Messaging Question for You

[Kristan Hawkins]

How do you all feel about the term, "Whole Life?" Do you think this will help reach out to more African-Americans and college students who are "afraid" of the term "pro-life?"

My friend is starting a new website devoted to this and is getting celebrities to come out and say they are Whole Life. He is going to feature speakers to talk about multiple life issues (slavery, genocide, suicide, etc) and then they will tie in abortion to all of these topics.

Thoughts?

[Jen R]

That's very interesting. I am about to start a new group devoted to nonviolent, inclusive reproductive justice, and I'm planning to call it All Our Lives. Sounds like your friend and I should talk. :D

I think that in general, any connection of abortion to other human rights issues is helpful. In particular, comparisons of abortion with issues like slavery or genocide have to be done extremely carefully to allow the audience to hear what you're saying instead of being turned off immediately.

I like the term "Whole Life", as a way to say that we are concerned with the whole life of a person, not just the time they spend in the womb.

[Kristan Hawkins]

Awesome news Jen. Where do you go to school? I would love for you to speak with either myself or one of our Field Coordinators to learn about your plans, see how we can help you, and learn your strategy.

[Simon JM]

Yes very much the way to go one of the sticks used against Pro-life in The US is that religious conservatives oppose abortion but won't resource single mothers or universal health care. Not much point saving a life if you are willing to see them die from preventable causes.