The California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom

The “A Woman Knows Best” Framework for Reproductive Rights:

Talking Points for Responding to Frequently Asked Questions

 

Suggested Answers to Likely Questions From Allies:

1. Why shy away from the word ‘abortion’? We should take the issue head on.

We are meeting women where they’re at. When we talked to women about choice and abortion, they told us that they don’t view the issue in isolation but rather in the context of other health and life priorities. In that context, abortion is not always a “choice”: it is often a necessity. Also, to many, the word “abortion” connotes that a desired mission has failed, which is not an ideal frame.

“Safely preventing and ending pregnancies” is a more inclusive and accurate reflection of how women approach these difficult decisions. “Choice” alone does not do enough to connect with women where they are. “Choice” is also seen to underplay the difficulty of the decision. Women have different needs at different stages of their lives and make their decisions accordingly. This is new terminology, yes, but we’ve found that it resonates better with women’s own lives and experiences.

2. Isn’t the issue really about a woman’s right to choose and society’s obligation to protect that right?

Yes, fundamentally it’s about a woman’s right to make personal, responsible decisions for herself. But in our research talking directly with women, we found that many of them found the traditional pro-choice rhetoric to be too impersonal and “political.” It simply didn’t speak to
their lives and experiences.

Our new messaging is an effort to bridge that divide. The new frame remains firmly grounded in a woman’s strength and authority to make personal decisions. But we’ve placed the emphasis on women’s wisdom (“a woman knows best about what’s right for her health and her family’s
health”) rather than on the act of choosing itself.

This is about society’s obligation to protect, respect, and fulfill women’s decisions. We don’t want the government or society to simply leave women alone. We want our government and our society to assist women with real options and to deliver what women know they need.

3. Isn’t the problem that people don’t trust women to make choices in the first place – therefore, why would people believe that women know best?

Society trusts women to make responsible decisions for themselves and their families. Women are often the primary decision-makers when it comes to their family’s health and well-being. Women make decisions about their family’s childcare, schooling, nutrition, safety, and more. Our frame simply reinforces this existing belief and value in women’s responsible decision-making and applies it to the issue of reproductive health and rights.

4. Why shy away from the privacy argument? Isn’t it enough to say that women have the right to make their own choices, good or bad, about their own bodies?

We are actually expanding on that right by saying society should do more than respect women’s privacy. Privacy is important, but privacy alone is not enough. Society must also give women support and access to the care and services they need to protect their health and make responsible decisions for their families.

Privacy, support, and access have to go together. Society must ensure that women of all ages can talk with doctors, make decisions, and receive services for themselves and their families with complete safety and confidentiality.

5. By saying “women know best,” aren’t you just falling back on, and even reinforcing, gender stereotypes?

It is simply a fact that, in our society, women are traditionally the ones entrusted with making responsible decisions about their health and the health of their families. In all kinds of families and in a variety of roles – as mother, daughter, sister, partner, aunt, grandmother, and more – women are responsible for making many personal and family decisions, sometimes with support from others and sometimes on their own. Our frame reflects the importance women have in their families’ lives and reinforces their wisdom and responsibility in making decisions about health, safety, finances and other central family issues.

6. With this new frame, aren’t you retreating from the progress we’ve made on this issue for the past few decades using powerful arguments for choice and privacy?

We fully stand behind a woman’s right to choose. The distinction here is that we are reframing this right in a new way that we’ve learned will resonate more with women of color, young women and others who have traditionally felt disconnected from the choice movement. This involves including reproductive rights and health within a more holistic view of women’s health to better connect with women’s lives.

Suggested Answers to Likely Questions From Opponents:

1. You can try to couch your argument in a broader discussion about women’s health, but isn’t this really all about abortion?

We’re talking about women’s health and the full range of care and services that women need. Women need different things at different stages of their lives, from puberty through menopause and beyond. We can’t just talk about “abortion” because it never happens in isolation.

2. Isn’t abortion murder? Doesn’t government have to respect and care for all its people – including the unborn?

In our society, women are often the ones entrusted with making responsible decisions about their health and the health of their families. If we really care about women and their families, the best thing we can do is respect and fulfill the decisions women make.

3. Abortion is wrong: life is holy and begins at conception.

I respect your opinion. But we’re fortunate to live in a country that recognizes and respects a broad spectrum of religious and ethical beliefs. In a democratic society, everyone has different, and equally sincerely held, religious beliefs and ethical values. Our values come from ourselves and our families. It is government and society’s role to protect, respect, and fulfill every family’s ability to make decisions based on their own beliefs and values.

4. How can you say that a woman knows best? Shouldn’t the father of the child have a say in this? What about other family members, doctors or priests?

In a perfect world, women would always have supportive and trusted people in their lives with whom they could consult in making these important decisions. But we all know that the world isn’t perfect, and for her own sake as well as her family’s, women need the power to make personal, responsible decisions about their own health.

Similarly, not every woman has the freedom to consult her doctor, family, or other advisors about this difficult issue. She may have to make a thoughtful, responsible decision on her own. We want to protect and respect that decision.

5. If women really knew best, abortions wouldn’t happen because she wouldn’t have gotten pregnant in the first place.

In an ideal world, no one would get pregnant who didn’t plan on having a child. But we live in an imperfect world where unplanned things happen, and women need to be able to make personal, responsible decisions for themselves.

6. What if she’s a minor? Don’t parents know what’s best for their child?

In an ideal world, daughters and young women would feel comfortable and safe talking to parents about these difficult decisions. But for some young women, this just isn’t possible. For their own safety, young women need to have access to safe, professional advice and care in order to make personal, responsible decisions about their own health.