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A thoughtful journalist’s guide to covering abortion

Cross-posted from the Abortion Gang

How do you write about a topic that is both the third rail of US politics and also one of the most common medical procedures in America? There are many things to be mindful of when writing about abortion. This is the first installment of what I hope will be an ongoing conversation about writing about abortion with integrity. Let’s dive right in.

Language matters.
Are you using the words “pro-choice” and “pro-life”? Typically, the pro-choice movement prefers “anti-choice” to “pro-life,” since the latter implies that the pro-choice movement is “anti-life,” which is preposterous (not to mention false).  Another alternative to “pro-life” is “anti-abortion rights.” And what about using terms like reproductive justice and pro-voice? If you’re writing about women’s personal abortion stories, you may want to investigate exactly what pro-voicemeans, and if you’re looking at abortion from an intersectional lens, reproductive justice is your best bet.

Science matters.
Who can you trust to tell you if a certain piece of legislation is based in medical evidence or ideological bullshit? Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, for one (full disclosure: I used to work there and can say with confidence that the doctors affiliated with PRCH are fantastic). Other potential sources of medical information include the clinician/s or medical director at your local clinic and theNational Abortion Federation. The best reason to ask clinicians if a piece of legislation is medically necessary or makes scientific sense? ...

When the pro-choice movement perpetuates abortion stigma

Cross-posted from the Abortion Gang.

Last week I had the privilege of participating in a panel called Demystifying Abortion, an event that aimed to shift the conversation away from the politics of abortion into the day to day reality of reproductive health care provision here in NYC. I was on the panel representing NYAAF, the abortion fund here, and joining me was an abortion provider, an abortion doula, a woman who’d had an abortion, a representative from Exhale, and a clinic escort. While the panel did a lot to shed light on the who, what, when, where, and why of abortion, it also did something I didn’t expect: it revealed just how much the pro-choice movement itself ...

Cross-posted from the Abortion Gang.

Last week I had the privilege of participating in a panel called Demystifying Abortion, an event that aimed to shift the conversation away from the politics of abortion into the day ...

What Everyone Needs to Know About Later Abortions

Most of us don’t think we’ll ever have an abortion, until we become one of the one in four women in the US who has an unwanted pregnancy. And if we think about it at all, we assume we’d get an abortion pretty early in the pregnancy. While 90% of abortions do happen before 12 weeks, some women seek abortions later in their pregnancies.

Most women do not try to have later abortions. In fact, in a study done by Finer et al, nearly three fifths (58%) of women in the survey reported that they would have preferred to have had the abortion earlier than they did. In another study done by Drey et al, ...

Most of us don’t think we’ll ever have an abortion, until we become one of the one in four women in the US who has an unwanted pregnancy. And if we think about it at all, ...

I Am Dr. Tiller Project

Dear Feministing Community,
Over the last 48 hours, my partner and I created a website, http://www.IAmDrTiller.com . The goal of this project is to serve as a memorial to the lifework of Dr. George Tiller and as a living testimony to the courageous lives of abortion providers.
On the website, you will find stories of individuals who have dedicated their lives to making abortion safe, legal, healthy, and accessible to women and girls. These people may be nurses, counselors, escorts, volunteers at abortion funds, or abortion doctors themselves. You will not see the faces of these providers to protect their safety. What you will see is the story they decide to share – how they came to abortion work, what ...

Dear Feministing Community,
Over the last 48 hours, my partner and I created a website, http://www.IAmDrTiller.com . The goal of this project is to serve as a memorial to the lifework of Dr. George Tiller and as ...

An Abortion Provider Reacts to the Murder of Dr. George Tiller

Most days my job feels like any other job. I get up, chug coffee, and ride public transit across the city to face my 8 hour work day. I counsel patients before their abortions; we go over their medical history and discuss birth control, their feelings about the abortion, the facts about the abortion procedure, and aftercare — medical and emotional. This work doesn’t seem heroic to me. It’s necessary. The days are hectic, intense, but they end, and I can go home and live my life without thinking about abortion. 
Dr. Tiller, one of the few providers of late-term abortions in the US,  never had that luxury. Because of his murder this morning, I realized that no abortion provider ...

Most days my job feels like any other job. I get up, chug coffee, and ride public transit across the city to face my 8 hour work day. I counsel patients before their abortions; we go over ...