The Problem With Asking Someone Why They Got An Abortion

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

49% : The way society encourages conversation around abortion invites people to make judgments.
47% : The first is that when there's an effort to justify abortion and abortion decisions.
46% : And so just as somebody's circumstances may justify abortion, for somebody in similar circumstances who wants to continue the pregnancy that eliminates their pathway.
45% : In your paper, you and Dr. McLemore argue against the "justification for the presence of abortion in a society" or, essentially, that there must be a good reason for abortion care to exist.
45% : So many of these conversations take a population-level approach to justification of abortion that then misses out on the actual needs and wants of pregnant people in their decision-making and in their lives.
44% : When the idea that certain circumstances make abortion justifiable, what happens then to people in those circumstances who want to continue the pregnancy?
43% : And these questions are being asked when abortion is legal.
42% : "The justification of abortion care is a slippery slope, but it's deeply engrained in how we, as a society, discuss abortion."
42% : There are a lot of ways that happens and it happens across the spectrum of people's support for or opposition to abortion.
42% : The basic framework of those polls often informs how media and politicians talk about abortion.
41% : And we question that -- whether or not justification of abortion is necessary and even possible -- especially by somebody who's not directly involved in the pregnancy.
40% : Can you talk to me a bit about how this dialogue surrounding the justification of abortion intersects with certain people or communities more than others?
39% : But what happens when there is somebody who is parenting three children and financially struggling who desires to continue a pregnancy? To offer another example, one of the reasons for abortion that the general public is consistently comfortable with are situations where there is a serious health issue with the fetus.
38% : The justification of abortion care is a slippery slope, but it's deeply ingrained in how we, as a society, discuss abortion -- both as health care and a hot-button political issue.
37% : "We question this question: Why do we need to know why people choose abortion?"
37% : This focus on justifying abortion is "misplaced," Kimport told HuffPost.
34% : With the continued role of justification for abortion -- and with what we anticipate to be a patchwork of access to abortion -- what all of this invites is more suspicion, skepticism and scrutiny of pregnant people.
29% : For example, most public opinion polls around abortion ask questions like, "Do you think abortion should be legal in some, all or no cases?"

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