Q I work as a nurse manager at a large hospital. I’ve been in the role only about six months, so I’m still learning how to navigate the toxic leadership culture. I recently brought in a sticker I was very excited to put on the white board by my desk. It says, “I had an abortion.” I wanted to put this up for two reasons. One is that I felt a lot of shame when I needed an abortion but slowly learned how many people I knew had been in the same spot. I’ve been very committed to openly claiming my abortion since then. The other reason is that the nurses who work for me are primarily women, and if/when any of them find themselves facing an unwanted pregnancy, I want them to know this is a safe space.

A leader who is somewhat of a mentor to me advised me to take the sticker down. He said it was too political and that regardless of my intentions, it would get me into trouble given our political environment and our reactionary hospital leadership.

Is this sticker inappropriate to display as a manager? If someone reports me, should I take it down immediately or should I push back and make the case to keep it as a totem of safety to the young women I work with?

— Anonymous

A God, what a complicated, fascinating question. I myself have had an abortion, and am a staunch supporter of reproductive rights. The shame that surrounds the termination of a pregnancy is part of what keeps so many women silent about a medical procedure that is very common: One in four American women in her lifetime will undergo an abortion. And my saying this in a public forum, that is, “shouting” my own abortion — to use a phrase coined by three female activists in 2015 to encourage women who’ve had abortions to destigmatize the procedure — is perhaps my own way of committing to openly claiming my own experience.

Question is: Should you do it at work? My initial response was going to be: Don’t do it, mostly for the reasons outlined by your mentor. But I decided to consult with someone who might challenge my gut response. So I called Renee Bracey Sherman, a longtime activist for reproductive rights, who, in 2016, founded the abortion rights storytelling organization We Testify. (Bracey Sherman also has a forthcoming book on the subject.)

It’s important to remember that you shouldn’t do anything that might compromise your job. But if you do choose to take a stance on this issue in the workplace, Bracey Sherman said, there are a few arguments you could try. First: She suggests pointing out that abortion is a common medical procedure. It’s health care. So, you could argue that your sticker is no different from one that reads, “I had a mastectomy.” You’re not saying “go get an abortion” — you’re claiming a common experience as your own.

Second: You work in a hospital, one that, although you didn’t say otherwise, may well provide abortions. It would be different, Bracey Sherman said, if you worked at a Target or a bank. And so you could make the case that it’s fair game to keep that sticker up in your workspace. You might also want to ask for clarification of those who might tell you to take it down, Bracey Sherman said. Is abortion health care or not? Is this a service that we provide proudly or not?

Last, and perhaps most important, Bracey Sherman said, you need to figure out what your appetite for potential uneasiness is and if the workplace is the right forum. And there’s no right or wrong answer. “She should take it as far as she feels comfortable given that this is a job and this is her job” and she needs the income, Bracey Sherman said.

Anna Holmes is a writer, editor and creative exec whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, The New Yorker and more.