Disguised as a compassionate way to help a friend, Teen Vogue pushed its pro-abortion agenda on vulnerable young teens again this week.
Its latest piece encourages teen girls to support a friend’s decision to abort her unborn baby by giving her gifts. Certainly, a pregnant teenager deserves a lot of support and encouragement, but the only support that Teen Vogue suggests is through abortion.
Author Witney Bell wrote:
So your friend is about to have an abortion. Of course you want to be there for her, but you don’t know how. Look, making this decision is never simple, and having to make it as a teenager is more than a little terrifying. But it shouldn’t have to be so scary. The worst part of all this isn’t the procedure itself (which by the way is completely safe as long as you have access to a good clinic). The worst part is how you’re treated afterwards.
… But she shouldn’t have to feel ashamed, because she made the right choice for her situation. She is not ready to carry a pregnancy to term — and that’s OK.
Bell went on to suggest 11 gifts, including coloring books, chocolates, a uterus-shaped hot water bottle, disposable underwear for extensive bleeding, and an “F U-terus” pin — “so that when some rude jerk asks if you regret your choice (as if that is somehow their business), you won’t need to say a word.” Proceeds from the sales of the pin benefit Planned Parenthood, of course.
Reaction to the piece was swift among young, female pro-lifers and concerned parents.
Arina Grossu of the Family Research Council said this particular quote from the article really disturbed her: “She will need a ride, she will need a hug, and she will need you — not because the act itself is so terrible, but because sometimes the world can be.”
Grossu responded: “… sorry to break it to you, but the act of killing your own child IS indeed so terrible. Thank God our God is a forgiving and merciful God to women who have had abortions and who seek Him out in regret, but the act itself is never, ever ok.”
New Wave Feminists posted its reaction on Facebook:
[From the article:] “If you’ve gone the pill route, you can expect almost 3 solid days of pain. Likely worse than any period symptoms you’ve ever experienced. You’ll love it! It’s like 2 throbbing hot balls of lead are trying to escape your body, all while your stomach contracts over and over again. Huzzahhhhh! This angry uterus heating pad is the most apropos, because trust – without some direct heat, your lady bits will not be pleased.”
This article exists. It’s a thing. And it made me feel profoundly sad to read it… in Teen Vogue… where evidently we talk about abortion super casually. And also refuse to acknowledge that it’s not at all “2 throbbing hot balls of lead trying to escape your body,” but a human being, dying.
The Teen Vogue article offers nothing at all to encourage pregnant teens who may be afraid and unsure about what to do, or advice for friends who want to encourage them to parent or consider adoption. No mention of pregnancy care centers, maternity homes or adoption agencies. No suggestions of baby showers or diaper drives, offering to drive to doctors appointments or volunteering to babysit. It does, however, urge teens to volunteer at abortion clinics as a “gift” to their friend.
Teen Vogue certainly does not inform teens about what an abortion involves, how it kills a unique, living human being, or how numerous studies show it can risk the young teen’s physical and emotional health.
And what if the teen does regret her abortion afterward? What if she realizes the truth that she made a mistake and aborted her unborn child? The teen magazine doesn’t offer any compassion or support for these young women, either.
“There is nothing to be ashamed of or feel guilty about,” the article states.
The magazine’s message invalidates the pain and regret that many girls and women feel after aborting their unborn child. This is an extremely concerning and unhealthy message for impressionable young teens. Teen Vogue’s young readers could very easily get the idea that they are wrong to feel regret or pain and repress their feelings rather than seek help through a post-abortion counseling program like Rachel’s Vineyard.
Teen Vogue is hurting its young readers by pushing this pro-abortion propaganda and likely its next generation of readers, too. If it really cared about teens, it would encourage them to research all the facts about abortion, pregnancy and parenting options, instead of pushing thinly-veiled propaganda from the profit-driven abortion industry.
Action: Contact Teen Vogue to complain.
