Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win

by Jessica Valenti

we’re not the ones who are forcing children to give birth. We’re not the ones making devastated women carry dead and dying fetuses. We’re not the ones mandating that rape victims sign affidavits or that they “prove” that their attack really happened before being allowed to receive basic care.

Abortion is a medical intervention; “intention” has nothing to do with it. After all, doctors will perform it in the same way regardless of how you feel about your pregnancy. But the focus on intent is telling; it reveals how those who oppose abortion split women into two groups: Those who deserve care, and those who don’t.[*1]

When a pro-choice activist went undercover at a 2024 anti-abortion event, she secretly taped an exchange with Representative Andy Harris (R-MD), who said: “We think the use of the word ban is a bad idea. You mean a bill that limits abortion? I think we can. We should never use the word ban. That’s the word they use.”