Newsweek: NYT Urges Abortion-Rights Supporters to ‘Make Their Voices Heard.’ The Real Question: What Should They Be Saying?
By Sarah Kliff
“’Americans who support women’s reproductive rights need to make their voices heard,’ The New York Times editorial opined yesterday. Noting the number of state legislatures debating bills that would significantly limit a woman’s access to abortion—notably Utah’s ban on ‘illegal abortions’ and the proposed pre-viability ban in Nebraska—the Times editorial board urged supporters of abortion rights to take a more active role in the debate. As a reporter who watches the abortion-rights movement every day, the Times’s call to arms struck me as unfounded. The Center for Reproductive Rights and RH Reality Check have done plenty to raise the specter on these issues. The ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project is defending against the proposed Nebraska law, a reproductive health group in Georgia has issued an action alert regarding the much talked-about billboards linking race and abortion.
Rather than urging activists to speak up, the more interesting pro-choice issue these days is the debate over what ought to be said. Angie Jackson pushed the discussion to the forefront late last month when she live-tweeted her abortion. Three weeks after it happened, pro-choice activists are enmeshed in disagreement over whether her voice being heard was a good thing.”
