Post-abortion
outreach
ads
in NYC subways invoke vitriolic response
They hadn't even seen them yet but hated them. From Metro.us, March 8,
with the objective headline, "Don't look now: You may not like the ads
you see"...
Starting this week, the NYC subway system will be flooded with a
massive ad campaign that addresses a touchy subject: abortion.
The 2k ads, which straphangers will see in nearly every subway station
beginning tomorrow, depict either a woman saying, "I thought life would
be the way it was before," or a man saying, "I often wonder if there
was something I could have done to help her."
The ads haven't been unveiled yet, but they're already stirring up
controversy, particularly from pro-choice organizations.
"The campaign suggests that feelings of sadness and self-harm are the
universal experiences for someone who had an abortion," said Samantha
Levine of NARAL Pro-Choice NY. "And there's no evidence to suggest that
that's true."...
Levine, like so many other liberal feminist pro-aborts, is committing a
patriarchal, exploitive mind game here by disallowing post-abortive
mothers their feelings if negative. Thankfully more rational liberal
feminists are at least acknowledging the possibility. Continuing the
piece:
"The organization behind these ads has an agenda," continued Levine.
"They aren't seeking to help women - they're seeking to get abortion
banned."
But Michaelene Fredenburg, who started San Diego-based Abortion Changes
You after her own abortion, says her ads are more about helping people
than politics.
"I had an abortion when I was 18," said Fredenburg, 44. "I had a hard
time.... I wanted to reach out and say you're not alone."
Loved this intro, by Fran Johns at TrueSlant.com:
As if the GA anti-choice campaign linking abortion rights to Black
genocide or the Polish campaign linking abortion to Hitler weren't
enough, now we have a soft sell campaign complete with well-dressed
women ostensibly traumatized by a past abortion and downcast men who
yearn to be good fathers....
But Fran's vision is slanted:
I have no reason, other than it seems a great way to sell stuff and
make a few bucks, to question Fredenburg's altruistic intentions in
founding Abortion Changes You....
Why isn't True Slant questioning the fact abortion profiteers make
their living from peddling abortion?
kirbygirl87 sends mixed messages in her protest at amplifyyourvoice.org:
Not every women is depressed and regrets her decisions. Not every
boyfriend or husband wants to interfere with the women's decision. What
if the women felt she made the right decision, and what if the partner
supported the decision? Why do ads like these always depict the women
as sad and questioning her judgement [sic], do women do that often? Do
we change our minds? Do we regret the decisions that we make? Not often.
Which is it, "not every," equivalent to "almost every," or "not often"?
Tracy Clark-Flory at Salon.com is a little more reasonable:
Here's the thing: I think we should acknowledge that abortion can
change you, that it isn't necessarily an "eh, whatevs" event. For some
women, it may be akin to getting a tooth pulled; for others, though, it
results in a profound and haunting loss. None of this goes against the
dominant pro-choice message, which is that women should be allowed to
make their own reproductive choices based on what they feel is right
for them. Women have different experiences of abortion and they should
be allowed to make different decisions, too.
That isn't to say I'm super pumped about the ads, though. They present
one side of the story, which is that abortion changes you, period. Not
that abortion can change a woman, but that it always does, and that is
quite simply a lie. It isn't the sort of message born of concern for
women, but rather a concern for converting women. Also, you know what
is guaranteed to change you and your life in a profound way?
Motherhood. But I don't recall seeing any subways ads featuring a woman
knee-deep in dirty diapers with the text, "I thought life would be the
way it was before."
But here's the thing, Tracy. No one in the world maintains life won't
change after having a baby. But hardcore pro-aborts do indeed try to
say life won't change after abortion. Refer back to Levine's quote
above.
Read the press release here. Abortion Changes You ran this ad campaign
in NYC in 2008. They tell me this campaign will run through the 1st
week of April.
NYC is the perfect place, since at least 10% of all US abortions, 100k,
emanate from NYC annually.
Contact: Jill Stanek
Source:
jillstanek.com
Publish
Date:
March
12,
2010
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The IFRL is the largest grassroots pro-life organization in
Illinois. A non-profit organization, that serves as the state
coordinating body for local pro-life chapters representing thousands of
Illinois citizens working to restore respect for all human life in our
society. The IFRL is composed of people of different political
persuasions, various faiths and diverse economic, social and ethnic
backgrounds. Since 1973 the Illinois Federation for Right to Life has
been working to end abortion and restore legal protection to those members of the
human family who are threatened by abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. Diverse though we are, we hold one common belief - that
every human being has an inalienable right to life that is precious and must be protected. IFRL is
dedicated to restoring the right to life to the unborn, and protection
for the disabled and the elderly. Click here to learn more about the IFRL.
