Pro-Abortion Logic… or Lack Thereof
When I wake up on Saturday morning I usually browse around the web reading news stories and blogs and this morning I ran across this article. After reading it and getting angry I subjected my followers on twitter to a little rant. Then I decided why not throw together my rant into a little blog post.
The author talks about how her daily commute consists of riding on the NY subway and how there is a new pro-life ad campaign that she will be “forced” to look at.
Anyway, apparently, thanks to a new ad campaign launching this month on NYC subways, I will be adding “I am forced to read some f’ed up anti-choice ads” to my regular subway repoirtoire.
Metro US is reporting that, starting this week, the New York City subway system will be home of a massive ad campaign bankrolled by the San Diego-based anti-choice organization “Abortion Changes You”.
More images and info on the ads after the jump.
The article warns that
The 2,000 ads, which straphangers will see in nearly every subway station beginning tomorrow [this week], depict either a woman saying, “I thought life would be the way it was before,” or a man saying, “I often wonder if there was something I could have done to help her.”
She continues on,
I call bullshit, and I’m not the only one. Samantha Levine of NARAL Pro-Choice New York is all over this one:
“The campaign suggests that feelings of sadness and self-harm are the universal experiences for someone who had an abortion. And there’s no evidence to suggest that that’s true. The organization behind these ads has an agenda. They aren’t seeking to help women — they’re seeking to get abortion banned.”
Then she wanted to challenge the campaign:
So, “Abortion Changes You” ad campaign, I have a question for you: If you care about women so much, why push such an anti-woman agenda? I think that the hidden-agenda-cloaked-in-faux-concern-for-women trend needed to end with the Aughts, yet somehow, the bizarre and twisted logic behind showing women you care about them by cutting off their access to healthcare mysteriously, miraculously, persists in all its annoyingness. Unfortunately, these ads are only the latest to join the crowded ranks of people and initiatives who couch their anti-woman agendas in messaging about “concern” for women and families
So, pro-lifers are anti-women because they seek to help women and encourage them to carry out their pregnancy to term and either love and nurture that child or give it to another family who would love a child but cannot have one on their own. Shame on those women for not wanting to encourage women to kill their babies.
She then finished with these two gems, which are full of logic (ha!)
“yes, abortion change you- it makes you not pregnant anymore!”
My answer to this: DON’T GET PREGNANT IN THE FIRST PLACE! If you don’t want to be pregnant……. don’t get pregnant.
Also, you know what else changes you? Being FORCED to carry a pregnancy to term against your will!
My answer: Really? Against YOUR will? Who made the decision to have sex? Who knows what happens when you have sex? The baby didn’t make you have sex. You CHOSE to have sex and unless your mom never gave you “the talk” you know what the result of sex is.
The bottom line is that pro-abortion groups cannot use logic to argue why they think abortion is needed. The arguments presented by this woman are ridiculous and can easily be taken apart with simple one or two line answers.
Liberals are also the type of people that want to tell young women they can play around all they want and not have to live with the results of their playfulness. Young girls need to realize that having sex is something sacred that should be saved for when they are read to love, nurture, raise and support a child. And yes, the guys need to take responsibility also. If you really loved the young lady you’d want to wait as well. It’s what’s best for the both of you. End of story.
Jackie Seal 
She’s clueless. Roe v. Wade legalized the back-alley abortion. See the Blackmun Wall.
As a male, I’m often told when debating about abortion that I will never know what it’s like to consider an abortion. To the extent that a woman must consider her “options,” no, I probably won’t. But I think an integral part of curbing abortions and the murder of innocent lives is that we must instill the fact that children and “making babies” involves a male for more than one obvious reason into the minds of men in society.
Both women and men need to know that pregnancy is an option and a choice. Choices have consequences (in this case a blessing to the world) and you must choose wisely.
Perhaps I’m being too romantic, though.
PS: I want to take responsibility for the fact that this post came to fruition- so please don’t abort it. : )
The active antichoicers I know do not just “encourage” women to carry to term, but actively fight for legislation which would make it illegal for a woman to abort. This is not “encouragement” but FORCE. I do not know any prochoicer who is against people encouraging women to consider parenting and adoption. We do these things as well! However, we are against forcing women to carry to term.
In terms of “against their will-” yes, against their will. You make a common mistake, which is to pretend that sex and pregnancy are the same thing. Though they may be connected in most cases, they are not the same. Consent to sex is not consent to pregnancy or parenting. Consent can always be revoked. Choosing to have sex is NOT choosing to become pregnant. Just because one knows that they can become pregnant after having sex, does not mean they are required to carry the pregnancy to term.
By acting like a woman *must* go through pregnancy because she chose to have sex, you are using pregnancy as a punishment for sexually active women. I don’t think that’s how pregnancy should be treated. When wanted, pregnancy is a blessing and miraculous. We should never treat it as a punishment.
As for “don’t get pregnant” – I wish it were that simple! If women were able to decide whether they got pregnant or not, the abortion debate wouldn’t exist, because women would only get pregnant when they chose to become pregnant.
Unfortunately, that’s not the way God designed us. Half of all pregnancies in the US are unplanned- about 3 million a year. This is why we need comprehensive sexual education (which includes abstinence, thanks very much), health care access (so that those who don’t want to become pregnant can access contraceptives, and those who want to stay pregnant can access prenatal care), improvements to the adoption system (because when most people go out of country because it’s cheaper and easier, something needs to change) and a change in our culture to how we see and treat moms (more maternity leave, more breastfeeding support, better wages, etc). All these things can help to reduce the unplanned pregnancy rates and allow women to see all their choices as equal.
Lastly- I don’t agree with wild, anonymous, unprotected sex flings. I support waiting until you’re in a long term committed relationship before pursuing sexual activities. But I can’t stop other people who don’t agree with me, and I’d rather they were protected and educated then flying blind.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Jackie. I was reminded of what Horton the elephant said in Horton Hears a Who: “A person is a person, no matter how small.”
The reason this debate rages is the sanctity of life. Some people refuse to acknowledge that man was created in the image of God.
Another reason to no want to live where there are subways.
I love the saying that “we all should be Pro-Choice…that is Pro-Choice before conception and Pro-Life after!” Jackie your blog is cookin’ as always!
“The campaign suggests that feelings of sadness and self-harm are the universal experiences for someone who had an abortion. And there’s no evidence to suggest that that’s true.”
The statement above is categorically untrue, and even if you don’t believe the statistics, try talking to your friends who have had abortions. They’ll admit it.
Love you blog! 🙂 Found you on twitter via @kfred.
Have a good weekend,
Tor
There ‘logic’ always makes me laugh! But, not everyone chooses to have sex. I was raped, and an now pregnent, yet I am keeping the child.
– ““The campaign suggests that feelings of sadness and self-harm are the universal experiences for someone who had an abortion. And there’s no evidence to suggest that that’s true.” If you type in google, “after abortion”, you will fing so many sites in long and short term consaquences, and also support boards, offline support. I think that’s enough evedence for anyone… So, interms of “not seeking to help women…”
-“it makes you not preg anymore.” Well, yes, in a sense, but you can never esrase what you have done… (Sorry if triggers.)
– “Being FORCED to carry preg agaist ur will.” – I dont think so… Not forced… Because if people were truely forced, they would find a way to not be forced… (human will power.)
Another intresting comment by a person here was that
-“As for “don’t get pregnant” – I wish it were that simple! If women were able to decide whether they got pregnant or not, the abortion debate wouldn’t exist, because women would only get pregnant when they chose to become pregnant. ” There are ways… Empty the sperm, make sure your not near your monthly time…
Thanks for this site about how ‘pro choice’ (Not choice at all), are not at all logical (Just look up embryology)
Thanks.
RPAB