How many times have you heard pro-choice people expressing this sentiment? I hear it on Twitter, on blogs, in real life.. It's a troublesome statement. Abortion is a naughty word. No one, even among the pro-choice community, is supposed to portray abortion as a good thing. We're supposed to hate abortion. We're supposed to think that it's terrible. We advocate for abortion to become safe, legal, and "rare". The anti-choicers have succeeded in scaring us away from the word "abortion". The question is this: Why have we let them?
We must be careful with our words, because words are powerful. Words can hurt people, and words can silence people. Do not say "no one wants an abortion", which is a potentially silencing statement for women who do want their abortions, when you mean to say "no one wants an unwanted pregnancy". Don't say "I'm not pro-abortion", when you do in fact support abortion, among many other choices. Being pro-abortion is a small part of the larger picture. You can't be pro-choice without being pro-abortion, along with being pro-pregnancy, pro-adoption, pro-parenting, etc. Let's quit with the "safe, legal, and 'rare'" sentiment. When it's safe and legal, and when we have comprehensive sex education, we will have as many abortions as we need.
Anti-choicers have shamed us into avoiding the a-word. It's time to reclaim the word. It's time to make it our own again. In order to remove the stigma attached to having an abortion, we have to first remove the stigma attached to the word in our own statements. It's time to accept that abortion isn't terrible. Abortion is a blessing.
“Let’s be very clear about this: when a woman finds herself pregnant due to violence and chooses an abortion, it is the violence that is the tragedy; the abortion is a blessing.
When a woman finds that the fetus she is carrying has anomalies incompatible with life, that it will not live and that she requires an abortion — often a late-term abortion — to protect her life, her health, or her fertility, it is the shattering of her hopes and dreams for that pregnancy that is the tragedy; the abortion is a blessing.
When a woman wants a child but can’t afford one because she hasn’t the education necessary for a sustainable job, or access to health care, or day care, or adequate food, it is the abysmal priorities of our nation, the lack of social supports, the absence of justice that are the tragedies; the abortion is a blessing.
And when a woman becomes pregnant within a loving, supportive, respectful relationship; has every option open to her; decides she does not wish to bear a child; and has access to a safe, affordable abortion — there is not a tragedy in sight — only blessing. The ability to enjoy God’s good gift of sexuality without compromising one’s education, life’s work, or ability to put to use God’s gifts and call is simply blessing.
These are the two things I want you, please, to remember — abortion is a blessing and our work is not done.”
–Rev. Katherine Ragsdale
Bravo! What a start to your blog! You know, for a while I've preferred to say "termination" rather than "abortion", and it's only now thinking about it in the light of your post that I realise most of that is down to the "abortion = violent murder" attitude of the anti-choice brigade.
ReplyDelete"Anti-choicers have shamed us into avoiding the a-word. It's time to reclaim the word. It's time to make it our own again. In order to remove the stigma attached to having an abortion, we have to first remove the stigma attached to the word in our own statements. It's time to accept that abortion isn't terrible. Abortion is a blessing."
ReplyDeleteI think this is probably the most powerful statement I've read on the subject ever.
Thank you for your kind words, InsaneArtGurl and Julia. Much appreciated! ♥
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this; it was a pleasure to read. I recently attended "preaching-slam" (play on poetry-slam) where a young woman studying to be a doctor said that she would never perform an abortion because she loves children too much. As a non-Christian, I felt I had no way to respond to her in her own terms. I will definitely refer back to this in the future.
ReplyDeleteThe reason the term "abortion" has a stigma attached to it is because it is bad. Anyone with any sense of morality whatever knows deep down in their heart that it's bad, even if they don't admit it to others. It's time for you and the rest of the pro-choice movement to start listening to that little voice inside you and realize that preborn human life deserves the right to live. Nothing justifies the taking of a human life, either inside or outside the womb.
ReplyDeleteKatie- It can definitely be hard to respond to antis in real life. Thanks for reading my blog, I'm glad you enjoyed it! ♥
ReplyDeletePaul- You're pretending that you know all pro-choicers better than we know ourselves. I'm not hiding any feelings, and I'm not in denial. I'm the kind of girl that listens to her heart (wow that sounds cheesy), and I won't just ignore it.
The reason I always insist that pro-choice is not the same as pro-abortion is not because I think the term "abortion" should be stigmatized, or that it's not a blessing to many women. It definitely is a godsend to those who need it, and I agree that there shouldn't be moral judgment attached to the word.
ReplyDeleteI say I'm not pro-abortion because I feel like abortion is beside the point. It's just one of many choices that are available (or should be available) to women. I support the act of choice, not any one decision in and of itself. Saying I'm pro-abortion sounds like I'm promoting abortion as a BETTER choice than pregnancy, adoption, etc. In reality, the bodily autonomy of women is what I care about--the fact that she HAS a choice, not which choice she makes. I'm pro-whateverworksforher.
What I always say to pro-lifers is this: if I were pro-abortion, why would I strongly oppose forcing a woman to have an abortion?
That being said, great post :)
To Schlenky: we all know how pro-lifers feel about abortion. I have a feeling this post was not directed at hard-line pro-lifers, but at pro-choice or ambivalent people. Your comments aren't especially relevant in this context.
ReplyDelete"I say I'm not pro-abortion because I feel like abortion is beside the point. It's just one of many choices that are available (or should be available) to women."
ReplyDeleteExactly. That's why I say that being pro-abortion is a small part of being pro-choice. It's just one part of the bigger picture.
"Saying I'm pro-abortion sounds like I'm promoting abortion as a BETTER choice than pregnancy, adoption, etc."
I think that's how a lot of pro-choice people interpret the phrase "pro-abortion". I, personally, do not interpret it that way. I'm just as pro-abortion as I am pro-parenting, pro-pregnancy, pro-breastfeeding, pro-VBAC, etc. The term "pro-choice" covers all of those things, which is why I like it when I'm trying to broaden the scope. :)
I think saying that you're "pro" every available option is the same as being neutral--they cancel each other out. In my mind, being "pro" something means you prefer or advocate that thing over other things, which in the case of abortion, I don't.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason I even bother with the distinction is because I feel it's an important one to make with pro-lifers. A lot of them have this caricature in their minds of pro-choicers as manipulators who cajole/coerce/force women into abortions because we hate babies/only care about money. I always try to explain the difference between supporting abortion-as-an-option on a macro scale and advocating it for any particular woman.
Anyway, that's just my interpretation.
People have an aversion for the "n" word too. The aversion to talking about abortion and using the word is because abortion is evil!!! Abortion by any other name is still Murder.
ReplyDeletePCG
ReplyDeleteListening to your heart sounds cheesy because you are SO OUT OF TOUCH WITH YOUR HEART.
The Truth sometimes hurts, but it will also set you free.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. . . .Time to Wake Up
Some of us BELIEVE IN YOU
I'm on the fence on this one. Yes, the pro-choice movement is pro-abortion but, like you said, we're also pro-adoption, pro-parenting, pro-home birth, and a myriad of other things that come with women having reproductive choices. I kind of resent the term 'pro-abortion' because I think it's just another way for anti-choicers to force women into their narrow view of morality.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous: Abortion isn't murder, it's a medical procedure. Learn your shit.
I, too, am pro-abortion, and I've never heard it articulated as well as you did here.
ReplyDeleteWonderful piece. Thank you for articulating this so very clearly!
ReplyDeletein reponse to one of the Anon douches:
ReplyDeletean abortion by any other name... isn't an abortion anymore lol. there is either abortion... or there isn't. stop trying to dance around semantics if you can't even two-step convincingly.