Dear Marie Claire, Stop Glorifying Abortion
By Vanessa Sivadge
The left is on a mission to demolish and reconstruct the natural order in its image, and that includes redefining language. The reality that men cannot be women and women cannot be men was an indisputable fact a decade ago. The reality that life begins at conception was not up for debate 50 years ago. In each of these examples, the left has reinvented the meaning and connotation of words in order to advance an agenda that people are more likely to accept.
As Christian theologian Doug Wilson summarized,“Our current culture wars are battles over the dictionary. Understand that, and everything else follows. They want to define boy and girl, true enough. But they also want to define hate, bigotry, holiness, guilt, identity, victim, and more.”
The left knows that words matter. When they control language, they control the culture. In order for any society to embrace previously rejected ideas or practices as normal, words must be restructured and rebranded in order to make them appear more palatable. This is exactly what the left has done when reshaping the abortion narrative.
The word, “baby” has been reframed as “a clump of cells.”
The phrase “women’s reproductive healthcare” serves as a convenient euphemism for ending a human life in the womb.
And finally, abortion is sugarcoated as “quick and safe medical procedure.”
The ultra leftist fashion magazine Marie Claire recently published an article encouraging and promoting more abortion representation by parents in film and television, stating that the stigma surrounding young, teenage girls receiving abortions does not reflect the support for abortion that the majority of Americans supposely hold.
Feminist author Danielle Campoamor says the following:
“I think the most radical reconception that needs to happen with respect to abortion, especially parenting people who have abortions, is for people to realize that it can be a serious act of love to have an abortion,” she says. “And for people who have kids, that is the number one decision-making factor. If they feel like they can’t handle another child, what’s driving that decision is the desire to give the children they already have the best possible life.” Essentially, the article pushes for a radical normalization of abortion for the sake of preserving the best quality of life for the other siblings in a “sacrificial act of love.”
The Left loves to manipulate the dictionary in order to push an agenda that most people would normally disagree with. Abortion is the horrific, violent murder of an unborn child who is solely dependent on its mother for oxygen and nutrients. As science has proven repeatedly, life begins at conception and not at a certain fetal developmental stage. Every life is unique, precious, and made in the image of God on purpose, for a purpose. Children are not a burden to society, despite what environmentalists claim, but have a beautiful role to play in making the world a better place for future generations.
The author of this piece claims, among other things, that abortion is “a quick and safe medical procedure.” Safe for whom? Definitely not for the baby who’s spinal cord and limbs are dismembered by forceps. Definitely not for the baby who is intentionally deprived of life-giving nutrients via the cytotec pill, more commonly known as a chemical abortion. Definitely not for a fully formed baby in its third trimester of gestation who is induced into cardiac arrest from a lethal injection of digoxin.
The pro-choice movement is tactful with erasing or diluting any language that exposes the violence and inhumanity of abortion. Buzz words like “safe and quick” are embedded into abortion proponets’ dialogue as a means of convincing a woman that life can easily discarded and disposed of in the name of “bodily autonomy.” An abortion is the single greatest act of brutality committed against an unborn baby’s bodily autonomy.
Debunking leftist claims, abortion is neither “safe” nor “quick.” In the case of a chemical abortion, severe cramping and heavy bleeding can occur for 2-3 weeks after taking misoprostol to expel the unborn child from the uterus. In addition to the physical risks abortion poses for the mother, such as hemorrhaging, uterine perforation, infection, and even maternal death, there’s been a staggering rise in mental health disorders for post abortive women. The Nebraska Family Alliance says the following:
“A 2011 article published in the British Journal of Psychiatry reviewed 22 major studies between 1995 and 2009 that examined the psychological effects of abortion on women. Post-abortive women are 81% more likely to experience mental health problems, 27% more likely to use marijuana, 21% more likely to display suicidal behaviors, and 35% more likely to commit suicide.”
Will the women suffering from psychological issues ever see their stories proclaimed on Netflix? No, because their stories don’t advance the Left’s narrative that post-abortion trauma doesn’t or shouldn’t exist.
Finally, the most disturbing argument made by Campoamor is that abortion can be “a serious act of love” for the benefit of the unborn child’s siblings and their quality of life. Women who are facing an unplanned pregnancy or couples who are not financially prepared for the responsibility of caring for a child should never be made to feel like abortion is the only option.
Not everyone is prepared mentally and emotionally to provide for a baby, but there is hope. According to Live Action, an analysis in 2019 revealed 2,700 pregnancy centers operating within the United States while providing approximately 1.85 million people in the United States with free services, for an estimated total value of services at over $266 million dollars. This detailed report revealed the following details regarding the services and help offered, often at zero cost, to pregnant women and children:
“Almost 732,000 pregnancy tests were performed, more than 486,000 free ultrasounds, approximately 160,200 STI/STD tests, parenting and prenatal education programs for more than 291,000 clients, after-abortion support for more than 21,000 clients, nearly 1.3 million packs of diapers, and more than two million baby outfits were given.”
Pregnancy Resource Centers around the country outnumber abortion clinics, the Guttmacher Institute outline in a 2017 report, offering compassionate care and resources to teenagers, women, and children both during a pregnancy and beyond. Women who feel overwhelmed and unequipped to be a mother have more help, resources, and services available today than ever before. Love, in the truest sense of the word, is manifested in selflessness. The truest “act of love” as a parent should result in a fierce determination to provide the best possible life for the baby, not ending its life. Help is readily available. The pro-life movement should strive to make it even more abundant and accessible as we fight more challenging abortion battles ahead.
The Left has attempted to reshape the abortion narrative in an attempt to make its gruesome reality seem less like a necessary evil and more like a positively good institution. Conservatives have always been pro-woman and pro-child, offering more to empower and support women of all ethnicities, ages, and walks of life than Planned Parenthood ever could. Instead of arguing in favor of increased abortion plotlines in movies and film, why can’t we argue for more portrayals of women who overcame impossible odds by choosing life for their baby? Why can’t we highlight the heroic stories of women who gave up their babies for adoption? Let’s flip the script.
Photo via Mimosa Lane
