Why Civic Engagement for Abortion Advocacy Matters

Why Civic Engagement for Abortion Advocacy Matters
8/24/2023 by Eve Brecker
The voices of the majority who side with robust reproductive rights must be reflected in legislation.



Abortion rights activists march to the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2023, in Washington, D.C., to mark the one-year anniversary of the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which overturned Roe v. Wade. (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)

Last year, Americans lost their federal right to abortion, despite polls that suggest favorable public opinion for abortion access is as high as 85 percent. In a country where legislation is supposed to reflect the demands of its people, this dissonance with public opinion is outrageous. After all, democracy hinges on effective civic engagement: mechanisms that enable the public to express their concerns, and individual and collective actions designed to address these issues. While polls show the majority of the American public consistently supports abortion rights, 24 states have passed abortion bans so far. Given this landscape and the failure of our country to adopt laws that are widely supported, we must look outside the U.S. for models of strong civic engagement in order to restore abortion rights here at home.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overrule Roe v. Wade and overturn the federal constitutional right to abortion, Republicans moved quickly to pass sweeping abortion bans. Protests broke out across the country—but paled in comparison to other public outcries, such as the 2017 Women’s March. That day, more than 470,000 people in Washington, D.C., and 5 million people worldwide marched in opposition to the inauguration of Donald Trump—the single largest day of protest in U.S. history. After four years of no recourse during the Trump administration, people are tired and discouraged. But we still have a voice.

We can use this voice in public and private forums, at events, with our family and friends, and in the voting booth. Public discourse on abortion typically involves a wide-ranging cast of characters: philosophers, scientists, medical providers, religious leaders, people who experienced the procedure and more. The vast array of opinions in these discussions creates a complex, collective social opinion that requires different forms of engagement when it comes to expanding spaces for social participation and collective advocacy. This complexity requires multiple action pathways (legal, political, religious and societal) that citizens can use to achieve positive reproductive health outcomes. We need to take advantage of all of them. Many of us think of civic engagement on abortion as getting to the polls and voting for candidates who support reproductive rights. Civic engagement is much more than that. It also uses citizens’ voices to spread accurate health information across the general public and to apply pressure on decisionmakers for a specific cause.
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Civic engagement is an invaluable tool to unlock access to safe abortion care. But, globally, protecting civic spaces is an uphill battle. Just like in the U.S., PAI’s partners have shared that critical voices have left the civic space in recent years due to unstable funding and a disproportional wave of U.S.-funded opposition triggered by the Dobbs decision. “Upholding strong civic spaces is vital for fostering genuine democracy and ensuring reproductive justice,” said Natasha Salifyanji Koama, co-founder of CRZ. “Every silenced voice due to lack of support hinders social progress and undermines gender equality.”
Our greatest protection against these challenges is maintaining strong civic spaces and upholding a strong democracy—so that the voices of the majority who side with robust reproductive rights are loud enough to be reflected in legislation. Just as PAI’s partners are doing everyday around the world, advocates in the U.S. should prioritize maintaining spaces for public opinion and organizing collective action as a key abortion justice strategy if they want to foster the true democracy that America claims to be.


https://msmagazine.com/2023/08/24/abortion-support-civic-engagement-advocacy-ban-laws/