This Monday, in their online “Room for Debate” section, the New York Times asked the following question: “Would support for abortion rights grow if more women talked publicly about their abortions?” Of the seven responses solicited by the Times, four responses came from individuals who support legal abortion. On balance, they felt the decision to reveal an abortion is an intensely personal one. However, they seemed to think that more stories would reduce the stigma involved with abortion and would increase support for abortion rights.
The Times also solicited responses from three pro-life individuals. My Lozier Institute colleague Chuck Donovan said that more stories might cause people to empathize with women facing crisis pregnancies. However, he felt that most Americans would frown upon the high number of abortions and repeat abortions. Georgette Forney of Anglicans for Life argues that more visibility for negative post-abortive experiences would increase support for the pro-life position. Daniel Allott from American Values argues that support for abortion has decreased as ultrasound technology has developed. As such, the increased familiarity with abortion would only reduce support for abortion rights.
It was heartening that the Times offered pro-life perspectives more than just token coverage. Personally, I am torn on this question. I think more stories might increase support for abortion in “hard-case” scenarios. On the other hand, more familiarity with the high number of abortions would disturb many Americans. There is research showing that most Americans greatly underestimate the number of abortions performed annually. Most Americans think that far fewer than 30 percent of pregnancies are aborted. Even political candidates who support abortion rights state that they would like to see fewer abortions. Furthermore, many have found persuasive the negative experiences of post-abortive women.
One reason why many women are hesitant to discuss their abortion experiences is because most Americans think abortion is morally wrong. Not everyone wants to see abortion banned. However, one quiet victory for the pro-life movement is that we have convinced a majority of Americans that abortion is, in fact, wrong. Interestingly, during the past 20 years “pro-life” self-identification has grown faster than moral opposition to abortion. This means that more Americans are translating their moral unease about abortion to political opposition toward abortion. This is a positive development — and a nice testament to the good work of the pro-life movement.