Despite the rhetoric of the forced birth movement, which chooses to focus exclusively on the morality of abortion and controlling bodies and sexuality, actual pro-life policies advocate for creating an environment in which children and their parents can survive and thrive. In the absence of this leadership from the so-called “pro-life” movement, the pro-choice movement has remained the clear leader in advocating for life by preventing abortions, improving public health, and advocating for policies that earnestly create the opportunity to establish life through having healthy families.

Should the “pro-life” [ sic ] movement be built on addressing the real reasons for abortions, rather than creating the lies they need to control people, every single piece of “pro-life” literature, politician’s speech, and protest sign outside of Planned Parenthood would start with information on improving the socioeconomic circumstances of parents – the most frequently cited reason for the medical procedure of abortion.

It is especially important to point out that abortion bans not only do not work but that only access to safe, legal abortion decreases abortion-related deaths. Simply put, those that value life and morality in 2019 support access to abortion. Below are some actually pro-life policies that do far more than bury the beholder’s head in the ideological sand of what they feel ought to be AND prevent abortions, as well.

Policies that ACTUALLY Prevent Abortions

• Access to contraception decreases abortions overall.
• Access to reliable, long-acting contraception methods (like the IUD) decrease abortions due to failed contraception.
• Publicly subsidized family planning services prevent abortion.
• Quality sexual education, including on the proper use of contraception, prevents abortion.

Policies that Prevent Abortions by Making Healthy Families Possible

• Once again, publicly subsidized family planning services make healthy families possible.
• Reliable, accurate health information makes healthy families possible.
• Access to healthcare makes families possible.
• Expanding Medicaid makes healthy families possible.
• Following the law and ACTUALLY expanding Medicaid when the people vote for it (cough, cough) makes healthy families possible.
• Simply NOT using your power to delay Medicaid Expansion (we see you, Ricketts and his State Senators) makes healthy families possible.
• Increasing the minimum wage makes healthy families possible.
• Paid Family Leave makes healthy families possible.
• Access to affordable pre-K makes healthy families possible.
• Access to affordable, high-quality child care makes healthy families possible.
• Support for working parents makes healthy families possible.
• Access to SNAP makes healthy families possible.
• Access to CHIP makes healthy families possible.
• Decreasing needless incarceration and cash bail makes healthy families possible.

Source: Guttmacher Institute