A public misinformation campaign: the US bishops are unusually shy about their involvement in an antiabortion campaign.

By Catholics for Choice

THE ANTICHOICE LOBBY REGULARLY throws long-disproved myths at a wall in the apparent hope that, eventually, something will stick. Perhaps it thinks that if it repeats its distortions often enough, they will eventually ring true. And, sadly, repeating a lie ad nauseam does sometimes result in people accepting it as fact. One antichoice poster campaign making its way around the Washington, DC, public transportation system is a case in point. The antichoice lobby has hurled its distortions at the city's trains and bus stations in the hope that passing motorists will be taken in.

The primary theme of the current poster campaign is unmistakable: to convince the public that Roe v Wade and subsequent decisions have made abortion available at any time--and for any reason--during the entire nine months of a woman's pregnancy.

What's especially disingenuous about this poster campaign is that the myths and distortions are coupled not with images usually associated with typical antichoice campaigns, but with young women--invoking thoughts of independence, intelligence and perhaps even feminist ideals. And to make sure that the person whose bleary or weary eyes catch the posters on their bus ride to work or on their way home doesn't become jaded by the posters' sponsor, they don't mention who has paid for the advertisements, merely mentioning the name of the campaign.

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No doubt this omission is as intentional as the myths on the posters masquerading as facts. Sadly, for those who are looking to learn something from these public "education" campaigns, the truth is rarely taken into consideration and the public--including those who are sick and tired of the abortion wars and would prefer a substantive discourse on the topic--walks away once again with more of the same.

Like many more mainstream ad campaigns, this one doesn't leave much room for nuance. One poster claims that abortion is legal "for any reason," while others focus on fetal development immediately prior to birth and cases in which the fetus "could have survived outside the womb."

For those of us who know the reality of Roe and have fought new restriction on top of new restriction--both in Congress and through the courts as well as on state ballots and in legislatures--we can only wish that a woman's right to privacy would be respected by elected officials and judges as much as these posters falsely imply. Yet, such a blatant disregard for telling the public the truth requires a response--even if only to once again assert the facts and to get the public back to reality.

* Truth I: Late term or post-viability abortions are rare. The decision about if and when to have an abortion is not taken lightly and the vast majority of women who decide to have an abortion (87%) do so within the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy. According to the Guttmacher Institute, abortions performed after 20 weeks account for one percent of procedures performed in the US.

* Truth 2: Since the Supreme Court handed down its 1973 decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, and in subsequent decisions such as Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey and Gonzales v. Cathay, abortion has become one of the most regulated health-care procedures in the US. Whether it's in the federal courts or Congress or in state courts and state legislatures, reproductive health is always in the crosshairs of those who seek to make abortion illegal.

* Truth 3: Women cannot obtain abortions throughout their pregnancy for any reason. The Supreme Court has said that states can prohibit abortion after fetal viability, unless the health and life of the woman is at risk. In 2007, the justices approved an abortion restriction that did not contain an exception for the health of the woman.

* Truth 4: At the state level, 36 states prohibit abortion through gestational limits (most after fetal viability) except to protect the life and health of the woman. The Guttmacher Institute has counted z4 states that have legislated waiting periods and 17 that require counseling.

And then there is the poster that attempts to influence public opinion about where public opinion of abortion really is. Again this poster uses terminology that implies that the decision to have an abortion is one that is made as easily as ordering a skinny latte at Starbucks: "for any reason." The poster then implies that only 30 percent of American women think abortion should be legal.

The reality that these posters fail to acknowledge is that American women want to prevent unplanned pregnancies in the first place. Nobody wants to need an abortion. Indeed, according to the latest figures, the abortion rate is at its lowest level since 1974. Yet, like many issues in our national dialogue, getting a majority of public opinion means looking beyond the polar extremes of the issue and including those who agree with you in general but may have some objections to language such as "in all cases" or "at any time." According to a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, 57 percent of adults nationwide believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. When it comes to American Catholics, a Belden Russonello & Stewart poll found that barely one-fifth agree with the bishops' position that abortion should be illegal.

As noted above, the posters only refer to the name of the campaign: The Second Look Project. Somewhat surprising, given that the sponsors of the campaign are not usually know for hiding their light under a bush. With large and opulent headquarters in Washington, DC, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is usually obsessed with ensuring as many people as possible know what they do and when they do it, rather than secreting their involvement behind an innocuous campaign.

And finally, the biggest omission from these posters is that the supporters of Roe--not those who have fought against it with campaigns such as this one--are the ones who have worked for decades to avoid the various scenarios that these poster campaigns try to highlight. But then again, why confuse the public with the facts?