The Abortion Spin Zone (and the Language of Choice)
Thoughts and news for the week of November 13
Anyone with a modicum of PR knowledge knows that words are power, and language can be used to spin, control, and manipulate. Leading anti-abortion advocates have known this since the day they chose the term pro-life to name their cause. Now, a year and a half after the Supreme Court overturned federally protected abortion access, people see through this hollow moniker. Voters are showing up in record numbers to reject pro-life ideology, and as more of the public refuses abortion bans, anti-abortion advocates are scrambling to come up with a way to re-message their platform so they stop losing elections.
Since the Dobbs decision, abortion has been banned in 14 states, and several others have pursued restrictions. Eleven states have enacted abortion bans with no exceptions for rape and incest. These draconian laws go directly against public opinion; a record 69 percent of American adults believe abortion should be legal in the first trimester, and more than half of all Americans think abortion should be legal through the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. Still, rather than accept that their views are profoundly unpopular and their policies cause so much suffering, conservatives seem to believe they can wordsmith their way out of the problem simply by changing the language of their abortion stances. In the past year, anti-abortion politicians and advocates have been dreaming up the most unhinged words and phrases about abortion — language that is designed to win elections and convince us they’re not as extreme as they are, while still keeping their promise to work toward a federal abortion ban to appease their single-issue voter base.1
As a former communications/PR girlie myself, I’m picturing official Abortion Spin Zones, where anti-abortion publicists and communications managers sit around the table in some conference room, scribbling words on slips of paper and trying to see how many different combos they can make using baby, woman, mother, life, and separation (see below.) What a fucking mess - it’s almost laughable if it weren’t so insulting and dangerous.
Let’s look at some of the nonsensical terms conservative spin doctors use to describe their abortion stances:
Pro-baby policies, dubbed by Republican Senator Todd Young (Oof.)
Separation procedure, aka a medically necessary abortion such as a D&C after a miscarriage. This term creates a loophole for anti-abortion pregnant people to get a lifesaving abortion once THEY need them (rules for me, not for thee and whatnot)
Medically indicated maternal-fetal separation, see above. This word salad has made its way into Republican-backed legislation seeking to decouple abortion from its medical context.
Postbirth abortion, the completely fake procedure they claim takes place in which newborns are killed. This phrase is a blatant lie, but that hasn’t stopped candidates like Tr*mp and DeSantis from repeating it.
Abortion tourism, referring to when pregnant people who need abortions must travel to states where the procedure is safe and legal. This makes it sound as if folks traveling to get abortions were taking vacations rather than fleeing their home states for health care, sometimes emptying their bank accounts or staying in shelters in the process.
Pro-woman, which for them means the same thing as pro-life. (Oof, again.)
Anti-abortion advocates are trying to change the medical and legal lexicon, too, claiming that they are just trying to clarify matters for doctors and patients. Earlier this summer, the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists published a “Glossary of Medical Terms” instructing doctors on what “life-affirming” language to use. Under their guidance, a pregnant person whose fetus has a fatal anomaly would be told not that the condition is terminal, but that it’s life-limiting. Similarly, if someone’s water breaks months before their due date, they would be informed not that the pregnancy is nonviable but that it’s pre-viable. Anti-abortion medical advocates also include the word elective to differentiate the cases that are not explicitly medically necessary, as if abortion is like an elective nose job or something. Not only is this totally gross, but elective doesn’t consider psychologically necessary abortions, or those necessary for the pregnant person’s domestic safety.
However, the most insidious Spin Zone act is their insistence that they don’t support a ban. After learning the hard way that the word ban translates to mega losses at the ballot box, many anti-abortion politicians have replaced it with sanitized words such as “standard,” “consensus,” or “limit.” But make no mistake - what they mean by this is one federal standard or consensus at six, fifteen, or however many weeks - and this is still a ban.
To their credit (I suppose?), these folks aren’t the only ones changing their language about abortion. To reproductive rights advocates, the term pro-choice has long been seen as outdated and insufficiently expansive to describe the movement’s evolved goals; therefore, many prefer reproductive freedom. There’s also a distinction between freedom and choice, especially in the post-Roe era: you don’t have a choice if you can’t exercise it. Furthermore, reproductive freedom is not the only term advocates promote — many prefer to emphasize reproductive justice, which Black women created in 1994. Reproductive justice includes the right to end a pregnancy, the right to carry out a wanted pregnancy, and the right to raise a child in a safe, healthy, and just society.
Language has power, but only if we give it that power. Unfortunately, this new anti-abortion language is beginning to obfuscate the official medical vernacular, making it even more dangerous for people with uteruses who need to seek lifesaving care. However, we can take its power away on Election Day(s), and make sure conservatives know their shift in language underestimates us. That we see right through it. Keep voting to protect abortion access. Keep making noise about it. Let them know their language fuckery won’t work on us.
Similarly, we are in a new era, and we too should consider what words we use to name and describe our stances on abortion. But whether you call it reproductive freedom or justice, we ultimately need to focus on the words behind those labels and names — making sure we convey our position clearly and with impact rather than packaging it up in pretty words, whatever they are.
As our matron saint Elizabeth Warren says, “I’m open-minded about people using whatever terms they want, so long as we’re clear that ultimately, we’re talking about a full range of health care services that are available to every person that wants it.”
INTRODUCING:
Want to stay informed about the upcoming 2024 election cycle but don’t want the headache of slogging through all the chaotic political news? I’ll do it for you in this Reclaiming special edition newsletter. Coming in January before Iowa. Get ready.
Witch of the Week
Fran Drescher may be our favorite TV nanny, but I hope she’s remembered more as the fiery labor witch that she is - standing up for 160,000 workers under her watch, calling out shitty “male energy” that poisons the networks, and publicly referring to Disney CEO Bob Iger (arguably the most powerful person in Hollywood) as “an ignoramus.” Fran, we fucking love you!
Rec of the Week
Priscilla, written and directed by Sophia Coppola
It’s nice to see Priscilla Presley’s side of the story told - and in such a stunning early 60s aesthetic. Priscilla was a tender fourteen years old when she met Elvis, who, in effect, groomed her to be his bride from the first time he met her. It’s also nice to finally see a real-life female protagonist who approves of her portrayal.
Feminist News Bulletin
Last Tuesday’s election was a big win for abortion rights! Ohio voters passed a constitutional amendment enshrining reproductive freedom into the state constitution. Voters turned out in record numbers to support abortion despite repeated attempts by anti-abortion groups to confuse voters with misleading language.
Election night also saw wins for abortion in Virginia, where abortion-supporting majorities were voted in and will now control the state Senate and Assembly, a major rebuke to Governor Youngkin’s support for a 15-week abortion ban.
In Philly, Democrat Cherelle Parker will become the city’s first female mayor after beating out her Republican opponent.
According to the CDC, the U.S. infant mortality rate rose 3% in 2022, the largest increase in two decades – according to the CDC. Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, and Texas had the most significant increases.
A Colorado court blocked a law that would have been the first in the country to ban the so-called abortion pill “reversal,” a deceptive practice not based in science.
Tr*mp and his bottom-feeding, power-hungry, right-wing opportunist allies have been mapping out a plan for his second term, which includes using the Justice Department to target his “enemies.” According to a bombshell Times story last week, the plan is to install more aggressive and loyal lawyers committed to his agenda — “willing to endure the personal and professional risks of association with Mr. Tr*mp” and “willing to use theories that more establishment lawyers would reject.” Among their goals is to pursue criminal cases against President Biden and high-profile former Tr*mp allies who have turned critical of Tr*mp. He will also pardon himself and the January 6 defendants, and will invoke the Insurrection Act to quell any demonstrations on Trump’s first day. Anyone who votes for Tr*mp in 2024 is voting for this. Period.
Jezebel is closing down after 16 years. RIP to one of the longest-standing feminist outlets, although I am getting very excited about indie writers here on Substack who are carrying the torch.
Final thoughts
