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Shortly before her mother died, Megan McArdle learned a family secret. Decades earlier, her mother had given birth to a son and placed him for adoption. Megan’s attempt to find the brother she never knew would force her to reconsider her mother’s life—and confront abortion as something more than an abstract political debate.

In this deeply personal episode, producer Regina de Heer interviews Megan about the choices her mother faced, the grief she carried and why our arguments about abortion and adoption leave so little room for complexity.

This episode includes discussions of death, grief and abortion.

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My mother’s secret changed how I think about abortion

Reasonably Optimistic

My mother’s secret changed how I think about abortion