From the Archives

Aristotle wrote that a good argument needs three things: ethos, logos, and pathos.  Ethos appeals to the audience’s trust in the speaker, logos appeals to the audience’s appreciation for facts and logic, and pathos appeals to the audience’s emotions.  Sometimes I think Pro-Choice arguments get a little logos-heavy, at the expense of pathos.  Yes, reproductive rights are crucial to preserving public health and the economy.  Of course the right to privacy is in our Constitution and must be upheld.  But if we on the Pro Choice side are so focused on “abortion rights make sense,” we leave room for the Pro-Lifers to think they have the only moral high ground.  When we fight emotions with logic, we do not fight effectively.  And we have so much potential to win these fights: there are so many ethical reasons for abortion rights!  I just think these reasons can seem so obvious that we occasionally forget to direct our arguments to the heart.  Deep in our archives, I found a letter to President Ronald Reagan from two rabbis sharing their abortion story.  However, they don’t just share their own story; they make a beautiful case for the humanity of abortion.  It rebuts the classic pathos-drenched “baby murderer” argument elegantly and heart-wrenchingly.  Read and pass it along to your friends looking for some inspiration about the importance of our cause.

By Kendall Reingold

—————————————————————————————————————–

May 13, 1985

President Ronald Reagan

The White House

Washington, DC

Dear Mr. President,

It is time to talk about the human element in the abortion issue.  Enough of the graphic demonstrations on the part of the so-called “pro-lifers”; enough of the so-called experts pointing dramatically to ultrasound pictures of a “silent scream.”

We, too, are screaming – but not so silently anymore.  A year ago, on the eleventh anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, we made the most difficult decision of our lives.  In our fifth month of pregnancy, the happy promise of new life was shattered by several ominous sonograms and diagnostic tests.  We went for second, third, and fourth opinions.  For advice we sought out our families, our clergy, our consciences.  We were desperate to hear of even a glimmer of hope from the doctors, but it was not to be.  Finally, after many days of deliberation, we decided to abort the pregnancy.

On the night we spent in the hospital, we turned on the television and heard you, our President, addressing a group of Christian broadcasters and attacking the “inhuman murderers who callously destroy thousands of unborn babies.”  Mr. President, no human being who has not undergone this procedure can understand what goes on in the minds and hearts of those who have.  For whatever reason we elect to end a pregnancy, the trauma we feel is pervasive, searing, and….very human.  The doubts and questions we weigh against certain facts produce enough anguish to last a lifetime, and we certainly need no violent reminders.

If the protestors and domestic terrorists would put down their placards and their bombs, they might look us in the eye and see a vastly different picture than they expected.  They would see frightened, saddened, caring souls, frustrated beyond endurance with this constant intrusion into the most private parts of our lives.

You don’t have to show us pictures of fetuses in jars – we held our own shortly after the abortion.  Don’t talk to us of their pain: we worked for five years as volunteer chaplains on the Pediatrics floor of Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and watched countless children die in agony.  The lucky ones survived, enduring a torturous cure.  Our baby would have died at birth, with pain sensors much more sophisticated at its full gestational age than at the sixteen weeks when we aborted our pregnancy.

What solace we found came from our family, friends, and the support of a wonderful hospital staff.  Doctors and nurses, trained to soothe and to heal, understood that we were the patients, and cared for us accordingly.  We will never forget them.  Moreover, the procedure was lengthy: had the proper medical facilities not been available, [wife’s name redacted] might have died from the blood loss, and the reality of women’s nightmares of the past might have been ours as well.

It has been over a year since the abortion, and we are now in our seventh month of new pregnancy.  We have no guarantees that this child will live to a ripe old age, or will be without faults or blemishes.  We never asked for guarantees, and we never demanded a “perfect” baby.  All we want is for it to have a chance: a chance to feel pleasure as well as pain, a chance to know life before it faces death.  This is the choice we have made, and we thank God we had the right to make that choice.

If you do not approve, we do not ask that you follow in our footsteps.  But don’t tell us that we do not understand the issue or the tragedy: we pray that no one in our family will ever need to understand as fully and as personally as we do now.

Mr. President, we, too are screaming – but no longer will we scream in silence.

This Week in Pro Choice News

This Week in Pro-Choice News

Morning after pills for everyone!: The Obama administration will now allow the sale of Plan B One-Step over the counter to all girls and women regardless of age.  Finally!!!  Now women and girls won’t be denied access to reproductive health care for political reasons ever again!  Man, I just can’t let you guys be happy for a minute.  Anyway, generic pills will still be kept behind the counter and only available to women 17 and older.  So Plan B can continue to charge more than the generic 2-pill formulations.  Capitalism, you guys! It’s the best. [Atlantic Wire]

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/06/white-house-gives-limiting-emergency-contraception-sales/66098/

Armed Service Committee drops sexual assault measure from military spending bill: We were all very excited last week when Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand introduced a measure into the bill that would have given trained prosecutors, not commanders, the power to decide which cases of sexual assault in the military to try.  Unfortunately, Senator Carl Levin dropped that measure this week.  Just to point out the obvious—it’s nice that this committee has some women on it now, and it’s nice that they actually are allowed to talk and express their opinions, but it is still ultimately men who choose what goes in these bills and whether these bills pass. This is why we need more women in the Senate.  [NY Times]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/us/politics/proposed-measure-to-curb-sexual-assault-in-military-to-be-cut-from-bill.html?hp&_r=0

Apparently, closing Planned Parenthood clinics in Texas wasn’t enough: Texas women already have little access to abortion in Texas, especially after a decision earlier this year to defund Planned Parenthood, preventing women from getting cancer screenings and other health care in addition to abortions.  Now, Governor Rick Perry may require Texas legislators to discuss abortion during their special session.  Specifically, the congress may pass a bill that would require abortion clinics to adhere to unnecessarily strict requirements.  If this bill passes, 90% of abortion clinics in the state will close.  [San Francisco Chronicle]

http://www.sfgate.com/news/texas/article/Abortion-juvenile-crime-added-to-Texas-session-4593900.php

Have you guys forgotten about Scott Walker? Well, he is still around and he is still awful: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker supports a measure that would require transvaginal ultrasounds before abortions and would make abortion clinic requirements more stringent.  If the bill passes, one of only four abortion clinics in the state would be forced to close.  Wisconsin, you have such tasty cheese curds! And such a lovely university!  Why do you also have to elect a rabid, misogynistic governor? [Think Progress]

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/06/12/2141521/scott-walker-abortion-clinics-ultrasound/

House to vote on unconstitutional abortion bill because it’s not like Congress has other things to worry about: There is no chance that a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks will pass in the Senate, but the Republican-majority House will vote on it anyway.  The bill is likely to pass, but might damage some Republicans’ standing with their constituencies.  I kind of love it when Republican lawmakers blatantly waste taxpayer money on this stuff.  Keep chipping away at Americans’ faith in your ability to balance the budget and secure the economy, Republicans! [Roll Call]

http://blogs.rollcall.com/goppers/abortion-ban-bill-heading-to-house-floor-next-week/

This Week in Pro-Choice News

This Week in Pro-Choice News

Super awesome Senator Frank Lautenberg dead at 89: Lautenberg supported or wrote numerous feminist bills, including the domestic violence gun ban, the Family Medical Leave Act, and an act that funded comprehensive sexual health education.  New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will likely appoint a Republican to fill the vacancy temporarily.  Fortunately, there will be a special election in October that your imaginary boyfriend Corey Booker is likely to win.  So pour one out for Frank tonight.  We don’t have enough elected officials like him left. [NY Times]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/nyregion/frank-lautenberg-new-jersey-senator.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

The world is terrible and if Lindy West didn’t exist I would cry myself to sleep every night: Seattle’s wonderful and incomparable Lindy West said some important things about how sometimes, even if it’s legal, you shouldn’t make rape jokes that target rape survivors.  How could she!!!!!! Doesn’t she know that free speech means men being allowed to say whatever they want without criticism? In response, a whole bunch of male comics and twitterers made rape threats towards her.  Nice work, Internet.  The idea that comedians—people who make a living by using their words—think that words can have no impact on thought or culture is simply baffling to me.  I guess my humorless lady-brain just can’t get why these jokes are so hilarious.  [Jezebel]

http://jezebel.com/if-comedy-has-no-lady-problem-why-am-i-getting-so-many-511214385

Poorer women have less access to abortion: Many states, most of them poorer than the national average, have become much more rigid in their anti-choice laws in recent years.  Poor women don’t have less demand for abortion than other women, but they do have less access.  This mean that they are likely to seek out unsafe and illegal abortion—and will do so in greater numbers if this trend continues.  [Policy Mic]

http://www.policymic.com/articles/45261/abortion-rights-abortion-bans-create-poverty-and-vice-versa

The sequester hurts women: In case you forgot, the sequester that went into effect in March cut government spending across the board (unless you belong to a powerful lobbying group that can convince Congress, for example, to fund air traffic controllers so flights won’t have to be cut or delayed.).  Domestic violence programs, including shelters for abused women and children, are already feeling the hit.  In bad economic times, the demand for these resources increases.  Cutting the funding for these programs will only put vulnerable women in more danger.  [Think Progress]

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/06/03/2093221/domestic-violence-shelters-fear-the-ultimate-cost-from-sequestration/

Military not doing enough about sexual assault on its service members: You have probably all heard about the military’s sexual assault problem.  The problem is basically that sexual assault is rampant and the men in charge want to turn a blind eye to it.  Women who report rape are likely to be ostracized and are extremely unlikely to get justice.  Many current and former service members are now filing a lawsuit against the Pentagon alleging that it is ignoring the problem of sexual assault in the military and demanding that it take a more active role in prosecuting these crimes.  [Feministing]

http://feministing.com/2011/02/16/service-members-sue-pentagon-for-ignoring-military-rape-crisis/

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will not listen to any of your BS: Let’s end this week’s post on a slightly-higher note.  New York Senator laid the smack-down on a bunch of fogey men yesterday, arguing that rape crimes are not about lust or confusion, and rapists—not hormones or hook-up culture or porn—are at fault for rape.  She argued that attorneys, not unit commanders, should prosecute sexual assault crimes in the military.  [Raw Story]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/06/04/sen-kirsten-gillibrand-military-rape-about-sexual-predators-not-hormones-or-hook-up-culture/

This Week in Pro-Choice News

Horrible Virginia Attorney General Candidate is horrible: Republican State Senator Mark Obenshain, and the Republicans’ pick for Attorney General, introduced a bill that would have required women to report miscarriages to the police.  The police??!? Women would have been treated as potential criminals for miscarrying, and could have been charged with a misdemeanor, and spend up to a year in jail and/or pay a $2500 fine, if they took more than 24 hours to report the miscarriage.  The good news is that the bill has since been withdrawn.  The bad news is that this guy might be Virginia’s next Attorney General.  [Think Progress]

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/05/20/2035411/virginia-gop-nominee-for-attorney-general-would-force-women-to-report-their-miscarriages-to-police/

Affordable Care Act is working: Evidence shows that the Affordable Care Act is effectively bringing down health care costs and encouraging people to get check-ups and treatment before medical problems turn into crises.  More and more people are seeing internists rather than specialists, which means that they are getting help earlier and more often.  Remember to keep up on your check-ups!  [American Medical News]

http://www.amednews.com/article/20130520/business/130529978/1/?utm_source=nwltr&utm_medium=heds-htm&utm_campaign=20130520

Arkansas can’t ban abortions after 12 weeks for now: A federal judge blocked Arkansas’s ban of all abortions after 12 weeks.  This should serve as a warning to other states that try to pass restrictive anti-choice laws.  At any rate, do you all enjoy the irony of Republicans wasting taxpayer money on blatantly unconstitutional laws as much as I do? [Politico]

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/arkansas12-week-abortion-ban-blocked-for-now-91590.html?hp=r9

Republican Representatives don’t understand how abortions, births, laws, separation of church and state, or statistics work: Arizona Congressman Trent Franks cited the Gosnell case when explaining the need for more restrictive abortion laws across the country.  For the last time, people, Gosnell is not pro-choice! Murdering babies is not abortion! If you idiots insist on passing anti-choice legislation, then illegal and unsanitary clinics like Gosnell’s will become the norm!   Another charmer, North Dakota Congressman Kevin Cramer, has argued that legalizing abortion led directly to the gun violence that has become prevalent in America.  Apparently, decline of belief in the Christian God and legalized abortion will bring about the downfall of American society.  The reality is that gun violence has actually decreased in America, perhaps in part due to the legalization of abortion.  Good job on the science and thanks for upholding the Constitution so well, Representative Cramer.  [Think Progress; Huffington Post; National Institute of Justice]

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/05/20/2035971/arizona-congressman-20-week-abortion-ban/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/16/kevin-cramer-school-shootings_n_3285328.html?1368720539

http://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/gun-violence/welcome.htm

UW students ask: what would OTC birth control look like?

On April 30th, 2013,  NARAL Pro-Choice Washington student organizers at the University of Washington, Students of Public Health Engaged in Reproductive Rights Efforts (SPHERE), held a forum on the possibilities and challenges associated with over-the-counter sale of birth control pills.

With the exception of emergency contraception, birth control is currently only available by prescription.  In November of 2012, the American Council of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued a recommendation advocating for over-the-counter access to oral contraceptives, citing evidence that this would result in fewer unintended pregnancies.  A recent poll found that two-thirds of women would support such a policy.

At the SPHERE event, panelist Megan Dowell, the Director of Regulatory Affairs at Group Health, discussed the logistical hurdles in developing and implementing federal rules to allow birth control sale without a doctor’s prescription.

Sara Ainsworth, a lecturer at UW’s School of Law, touched on the vast access issues for undocumented women when it comes to birth control.

Don Downing

Don Downing, a professor at UW’s School of Pharmacy, highlighted the critical and expanding role of pharmacists in assuring continuity of care should birth control be available over-the-counter.