenting her lecture to students. Where were you when you heard that the Supreme Court overturned Roe? How did you react?

11. Six stories of participants in the study were shared during the play. Were there any that you connected with or that are sticking with you?  

12. What types of narratives have you heard about abortion in your life? How did the stories shared in The Turnaway Study compare to those narratives? 

13. A big finding of The Turnaway Study is that women were able to predict what the difficulties and obstacles would be if they were denied wanted abortion care. Were any of your previous assumptions before seeing the play challenged by these findings? How can we better highlight abortion seekers as experts in their own lives?

14. The Turnaway Study found that a major reason women get abortions in the second trimester is that they didn’t realize they were pregnant until after the first trimester. Have you or anyone you’ve known discovered they were pregnant after the first trimester? If so, what was that experience like? 

15. In every statewide election since the Dobbs decision, when voters had an opportunity to protect abortion rights and access, they did. Why do you think abortion restrictions continue to be proposed by lawmakers at the local, state and national level? 

16. How do we honor adults who are not parents? In what ways are they impacted by abortion restrictions?

17. What resources are needed to support parents at different points in parenthood?  What policies would you put in place to make these changes?

Talking about next steps can help people leave feeling energized and optimistic, even in instances when conversations have been difficult. 

Ask the group to think about ways to respond to Dr. Foster’s challenge at the end of the play:

I went into abortion research because I was interested in motherhood and family planning and science. Not because I wanted to be an activist. But I think that we all have to become activists now.

So keep learning, stay informed, and exercise your vote. Speak up for the rights of people in your community and your country.

You have the data.

Below are some questions that you can return to at the end of the discussion. You can also circle back to your first two or three questions to see if people’s views have evolved.

1. How can we meet the needs of people who want an abortion but face legal, economic or social barriers to care?

2. What are you currently doing to show up for people who need abortions in your community?

3. How can we support people who have had abortions or who are deciding about a pregnancy? What can be done to make it feel safer for people to share their stories?

4. After seeing the play and participating in this discussion, have your views on abortion and/or the people who seek abortions changed? If so, in what ways?

5. Before today, had you ever considered what happens to people who are turned away and unable to get the abortions they want? How were your previous perceptions challenged or supported? 

• Support abortion funds or independent clinics.

• Voter registration: Partner with a local group or a national group such as When We All Vote.

• Voter Engagement: Help groups such as your Individisibles or URGE Chapter reach out to undecided voters.

• Highlight a local abortion storyteller by inviting  them to be a panelist on a post-play discussion with other civic organizations. 

Visit Take Action on TheTurnawayPlay.com for more ideas.

Interested to learn more about dialogue and planning events? Here are some resources for further learning:

Youth Activist Toolkit from Advocates for Youth is a comprehensive resource for organizing for change including resources on sustaining and developing leaders.

Holding Inclusive Events: from Autistic Advocacy includes resources for making your event as inclusive as possible.  

Preparing to Share Our Stories.pdf from We Testify includes support for how to tell your abortion story.

Run For Office from Run for Something is an organization focused on supporting young people with everything they need to know to run for office.