Reply #18: It's vital that we begin to reframe the argument [View All]

because the argument has shifted. It's vital that we educate the public because the public doesn't understand Roe. The anti-choice forces have been incredibly effective at 'babyizing' the debate. How do we reframe the argument? For one thing we get the facts out there: Roe protects a woman's right to have an abortion until 'viability', then the state has a right to regulate. Many people believe that a woman can have an abortion for any reason throughout her pregnancy and that this is a common occurance. We need to let people know that there are very few late term abortions, and the reason women have late term abortions are not for birth control purposes. We need to explain that we do differentiate between a fetus of 2 months and one of eight months. We need to better explain why we opposed the phony partial birth abortion ban. We need to express our respect for people who oppose abortion. We need to differentiate between those people who oppose abortion at any stage and want personhood for an embryo from the moment of fertilization and those who, for example, believe that abortion after the first trimester should be subject to greater regulation. The latter, who are the majority, we can talk to, and can't afford to further alienate, the former are so extremist that dialogue is all but impossible. We need to stop reflexively dismissing people who want parental notification laws, and engage with them.