The House of Representatives’ Pro-Choice Caucus is attempting to move the abortion movement’s messaging away from the word “choice,” according to a document obtained by Politico reporter Sarah Ferris.
SO WHAT
This isn’t just a language shift – it shows how radical the pro-abortion movement has become.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH “CHOICE”
The Pro-Choice Caucus’ “Abortion Messaging Do’s and Don’ts,” which Ferris shared to Twitter on Thursday, recommends Democratic members start describing abortion as a “decision” rather than a “choice.”
According to the caucus, “choice” in this context is “Harmful Language.”
- So are the terms “unwanted pregnancy,” “safe, legal and rare” and “back-alley abortions.
The document echoes a February 2021 Planned Parenthood blog post that argues: “‘Choice’ ignores the lived realities of people, especially Black people and people of color, who face barriers that are often compounded by racist and classist policies that keep them from the care they need.”
- “‘Choice’ assumes that everyone can get an abortion, and someone just has to choose whether or not they want one. Not everyone can get an abortion when they want one. Black feminists and feminists of color have pointed out that this isn’t the case: The legal right to choose to have an abortion does not always mean someone can actually get an abortion,” per the post, by the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts.
- Using “pro-choice” as a euphemism for pro-abortion is discouraged because, “It implies that abortion isn’t a good thing, that legal abortion is important but somehow bad, undesirable. That’s deeply stigmatizing, and contributes to the shame and silence around abortion, making people who’ve had abortions feel isolated and ashamed. At least one in four people who can get pregnant will have an abortion during their lives, and they should be supported and celebrated. It’s time to retire the phrase ‘pro-choice, not pro-abortion’ for good.”
HOW DEMOCRATS GOT HERE
Since 2007, the proportion of Democrats who say abortion should be legal in most or all cases has spiked nearly 20 points (from 63% to 80%), according to the Pew Research Center.
- President Biden has tried to keep pace with his party’s evolution on the issue, going from calling the procedure a “tragedy” to championing it as a “right.”
- Meanwhile, many pro-abortion activists have taken to outright celebrating the termination of pregnancy, a la “Shout your abortion.”
- Feminist writer Sophie Lewis caused a stir this week with a Twitter thread that urged: “Let’s learn to celebrate” the “beauty & power of a gestator’s decision to unmake life.”