There’s a Better Way to Talk About Abortion

There's a Better Way to Talk About Abortion
People still use medically inaccurate and stigmatizing terms to talk about abortion. You can help change that.

by Marie Solis
Jan 22 2020
Illustrations by Cathryn Virginia

For decades, conservative politicians and activists have dictated the rhetoric around abortion, and for that reason many of the words we use to talk about the procedure are medically inaccurate, emotionally charged, and suffused with stigma. And that includes even the most basic terms we use to describe the debate over abortion rights: The anti-abortion camp has long described itself as “pro-life” instead, monopolizing a powerful word that advocates say clouds their real intention—to ban abortion. The word “choice,” some say, is an imprecise one as well, creating the impression that one’s ability to get an abortion is simply a matter of choosing to do so, when in fact there are many systematic obstacles in the way that keep people from accessing the procedure.

Continued: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/akwv8b/how-to-talk-about-abortion


Plenty of people are pro-abortion

Plenty of people are pro-abortion
It is a necessary health care procedure that saves lives.

Kathi Valeii
Aug—01—2018

Since Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement announcement in June, the discussion about reproductive rights has intensified. Amid the social media discussions about the Supreme Court, and the importance of choice, and Roe v. Wade, emerged a common narrative in support of abortion that went: “No one is pro-abortion, but...” The conclusion to such a statement usually rounds out with something like, “...but we should all mind our own business and let people make their own choices about their health.” And while the latter part of this argument is a message we can all get behind, the first part is a problem.

While the pro-choice movement has long been conditioned to talk in metered ways about abortion, saying “no one is pro-abortion” is patently inaccurate. Let’s be straight — many, many people are pro-abortion, simply because we don’t view abortion as anything more than necessary health care.

Continued: https://theoutline.com/post/5636/yes-people-are-pro-abortion?zd=2&zi=4ry3i5go