The Pro-Choice Caucus in Congress sent around some strange talking points on abortion:
Noticed that the House Dem women chanted “my body, my decision” on the walk to the Senate, instead of the more common “my body, my choice.” Why? Talking points! They found messaging gurus who think “choice” is a risky word. https://t.co/83rKOKQUxm
— David Weigel (@daveweigel) May 12, 2022
The first point is that the word “choice” is harmful, and that the word “decision” is somehow helpful. (No word on whether it will now be called the Pro-Decision Caucus.)
Where did the idea that “choice” is a bad word and “decision” is a good word come from? One Democratic congressional staffer on Twitter flagged this post on the website of Planned Parenthood’s official advocacy group in Massachusetts (emphasis added):
“Pro-choice” is probably the word you’ve heard most often to describe abortion supporters. Many people strongly identify as “pro-choice” , and “pro-choice” has come to encompass a wide range of beliefs about why someone should be able to choose to have an abortion. But “choice” frames the whole conversation about abortion inadequately and doesn’t describe true reproductive freedom. We need to go beyond choice language to affirm our support for abortion.
The language of “choice” centers one person’s decision to get an abortion or not; a choice is something one person makes. Focusing on someone’s “choice” erases the structural, societal factors that determine how and if someone can get health care, and the quality of that care. These factors are not incidental or insignificant: they leave many people with no choices at all..
“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. “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.
[…]
So what can someone say instead of just “pro-choice”? You can absolutely say:
- pro-abortion, pro-abortion rights, pro-abortion access, or pro-abortion equity — abortion isn’t a dirty word.
For years, Planned Parenthood activists argued strenuously that no one is pro-abortion, but this change in rhetoric is the logical result of the #ShoutYourAbortion activism on the left. Here’s a flashback to the 2016 Democratic National Convention:
When talking about abortion, Democratic politicians and activists usually prefer to speak euphemistically: The dismemberment or lethal poisoning of a baby who hasn’t been born yet is almost always referred to as “reproductive health care” or “a woman’s choice.” The group NARAL, once known as the National Abortion Rights Action League, went so far as to change its name to NARAL Pro-Choice America so its supporters and allies could avoid saying the a-word.
But there’s been a growing push on the left to not only defend abortion as a necessary evil that should be “safe, legal, and rare” but to celebrate it as a positive good. (See the #ShoutYourAbortion Twitter campaign of 2015.) And so on Wednesday evening, Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, took the stage at the Democratic National Convention and told the story of the time she aborted her first child because it was an inconvenient time to become a parent.
“To succeed in life, all we need are the tools, the trust, and the chance to chart our own path,” Hogue said during her DNC speech. “I was fortunate enough to have these things when I found out I was pregnant years ago. I wanted a family, but it was the wrong time. I made the decision that was best for me—to have an abortion and get compassionate care at a clinic in my own community.” At this point, applause and cheers could be heard in the crowd.