These “hot Tricks” for Abortion Are Really Bad
When the Supreme Court refused to block Texas-based SB8, which bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy , by functionally banning the procedure altogether, it caused emotional shock. People were processing their feelings on Twitter, releasing all kinds of naughty tweets about retarded Texans, ignorant male politicians who don’t know that the fallopian tubes are from the cervix, and, unfortunately, Islamophobic whistles about “Sharia law” coming to Texas. …
Twitter through it may seem enjoyable at the moment , but none of these options are as harmless as they seem at first glance. They perpetuate misinformation and prejudice, and anyone who supports the right to abortion should know better. Here’s a quick guide to common failed attempts so you can trigger them when you see them.
“It came out of nowhere!”
None of this is new at all. Abortion exists as long as there is a pregnancy, and for most of human history, it was considered quite normal. This means that people have always had abortions, no matter what the law says. It also means that no matter where you live or what the laws look like in your state, there are already people on the ground helping people get abortions.
If you want to help, too, focus on your donations and volunteer efforts locally. You can find your local abortion fund through the National Network of Abortion Foundations (NNAF).
“So we’re going to go back to abortion on hangers?”
Absolutely not. Medical abortion (in which you take a pill to cause a miscarriage in early pregnancy) is safe, effective, and affordable, especially now that at least 20 states and Washington, D.C. allow prescribers to distribute pills by mail . If you have questions, the NNAF has tons of self-medication abortion resources that should help.
“Evangelicals want us all to go back to the Middle Ages!”
This one is several centuries behind. While bringing back someone’s idea of Glory Days is the goal of a tough anti-abortion policy, those days are Jim Crow (and possibly slavery), not the Middle Ages.
Anti-abortion activism in the United States did not start with Roe v. Wade ; in fact, its roots lie in taxes and segregation. In the aftermath of Brown v. Board of Education, evangelical churches have opened “segregation academies” across the South in an attempt to avoid court-ordered desegregation. These transactions were tax-free until 1970-71, when a group of black parents from Mississippi successfully sued the US Treasury Department to end tax breaks for schools.
Faced with significant tax arrears, the former apolitical evangelical leaders suddenly became very interested in politics. Strategists such as Paul Weirich and Jerry Falwell sought a problem that unites evangelicals as a political entity and approached anti-abortion rhetoric, although evangelicals have long viewed abortion as a “Catholic problem.” He offered the perfect cover for “religious freedom” for its true purpose, which, of course, was to restore legal segregation.
This is a very short version of a long complex story. If you’re interested in learning more, check out this 2013 NPR Throughline podcast and / or The Lie That Binds six-part podcast series on this topic from NARAL Pro-Choice America.
“I can’t believe the people in the South continue to vote for this!”
Well, they try very hard not to, but wave after wave of suppression laws makes it increasingly difficult for anyone who doesn’t have the time, money, or both, to get out and vote. This sets the game up in favor of white, wealthy voters who continually elect white, wealthy, right-wing candidates who, in turn, fill the courts with like-minded judges. Foam, rinse, repeat.
Right-wing politicians have to fake the game to win, and they know it. Abortion rights are very popular. Most Americans favor fully legal abortion and support Roe v. Wade. This includes blue state voters, red state voters, and even politicians and lawyers promoting anti-abortion legislation – at least behind closed doors. (As writer and activistLindy West told The Daily Show host Trevor Noah in 2018, politicians’ wives, daughters, and mistresses can always have an abortion.) The poor and working class in Red states are not uneducated fanatics who are too stupid to understand that vote against their interests – they are stuck in a system that doesn’t care what they want.
“Why don’t they just move?”
This brings us to the worst “well-intentioned” abortion option: “If they don’t like it, they have to leave!” What an ignorant, simplistic, cruel sentence. Why should people in Texas (and elsewhere) leave their homes and communities just to have an abortion? Even if they decided to leave, where would they go and with what money?
Remember, banning abortion is rooted in racism and violence, and blaming people who need or want an abortion will only make matters worse.