Last month we had the honor of getting to talk to RHA Vote superstar Erika Christensen. And she said something that really stuck with us. We were discussing how to have uncomfortable conversations with relatives who are maybe pro-choice but have an issue with abortion after 22 weeks (you can find a version of this conversation here!). And Erika said, to paraphrase, to ask them to sit with why they think it’s uncomfortable and then decide if they think their being a little uncomfortable is worth taking away people’s rights!
And that’s WHAT IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO. Mic drop. You’re allowed to feel how you want about abortion (we would ask you why but… one step at a time) but… maybe your personal feelings are not a reason to deny someone care. JUST MAYBE!
You see, we think articles like this about Colorado! Jezebel breaks down how important it is that Colorado doesn’t pass any stricter anti-abortion laws, using stories from people who found out late in their wanted pregnancy about a fetal abnormality, etc. And we think that people should experience basic human empathy when they hear stories of how harrowing it is for people to have to travel for the procedure! HOWEVER (well ok this isn’t even a “however” it’s an “And also”) can we just call for a collective empathy for people whose lives you don’t know in 2020. Like, you don’t need to know every individual story to think “hey, people should have rights.” I mean, that’s apparently what the Supreme Court wants to do and that is… terrifying and also so inefficient.
So you can read this HORRIFYING story about a 15-year-old in Massachusetts who was raped and then told by the judge to be more “careful” the next time she had sex (wow even just writing that now I want to throw a car into the ocean). But also just like… OBVIOUSLY you don’t know people’s lives. Like, what kind of relationship do these people THINK kids have with their parents? Can they really not imagine ANY situation where a kid WOULDN’T want to tell their parents about an abortion?
We’re all for shouting your abortion. We’re all for destigmatizing. But we’re also for a COLLECTIVE EMPATHY. Like how about stop making people tell the stories of the worst day of their lives to get your compassion. Cuz guess what, for some people abortion isn’t the worst day of their life. For some it’s just a Tuesday. And they deserve rights too.
So if maybe you’re like “I’m pro-choice but… people shouldn’t be having 4 or 5 abortions” … think about why that makes you uncomfortable and then decide if your emotions are worth denying that person rights.
We think not!
