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

by Jessica Valenti

Because let’s be clear, that’s what this decision was—the decimation not just of reproductive rights but of women’s citizenship. Overturning Roe was just a means to that end. The powerful coalition of extremist organizations[*2] that spent decades working toward this moment weren’t really interested in abortion, but in what ending abortion meant for their broader goals: a return to forced traditional gender roles, a forced gender binary, a culture and politics ruled by white supremacist patriarchy where women had no power, and the punishment of anyone who deviates from it all.

once you understand that banning abortion is just a means to a bigger misogynist end, stories like this make a lot more sense.

Because while abortion is a necessary and normal part of reproductive healthcare—and we should fight for it as such—it’s our liberation that conservatives most object to. That’s why they’re passing bans.

The truth is that most anti-abortion sentiment and law is rooted in the idea that pregnancy is a punishment—a consequence for those who behave irresponsibly or “promiscuously.”

Their push for fetal personhood, which defines fertilized eggs and zygotes as full, constitutional human beings, eradicates women’s humanity entirely—rendering us mere vessels for a handful of cells deemed to be the real human beings. What worse punishment is there than not being seen as people at all? That’s what makes abortion good. It recognizes the humanity of women, something I truly cannot believe is somehow still up for debate.

Do we really think that one more story of a child raped by her father will move the hearts of men who would legislate away our humanity without even bothering to learn remedial facts about pregnancy? Asking for our rights didn’t work then, and it won’t work now. I refuse to explain, over and over again, that women are people. I’m done degrading myself by sharing the most intimate details of my life with strangers in the hope that perhaps one will muster a spark of empathy. Why should we beg for scraps of humanity from those who will never give it to us?

Those who would see abortion banned like to pose hypotheticals about the remarkable baby a woman could have if she just didn’t get an abortion: What if they cured cancer? Rarely, if ever, does anyone ask if that woman herself might change the world. They don’t consider that we could be the remarkable ones, if only given the chance.

Those denied abortions are more likely to stay with abusive partners, more likely to have serious complications in pregnancy, more likely to suffer from anxiety and poor physical health, and more likely to end up in poverty. In fact, the study found that forcing a woman into pregnancy quadruples the odds that she and her child will live below the federal poverty line.

But there’s a difference between being truthful and being “balanced.” The latter suggests that journalists need to provide equal consideration to different sides of an issue and story—even when one side is clearly, unequivocally inaccurate. (Trump’s presidency is perhaps the best recent example of how dangerous this kind of framing can be.)

They refer to medical facts as pro-choice “beliefs” rather than as scientific reality.

The truth is that this has never been about the health of women, babies, or families. It’s about imposing extremist Christian nationalism and controlling and punishing women.

Reproductive rights and justice isn’t about who “deserves” care, or who has endured enough suffering to have “earned” an abortion. Forcing anyone to be pregnant against their will, for any reason, is immoral and cruel.

And that’s the last thing you need to know about the way criminalization operates: prosecutors target those they think most Americans won’t care about. Pregnant women accused of using drugs top that list. This is, unfortunately, a smart tactic. Law enforcement deliberately brings cases against people they believe are potentially unsympathetic so they can test out criminalization methods without drawing too much attention or outrage. If Americans think that those being arrested somehow “deserve” it, they’ll be much less likely to cause a fuss—and much less likely to think it could happen to them or people they know.

There are an infinite number of questions, circumstances, and nuances that come along with banning abortion. Are Republicans prepared to answer all of them? If not, why not? Could it be because pregnancy is too complicated to legislate?

Because we trust women. And we know that what happens during pregnancy is complicated, personal, and impossible to dictate by law.