“It’s our freedom that they object to.”
Takeaways from a conversation with Jessica Valenti about her new book, “Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win.”
Sometimes it feels like no one is coming to save us, but
sure is doing her damndest.Valenti’s relentless and fearless defense of women’s rights and humanity since the fall of Dobbs is the antidote to gaslighting that we all need right now. She launched her newsletter, Abortion Every Day, right after the Dobbs verdict was issued.
Valenti has tirelessly pointed out that abortion rights are overwhelmingly supported by Americans of both parties — 80% of Americans support abortion rights, and abortion ballot measures win in every state.
So why are right-wing conservatives so hell-bent on forcing abortion bans?
Valenti answers in no-uncertain terms: The decimation of reproductive rights is the decimation of women’s citizenship.
"Anti-abortion sentiment and law is rooted in the idea that pregnancy is a punishment -- a consequence for those who behave "promiscuously,” she says.
The powerful extremist groups are simply using abortion as a way to return to forced traditional gender roles that keep women in subordinate positions, a culture and politics ruled by white supremacist patriarchy where women have no power, and punishment (including forced birth) for anyone who dares to deviate from it.
Doesn’t it feel refreshing to call it all out in no uncertain terms? The mainstream press certainly isn’t doing it.
This moment requires, in Valenti’s words, “sustained outrage.”
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We met up recently to hear her talk about her book, “Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win.”
"This book is as angry as you are,” she told the audience.
Here are five takeaways from the conversation:
Attacks on abortion go hand in hand with attacks on democracy.
Abortion bans are state-imposed restrictions on necessary medical care and they reflect a deep disdain for women and a rejection of women’s full and unfettered participation in society.
“Pain and suffering for pregnant people is considered a completely acceptable outcome for these laws,” Valenti said.
Dehumanization is a critical part of the playbook. “There is something existentially wounded about living in a place that clearly doesn’t see you as a person,” Valenti told the audience.
And alongside those bodily attacks, Republican anti-abortion officials are doing everything they can to block democratic processes: They want to block supporters of abortion from voting, they want to keep voters confused about what’s on the ballot, and they will do whatever they need to stop abortion rights legislation from being passed.
Look no further than the Florida Republican attempt to use state funds to block an ad in support of the state's abortion access ballot measure.
Abortion is not, actually, a controversial issue
"America supports abortion. It's time we acted like it,” she said.
Here’s one of Valenti’s favorite data points: 81% of Americans do not want abortion regulated by the government, and think it should be a decision by a patient and their doctor.
Americans from both parties reject the idea that fifteen-week bans are “reasonable compromises” by a more than two-to-one margin.
The vast majority of women, Valenti says, do not regret having their abortion. The primary emotion they feel is relief. But Democrats have for decades shied away from embracing abortion.
Republicans, on the other hand, know how popular abortion rights are.
The anti-abortion movement is so terrified of how much support abortion access actually has in the U.S., Valenti points out, that they have invented controversy that doesn’t exist, but that many, even serious news outlets, continue to report on as if that made-up controversy were fact.
Notably, Valenti writes in the book, anti-abortion activists, legislators and candidates won’t use the word “abortion ban” anymore. Instead, they’ll say they are supporting terms like a national “standards” or seeking a “consensus” or “reasonable limits.”
But don’t be fooled, Valenti urges us.. All of these words are a stand in for the word “ban.”
Birth control itself is also under attack.
99 percent of American women have used contraception.
Yet anti-abortion groups are targeting birth control aggressively. They’ve got two strategies to block women from using it: limit access and lie about what it does.
“State by state,” she writes, “Republicans are passing laws that allow insurers to deny coverage for certain kinds of birth control,” cutting funding from reproductive health centers and paving the way for pharmacists to refused to provide emergency contraception.
They’re also lying about what birth control is. Groups like Human Life International basically see women’s bodies as receptacles for embryos and any form of birth control – from the Pill to IUDs – as threats to those embryos.
This may all sound wacko, but imagine that you were a teenager in an Iowa town where your only option for guidance was a crisis pregnancy clinic, and the advice about birth control was coming from anti-abortion activists, dressed up in white jackets, pretending to be health care professionals.
You would likely leave with no real answers, as Valenti writes in her book, amd praying “that your boyfriend will agree to use condoms.”
Learn the enemy’s vocabulary
Valenti says that younger women have told her that they wanted more confidence to have these conversations. Her hope is that the book would give them more language and a way to channel some of their anger.
Here are some vocabulary lessons, pulled straight from Valenti’s book:
Maternal health centers, maternal wellness centers: These are newer terms for anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers. Because Americans are increasingly aware of these centers and their anti-abortion agenda, Republicans are trying to cloak the organizations under new terminology
Late abortion: Anti-abortion groups and lawmakers are trying to define “late abortion” as any abortion that occurs after twelve weeks. It’s not a medical or scientific term.
Viability: This is not a medical term. The ability of a fetus to survive outside of a person’s body is not a set standard but varier from pregnancy to pregnancy.
What’s powerful about Valenti’s message is that she frames this as one of the most important moments in history for American women, and what’s at stake is fully recognizing women’s humanity and citizenship in this country.
A crisis can also be an opportunity: “We have the chance to change the conversation…to build something bigger and better, both legally and culturally,” says Valenti.
“There has never been a better moment to ensure that our humanity is counted.”
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MATRIARCHY REPORT is written by Lane Anderson and Allison Lichter.
Lane Anderson is a writer, journalist, and Clinical Associate Professor at NYU who has won fellowships and many SPJ awards for her writing on inequality and family social issues. She has an MFA from Columbia University. She was raised in Utah and lives in New York City with her partner and young daughter.
Allison Lichter is associate dean at the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York. She has been a writer, producer and editor for radio and print, covering the arts, politics, and the workplace. She was born and raised in Queens, and lives in Brooklyn with her partner and daughter.
Thanks for this excellent recap! Jessica is doing incredible (understatement) work.
Her work is absolutely priceless. Great summary of some critical points - especially all the code words for “ban”