Posted on 12/17/2011, 12:52:58 AM by wagglebee
We found out recently about a new campaign called My Abortion, My Life. Based in Cleveland, they’ve recently placed ads on the city’s buses as part of their effort to start the “long process of” — wait for it — “de-stigmatizing abortion in our society.”
Campaigns like this that set out to normalize abortion are doomed to fail.
Why? Because they’ve always failed. And there’s no reason to believe things won’t be different this time.
Remember the “I Had an Abortion” T-shirts released in 2004?
If you don’t, you’re not alone. Even after a big publicity splash when they were introduced, they were — to the surprise of exactly no one — never very popular. (And, what’s more, the online store that once sold them is no longer accessible.)
Then, two years later, Ms. Magazine tried a similar campaign. It, too, was a flop. As League National Director Joe Scheidler wrote at the time:
We understand the current issue of Ms. Magazine includes a list of over one-thousand names of women who are proud that they had their children exterminated by abortion. The editors of Ms. claim to have five-thousand such testimonials, too many to run in their quarterly magazine.
Sad and sick as this Elly Smeal idea is, it still says nothing of much significance since there have been more than 50 million abortions since 1973. Even if this list does include 5,000 authentic names, they represent only one “happy-with-my-abortion” woman for every 9,999 who are not boasting about their abortions—and who are living with who knows how much guilt and sorrow.
Then there’s Imnotsorry.net, which in its heyday was quite the repository of women’s stories of abortion non-regret. It now appears to be defunct and only accessible via the Wayback Machine. Ditto for its blog. And no tweets in over 5 months.
It’s not by accident that even the most staunchly “pro-choice” politicians do whatever they can to avoid ever saying the word “abortion”. Instead, they say they’re advocates for “women’s health,” and they “support reproductive rights”, or “support women’s reproductive freedom” — but they typically don’t touch the word “abortion” with a 10-foot pole.
They’re not stupid: they can read public opinion polls, and they know that the vast majority of people are, at the very least, uncomfortable with abortion.
Abortion doesn’t have stigma attached to it because people haven’t gotten over their “hang-ups” about it. It has stigma attached to it because abortion kills a tiny, defenseless person. No amount of propaganda or public awareness campaigns that try to “promote a new dialogue” can change that.
Abortion stigma isn’t cultural. It’s moral.
When a woman feels guilty about having chosen an abortion—or when a man feels guilty about having consented to the abortion of his child—that’s actually the sign of a healthy conscience. It’s an indication that the person knows: I’ve done something wrong.
Those who have had abortions need the healing and they need forgiveness their hearts long for—not to be told that what they did was good.
They don’t need “My Abortion, My Life.” They need Project Rachel, or Rachel’s Vineyard, or any one of countless other post-abortion ministries that are ready to offer them true compassion and love.
My Abortion, My Life’s website currently has a message that reads:
We hear that Cleveland RTA [Rapid Transit Association] is getting anti-abortion complaints. Please take a moment to call RTA and tell them how much you like the ads! Call the RTA feedback line at 216-566-5227.
It’s good to know that people are calling to complain about the ads. Keep the complaints coming! Call the Cleveland RTA at 216-566-5227.
LifeNews Note: John Jansen writes for the Pro-Life Action League.
Exactly!
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The sheer defensiveness of those who have had abortions tells a lot about why abortion will never be “destigmatized.” I drive past many medical clinics every day. They have big signs out front, next to the road: Orthopedics; Radiology; Oncology; etc. I also sometimes drive past an abortion mill. Instead of a big sign, it just has a little plaque affixed to the building, which misleading says “Reproductive Services.” And that low-key sign by those selling the “service” tells us that stigma is, and always will be, associated with the abortion business.
“My Abortion, My Life”
NO. Your abortion, your childs’ life.
Which is why the slogan will flop. It’s too inadvertently sarcastic.
“It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.” -—Mother Theresa
Many who “support” abortion usually begin their claim with, “I would never have one myself but....”
To which I typically respond:
"I would never commit murder, rape, arson or armed robbery myself but....”
That seems to shut them up.
lol
My abortion, my life . . . and my breast tumors and my relational problems and my emotional problems and my . . .
“My Abortion, My Life, Baby Murdered”
I for one am not apposed to shoving a cold metal pole thru the base of Richard Rameras skull and sucking his brains out and crushing skull.
I for one am not apposed to shoving a cold metal pole thru the base of Richard Rameras skull and sucking his brains out and crushing skull.
I for one am not apposed to shoving a cold metal pole thru the base of Richard Rameras skull and sucking his brains out and crushing skull.
Some women now destigmatize their abortion by calling it a “miscarriage.” That they cannot in their minds call it by its real name is evidence that it is written on our hearts that killing an innocent baby is wrong.
The mother isn’t the one who is “aborted”, so no it’s not her abortion, it’s her baby’s.
From the statements I've read by those engaged in the abortion industry, not even those committing the act or helping with it are comfortable with it. They try to distance themselves by saying that it's the woman's choice, and if it weren't for her making that choice, they wouldn't have to do that act. (Of course, that begs the question of why they refuse to provide clients with full information when they come to the abortion mill.)
No. Your abortion, your unborn child's death.
If the poor-choicers are so keen to "destigmatize" abortion, why are they so freaked out over pictures of aborted fetuses? What could be more destigmatizing than a frank picture of what abortion is, and does?
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