{"id":218195,"date":"2020-02-10T08:40:34","date_gmt":"2020-02-10T14:40:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=218195"},"modified":"2020-02-08T18:15:52","modified_gmt":"2020-02-09T00:15:52","slug":"teen-vogue-helping-abortion-normal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/teen-vogue-helping-abortion-normal\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear Teen Vogue: You’re not helping teens by portraying abortion as normal"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Note: The opinions expressed in this guest submission are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Live Action or of Live Action News.<\/em><\/p>\n

Vogue magazine is globally recognized as a glossy fashion bible for aspiring fashionistas. Its 2003 spinoff, Teen Vogue, started with a similar intent, but over the course of its existence has \u201cevolved\u201d to become more focused on building an inclusive community that speaks to every kind of young person, aiming to foster civic involvement and social responsibility.\u00a0Teen Vogue<\/i>\u2019s former editor-in-chief Elaine Welteroth commented<\/u><\/span><\/a>, \u201cIt [Teen Vogue] has become this community of civic minded, really socially-conscious politically active curious ambitious young people who crave the truth who aren\u2019t afraid to speak the truth [sic].\u201d She added,\u00a0\u201cWe don\u2019t see ourselves as liberal or conservative.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perfect.\u00a0<\/i>So, Teen Vogue ostensibly offers an unbiased place to learn and grow; a place where a variety of viewpoints are welcome \u2013 or, better, encouraged. <\/em>Or so I thought.<\/p>\n

I was therefore shocked and saddened to browse a recent edition of Teen Vogue and see an article<\/u><\/span><\/a> entitled, \u201c39 Abortion Stories Show Just How Important Abortion Access Is.\u201d Danielle Campoamor published a selection of stories about abortion from 39 people spanning ages 19 to 73.\u00a0She boldly argues that the 39 stories, each from a unique vantage point, are individual reminders that the right to abortion on demand is not up for debate. \u201cAbortion is normal. Abortion is common,” she writes. “Abortion is one of many reproductive outcomes that nearly one in four women will experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

This leaves me a little confused.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Teen Vogue tells minors on Snapchat how to get abortions without telling parents<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Before I continue, allow me to be candid. I have never had an abortion. I have never been faced with the choice of abortion.\u00a0 Being completely transparent, I have never had sex. So, I get it: I don\u2019t know what it\u2019s like to be married two years and end up pregnant like Emily, who knew she didn\u2019t want to have children. I don\u2019t know what it\u2019s like to be in a similar situation to Kerri, whose baby faced a difficult diagnosis. I also don\u2019t know what it\u2019s like to be Marie, who had a three-year-old and a nine-month-old and ended up pregnant with her third child while still breastfeeding her nine-month-old baby. I don\u2019t know. I understand that.<\/i>\u00a0It\u2019s tough to make an unequivocal statement when I haven\u2019t been in the situation.<\/p>\n

But what I am confused by are the issues of choice and responsibility. We want girl power, but girl power means so much more than doing anything we want without consequence or repercussion. Power comes with responsibility. Responsibility comes from making empowering choices. We all make choices \u2013hundreds of them every day. There are so many choices before the choice of abortion. There are also choices other than abortion. Why would Teen Vogue present only the pro-abortion side of this debate?<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t the writers at Teen Vogue have the responsibility to inform teens about the alternative viewpoint on abortion or even the possibilities of adoption?\u00a0 Not once was adoption mentioned by any of the 39 story tellers. Wouldn\u2019t it be responsible to also provide stories from girls and women who had abortions and then regretted their decision? What about those girls and women who didn\u2019t choose abortion, but chose life? Whether they chose adoption or decided to keep their babies, aren\u2019t we owed that by a publication that is \u201cfocused on building an inclusive community that speaks to every kind of young person”?<\/p>\n

Even more concerning is the assumption that all readers of Teen Vogue support abortion. W<\/em>e don\u2019t. <\/i>To suggest that all young women think alike is, quite frankly, insulting. Socially-conscious, civic-minded, and pro-life young women exist. Girl power means it\u2019s okay to be smart, strong and independent thinkers (every bit as much as the guys) \u2013 and when we\u2019re free to do that, many of us will reject the pro-abortion narrative.<\/p>\n

To be clear, I am not writing to chastise these 39 women. I\u2019m writing because Teen Vogue readers deserve to be exposed to more than just a pro-abortion viewpoint.<\/p>\n

Throughout the 39 stories there are countless references to what\u2019s forming inside a woman\u2019s uterus when she is pregnant. For example, Alex referred to her developing child as a \u201ccluster of cells.\u201d What Alex calls a \u201ccluster of cells,\u201d I call a baby.\u00a0 There is a subliminal message that is pervasive throughout the stories: If I don\u2019t call \u201cit\u201d a fetus or a baby, then it isn\u2019t a real human being.<\/em>\u00a0I\u2019m curious at what point the cluster of cells becomes a baby. Is it at 22 days when the baby\u2019s heart starts beating or maybe at six weeks when the baby\u2019s brain waves are detectable? Or is that \u201ccluster of cells\u201d like the tooth fairy – only made \u201creal\u201d because I believe in it?<\/p>\n