Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Amanda Shires released “The Problem,” about a couple navigating the decision to have an abortion, on International Safe Abortion Day.
All proceeds will benefit Alabama’s Yellowhammer Fund, an abortion fund and reproductive justice organization.
In an interview with reckon, Shires said the song was originally written in 2016. “Its first incarnation was talking about another girl’s abortion. It just struck me that it’s not something we all talk about, and it should be something that we talk about.”
In the current version, Shires uses a young couple’s conversation about whether to have an abortion to propel the song, echoing her own experience with abortion in her late 20s.
Shires had an abortion in Tennessee when she was with her now-husband, singer-songwriter Jason Isbell. Shires said she kept the experience private, scared of negative feedback she or her family would receive.
Shires has released six solo albums and won the 2018 Grammy for Best Americana album. She co-founded the Highwomen in 2016 with Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby and Maren Morris. In September 2019, they released their first album, “Redesigning Women,” its self-titled single paying homage to the modern working family woman.
Shires and Isbell are known for being outspoken about civil and women’s rights online, a trait she wants to instill in their 5-year-old daughter, Mercy.
Shires said she hopes “The Problem” can open people to empathetic conversations about reproductive rights.
The song can be purchased here.