Week 6: Choice Words
Hello readers!
As promised, we’re diving into something a little more uplifting this week: the pro-choice movement.
When we talk about reproductive rights today, abortion access is framed around “choice”. The modern pro-abortion movement, aka the pro-choice movement, focuses on a person’s right to choose what they do with their body. But historically, this hasn’t always been the case. In fact, early discussions were often more complicated.
The pro-choice movement as we know it gained momentum in the 1960s-70s, alongside the sexual revolution, the civil rights era, and second-wave feminism. Together, these movements created a more socially progressive culture that pushed ideas of personal autonomy and self-determination into the national spotlight.
Before Roe v. Wade, abortion advocacy mostly focused on reforming or repealing the strict anti-abortion laws that had been around since the late 1800s (I’ll never stop talking about the Comstock Act). Organizations like the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion, a network of pro-abortion ministers and rabbis, actually helped people find safe abortion providers before it was legal. This may sound impossible, but it’s important to remember that abortion at the time was not the religiously charged issue it is today.
After Roe was decided in 1973, abortion became a constitutionally protected right. But even then, activists knew their work wasn’t done. Winning in the courts wasn’t enough then and won’t be enough now. The movement shifted its focus to public opinion, legislation, and most importantly, language.
This is where we get the term “pro-choice”. It was a deliberate branding move in the mid 70s, meant to highlight personal freedom and decision-making. Just like how conservative strategists used language to reframe abortion as a moral issue, pro-choice strategists used language to reframe abortion as an issue of freedom and autonomy. Instead of getting stuck debating when life begins, pro-choice advocates shifted the conversation. They focused on placing decision-making power into the hands of pregnant people, drawing control away from the government.
The pro-choice movement continued growing throughout the 80s and 90s, but so did the movement’s opposition. Conservative strategists and leaders made abortion a central political issue and anti-abortion activism became more aggressive, including clinic bombings, harassment, and abortion provider murders. Organizations like the National Abortion Rights Action League (founded in 1969) and Planned Parenthood (founded in 1916) fought back with lobbying, legal challenges, and public education. Knowledge is power! And these organizations understood that. They took to teaching people about their rights, abortion access options, and sexual/reproductive health.
The pro-choice movement didn’t spring up overnight. It was (and still is) built through decades of organizing, storytelling, solidarity, and legal battles. What keeps the movement going is the people determined to fight for reproductive justice and the organizations dedicated to protecting reproductive freedoms.
Alright that’s it for this week. Next week we will dive deeper into language as a tool for shaping and defining public opinion and government policy. Thank you for reading!
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