A feminist pro-life group has placed three billboards in the Pittsburgh area reminding readers of some significant realities about abortion.
“Abortion providers take your kid, your cash and give you tissues to cry it out. Thanks for nothing,” one of the billboards says.
The idea was prompted last fall as Feminists for Life hosted a billboard campaign to get the message out that women deserve support during an unexpected pregnancy, not an abortion, the group’s President Serrin Foster said.
“The number one reason women give for wanting an abortion is poverty,” Foster explained.
Feminists for Life of America is a nonsectarian, nonpartisan, grassroots organization that works for solutions to the challenges faced by women that could drive them to consider abortion, poverty being chief among them. Drawing upon core values of early American feminists who opposed abortion such as Susan B. Anthony, the group espouses justice, nondiscrimination, and nonviolence. One of the organization’s quotes is, “Abortion is a reflection that we have not met the needs of women,” and the perhaps most recognizable motto from the group is, “Women Deserve Better Than Abortion.”
Feminists for Life detailed the rationale for another of the billboards, noting in an email message to supporters how national statistics are skewed low because of inconsistent reporting.
“The most recent CDC report noted there were at least 4,070 abortions that took place at or after 21 weeks gestation when movement of the baby can be felt—and babies can feel pain,” the statement reads. “However, that report only counts 41 states and Pennsylvania, along with California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Wisconsin did not participate in the reporting making the actual number of late-term abortions much higher.”
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“In Pennsylvania, abortion is legal up to 24 weeks gestation, or approximately six months into pregnancy,” it continues. “Feminists for Life asks, “are you ok with that?”
One of the billboards calls out those CDC statistics.
“In 2021, there were at least 4,070 abortions after 21 weeks or more,” it states. “They were kicking inside their mothers’ wombs. Are you OK with that?”
Earlier this year the Pennsylvania Department of Health released abortion statistics from 2022 revealing the highest number of abortions in the state in 10 years. The statistics also showed that abortion complications have tripled in Pennsylvania in the last five years.
According to the 2022 Pennsylvania Health Department findings, there were 510 abortions (1.5% of the total) performed between 21 and 23 weeks of gestation; no abortions were reported at 24 weeks or later. The city of Pittsburgh is in Allegheny County. That county had 3,583 abortions in 2022; 67 of them between 21-23 weeks.
In its email message Feminists for Life expressed the heightened need for support for women in the Black community, stating, “According to the CDC report, Black women underwent about 42% of all reported abortions, higher than any other race or ethnicity (as well as facing higher maternal mortality risks).”
“We know that lack of resources and support often drive women to abortion,” the group said. “Feminists for Life believes Black women deserve better—and their children are just as precious as any other.”
The third Feminists for Life billboard uses the group’s most common catchphrase, stating simply, “Women Deserve Better Than Abortion.”
It then offers encouragement to women with, “There is help,” and provides the number for Option Line, 1-800-712-4357.
Option Line is the bi-lingual contact center that provides pregnancy help 24/7 via phone call, text, chat, or email. Option Line is managed by Heartbeat International, the largest network of pregnancy help organizations in the U.S. and the world.
Foster said they chose to put the Option Line phone number on this billboard so that women are able to find the “better” in their unexpected pregnancy by locating a pregnancy help center for support.
Some pregnancy resource centers in Pennsylvania have been affected the commonwealth’s Democrat Governor Josh Shapiro defunding Real Alternatives in 2023. Real Alternatives is a non-profit, charitable organization that administers pregnancy and parenting support services for Pennsylvania and Indiana. Pregnancy help organizations continue to operate and provide compassionate care and support to women and families in Pennsylvania despite Shapiro’s action.
Feminists for Life believes many women across the nation, including Pennsylvania, know there are indeed alternatives to abortion.
The billboards have been in place in the Pittsburgh area since late March, and there has actually been one one complaint. Foster said Feminists for Life received an email filled with expletives claiming their organization “was not truly feminist.”
She did not let that one email upset her.
“Anger masks pain,” Foster said, and she added that she is hoping more people are drawn to the Feminists for Life website and learn more about women and true feminism.
“There’s nothing more important than being a mom,” said Foster.
LifeNews Note: Tabitha Goodling has been writing for media outlets for more than 20 years in her home state of Pennsylvania. She has served as a client services director at her local pregnancy center since 2018. She and her husband are raising four teenage daughters, which include a set of triplets. This column originally appeared at Pregnancy Help News.
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