Today the New York Times, once again, prints another shamey abortion piece in an Op-Ed piece titled, “The Problem with Linking Abortion and Economics.”
The problem with this “piece,” is….EVERYTHING!!
It’s written by a privileged AF (*clears throat* how do I stress that more?) PRIVILEGED AS FUCK white woman named Lori Szala. The entire premise of her op-ed is that because her pregnancy experience didn't affect her economically, it’s not an economic issue. The piece seems to have gone completely unchecked, and is filled with so much misinformation; not to mention shame, it feels like you’re reading The Medieval Times instead of The New York Times. First off- Lori isn't up front about what she does for a living. HINT: She runs a shitty anti-choice outfit that lies to women about the safety of abortion. These people always hide that from everyone. Let me enlighten you.
Lori is the national director of client services for an organization called the Human Coalition. Their mission is trying to end abortion and they refer to it as “…the worst holocaust in human history,” They operate unregulated FAKE CLINICS that lie to women about abortion and pregnancy, and run online campaigns that also present false information to those seeking abortions. They are professional liars. This is an important thing to note because these fake clinics, like Lori in this piece, hide behind a veil of “helping women” when in reality they are a religious-based, anti-choice organization that blatantly wants “to transform our culture of death into a culture of life—to end abortion in America” This organization is so far gone and out of touch, they have NO BUSINESS in the lives of people seeking healthcare!
Now that you know she has no agenda here, let’s dive into the crux of Szalas piece – that abortion shouldn’t be connected to economics because “It reduces mothers and their children to mere economic objects, and amounts to saying we are justified in killing those who impede our economic progress.”
Ma'am – we’re all economic objects! Humans require money to pay for resources to continue living. How do you provide for yourself, Lori? Does money just grow out of your ass? Do you pay yourself with all the shits you take? CNN Money says you can expect to spend between 12-14K a year to raise a child. Do you think a person with multiple children, when faced with an additional unplanned pregnancy, doesn’t consider it to be a HUGE ECONOMIC ISSUE? And don’t get me started on the fact that Garbage Man Trump cut $200 million in funding to WIC, an organization that supports low income families. Why do you think 61% of women who have abortions already have a child? Unlike you, I'll let them answer. They say because they can't afford another. But we should just ignore them and listen to you because your experience negates actual research.
Check.Your.Fucking.Privilege.Lori.
But it’s when she inserts her own unplanned pregnancy story as some sort of catch-all abortion experience, she erases the experiences of thousands of people and that is the biggest flaw in this piece. She writes of coming from a single family home and was “pressured” by her community to abort. So she made an appointment at a clinic and asked a friend to drive her. She changed her mind and decided to have the baby, all while receiving tutoring to finish high school. She then had the help of her sister to watch her baby while she attended college and “worked her way up the ladder at an investment firm, married, and had two more children.” WOW. Lori makes so many assumptions here, I can only assume she proudly claims to be in the 53% of white women who voted chester cheeto into the White House.
Lori, allow me to hold up a mirror for you, so you can see just how privileged you are. Not everyone has a support system or a community like you to ask advice about an unplanned pregnancy. A lot of people don’t have access to special tutoring after dropping out of high school, let alone, access to a good high school in the first place! You’re assuming that everyone is close to a clinic and has someone to drive them to their appointment. Some women are forced to travel across state lines and miss work for abortion care! Your sister watched your child while you got your college degree! You don’t see the economics of abortion because, while yes I’m sure you had your struggles, you had the support system along the way to help you continue your economic growth!
You talk about helping women… well guess what Lori, women don’t want your shamey stigma- ridden help. They want to access a perfectly legal form of healthcare without you and your cronies pushing beliefs in their face like a gross aunt forcing you to try her gelatinous fruit bowl.
People want to get an abortion and continue about their day. Ninety percent of women express relief after their abortion. NINETY PERCENT!
Oh and another thing! Shame on you New York Times! Shame on you for giving a person that lies to women about their choices, a platform to continue spreading dangerous bs. Why did you give Lori Szala, someone with zero experience working in social economics, any clout to share her opinion on economics? Had you googled her, or facts on abortion you would have learned all of this!
So here’s your fact check, 100% gratuity has been added to clean up your bullshit.
