safe, legal abortion IS pro-life

sallystrange asked: I just read your post about safe legal abortion. Thanks for writing that, it needed to be said!

Happy to oblige!

:)

omegashogun:

vonsuellosvenue:

Sad but true Abortion has killed 14 million black babies since 1970.

Somehow this was considered to be a racist billboard and taken down even though what they’re saying is true.

It’s racist because it frames the Black community, and black women* in particular, as violent and dangerous. Are the people who made the billboard concerned about the black community or are they just playing on stereotypes of POC in order to achieve their ends? They are attempting to elicit sympathy and concern for black children while simultaneously vilifying black women (and other people who are able to get pregnant). That’s why it’s racist.

Another problem with this billboard is that it makes it seem as if black women* are being somehow targeted for abortion services. This is ridiculous. It’s true that in the US black women* are disproportionately represented when it comes to abortion. But what anti-abortion advocates either haven’t seemed to figure out (or hope that the general public isn’t able to figure out) is that there is an important intervening variable they’re ignoring: economic status. People with lower socioeconomic status and less stable financial situations are more likely to choose abortion due to the fact that they are unable to afford a(nother) pregnancy or child.

Is there racism involved here? Certainly. And though it may be reflected in the racial and ethnic breakdown abortion rates, it would be an incorrect conclusion to label the existence of safe, legal abortion as the problem. The problem lies in the institutional and systemic racism that keeps black people (and black women especially) in poverty. Of course it’s sad when a person has to terminate an otherwise wanted pregnancy because they can’t afford it or afford to take care of the resulting child. But the way to fix this is not by diverting attention from the real problem by creating a false enemy out of abortion— it’s by attacking the systems and institutions that cause a person to be lacking financial resources in the first place. This includes attacking institutional and systemic racism, misogyny, ciscentrism, and transphobia.

side note: I can’t find the article at the moment, but there’s an interview with the mom of the girl in the picture where she says she was upset that her daughter’s image was being used in this way.

allthesofalove:

A note to everyone on the great wide internets saying that “pro-choice” and “pro-abortion” are the same thing. I don’t usually have angry tirades on the internet, but someone has explain the distinction between the two phrases. So here’s the deal:

Nobody is PRO abortion. Nobody (except for those…

Um. I’m pro-abortion. Here’s why. Pro-abortion doesn’t have to mean the belief that every pregnant person should terminate. I use it as my way of acknowledging the necessity of the existence of and access to safe, legal abortion services.

I’m also 100% okay with the idea of abortion. It’s not an act that needs or deserves shame. At all. It’s a common, necessary, legal medical procedure.

I understand the aversion to the term, I do; it’s often used in an derogatory way by the anti-abortion movement to belittle pro-choicers. I respect your right not to identify as pro-abortion. Hope you’ll extend those of us who do the same courtesy. Let’s not let the term pro-abortion divide our movement.

Pro-choicers unite!

tokenhetro asked: man, i gotta say you are figuratively and in a small way, literally a life saver. About two months ago I had an abortion. Afterwards i only felt that I had made the right decision for myself but everyone else in my life. It was a good few weeks after that i started feeling guilty, depressed and even slightly suicidal over said abortion. Thinking about it now though, these responses weren't really my own, more what society had me believe i should feel. TBC..

Ctd…

Yo Yo! anyway, all i wanted to finish on was that personally i knew the choice i made was right, but people close to me were always so worried about me, and the things (articles and whatnot) i was reading told me i would/should be feeling guilt, depression, etc. I feel that in some way if i had been left to my own devices and didn’t expose myself to a lot of the stigma i wouldn’t have had to deal with the negative emotions following the abortion. I love your blog. Keep up the good work dude :)

                                                                                                             

Thank you so much for the message.

This is why it is infinitely important to talk about abortion in an honest and accurate way. Society puts a lot of pressure on its members to conform to certain beliefs and ways of acting, and societal stigma around topics such as abortion can manifest shame where shame is neither necessary nor deserved. 

You seem to be working through your feelings surrounding your abortion and where they came from and that’s great. I’m glad you’re feeling better and recognizing that if the choice was right for you then it was the right choice!

Please feel free to contact me any time if you ever need someone to talk to. Also, I’m linking to a post Bebinn did on pro-choice counselling hotlines, just in case you would like some extra resources.

:)

etinsomnisveritas:

This idea that Pro-Lifers only care about the first nine months of a child life, and then dont want have anything to do with it, is complete nonsense. Pro-lifers are fighting against an evil that is accepted by society. Its a given that poverty and social injustice are bad things - but first of…

Great. I’m sure all of the actual children that already exist in the world today who are living in poverty or with abusive families; who are languishing in the foster care and adoption systems; who are dying unnecessarily from preventable diseases or because they don’t have access to adequate, affordable health care really appreciate that you will only be able to care for/about them once you “irradiate” (eradicate?) abortion. Induced abortion has existed as a human practice for thousands of years, it’s foolish to think it will disappear, even if made illegal. In other words, saying you will worry about children living in poverty once abortion has been eradicated is pretty much tantamount to saying never.

iwriteaboutfeminism:

Many people feel the need to point out that being pro-choice does not mean that you are pro-abortion. I feel uneasy when I hear this, but it is a true statement. 

Being pro-choice means that you believe that women should be able to access abortion services. Being pro-choice does not mean that abortion is necessarily an option you would choose for yourself. You can be both pro-choice and anti-abortion. This means that you’re uncomfortable with the thought of abortion, but you respect the rights of other women who choose to get one. 

But when people say that “No one is pro-abortion,”….well that’s not true. 

I am pro-abortion because I believe that abortion is a valid choice for women. It’s a choice I would make for myself if I had to choose today, and it’s a choice that I respect other women for making when they do so. 

The problem with saying, “No one is pro-abortion,” is that it invalidates the decisions of women who choose to have abortions. It implies that what they did was wrong and that no one supports their decision.

I believe that what people mean to say when they say “No one is pro-abortion,” is “No one is pro-unintended pregnancy.” 

Being pro-abortion does not mean that I’m for women being in a situation with an unintended pregnancy, having to 1) find a clinic (which may be hours from her home, or out of state), 2) pay for an abortion (which is a few hundred dollars), 3) having to listen to false and misleading statements about abortion, view a medically unnecessary ultrasound image, and/or wait up to 3 days after her initial appointment to have her procedure done (all designed to shame her out of making her own decision). 

Of course I don’t want a woman to be in that situation. That’s ridiculous.Especially if she’s a minor, because in many states that means jumping through more unnecessary hoops. 

I am certainly not pro-unplanned pregnancy, no matter how pro-choice I am. 

But I am pro-abortion. It’s a perfectly legitimate choice, which all women should be able to make without institutional shame from the government or religious organizations. All women should have access to affordable abortion services and they shouldn’t feel like they have to keep it a secret. Abortion is the most common out-patient medical procedure in the United States.One-third of women will have an abortion by the time they are 45. No one should have to feel ashamed for wanting to control when, if, and how many times they have a child. 

I’m not pro-abortion because I like women being put in difficult, expensive, socially taboo situations. That would be ridiculous. 

I’m pro-abortion because I respect the women who make their own medical and reproductive decisions, including the decision to have an abortion.

Are you pro-abortion?

Beautiful post! It’s great to hear from someone else who identifies as pro-abortion.   I’ve written before about why pro-abortion is one of the many reproductive justice labels I use for myself. I’ve also written about how anti-abortion folk often co-opt this term and use it against us as a form of invective and how when fellow pro-choicers unquestioningly accept these negative connotations it essentially does the anti-abortion movement’s work for them; that is, it creates a divide in the pro-choice group and convinces pro-choicers to use the word ‘abortion’ in a derogatory way. There is nothing shameful about abortion; it is a necessary, legal, and common medical procedure. Proudly identifying as pro-abortion is one of the ways I hope to help destigmatize abortion as both a word and concept.

Love it!

Thanks, theseanachaidh, for the submission.

god-is-prochoice:

chesiregirl:

And there’s always adoption.

Oh dear. These anti-choice people never learn, do they?

Women* know that their actions have consequences. We (and other people who are able to get pregnant) can and do make intelligent, informed decisions about our own bodies. Abortion is a valid, responsible way of dealing with the consequence of an unintended pregnancy (though not the only way, of course). What the OP is advocating for is not the recognition that actions have consequences but the idea that those who get pregnant unintentionally should be forced to carry the pregnancy to term as a punishment for their “misdeeds” (i.e. daring to have sex for a reason other than reproduction). Must pregnancy be viewed so bleakly? It may be a consequence* of sex, but it need not be viewed as a punishment.

And please. Let’s stop with the slut-shaming.

*when I say ‘consequence’ I mean it in the sense of a general outcome. Remember, consequence doesn’t inherently carry negative connotations.

Side note: seeing a Buffy gif used for an anti-abortion post makes my heart hurt

chungleee asked: I wasn't taking credit, I didn't even know he said it. You annoy me. I don't care what the circumstances are, a women should not be able to kill her child.

You’re right, a woman should not be able to kill her child. I’m glad we agree. It’s a shame that annoys you.

chungleee:

is already born.

Congratulations! You noticed something completely unsurprising: that being born is a necessary part of being able to form an opinion. 

It’s weird (read: annoying) how this Reagan quote periodically makes the tumblr rounds— as if it’s saying something profound. It’s also weird that when the internets goes through a Reagan-abortion-quote phase many people stop attributing the quote to him. I’m not sure why anyone would desire to take credit for such garbage.