One of my friends saw someone wearing this shirt recently. He thought it was pretty funny, I mainly found it disturbing. We got into an argument over if the shirt was good or bad. He was on the "good" side -- he thought that the shirt's underlying message is See? This is what happens if you don't have Plan B. And, while the shirt is pretty offensive, it is still making people think about abortions, bringing up a topic that most people don't talk about. The thought of a woman using a hanger to self induce an abortion is a horrifying thought to most, thus making abortion at a clinic seem safe/nice. Right?
...or not? Because the shirt is also supposed to be funny. Women being reduced to self inducing abortion isn't exactly hilarious, and many women die from botched back alley abortions of the coat hanger variety every year, which is really sad and heart breaking.
I also found a bunch of different abortion t-shirts on the internet:
What do you guys think? Is the Plan C shirt good or bad? What about abortion shirts generally? What makes an abortion shirt okay? The "I had an abortion shirt" has been divisive amongst many people, even pro-choicers because some people see it as being flippant. I think it's kind of cool to be able to be that open about it though? What say you?
Re: shirt #1, i don't find it offensive mainly because I think the best way to get around an awkward subject is to have a "sense of humor" about it. not that there's anything funny about self-induced abortion by any means, but at least it gets people thinking about it.
ReplyDeletealso, it sends a strong message to the antis that abortion actually SAVES lives by obviating back-alley methods. i have never heard a strong argument from the anti side to the contrary.
Very cool idea/conteplation here. I didn't vote in the poll because I really think these t-shirts, esp the first, might make people think--esp. if worn in line at an amusement park.
ReplyDeleteShirt # beating heart: how profound.
Yeah, unless I'm reading it wrong, I think the beating heart one is anti.
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting to get the "I had an abortion." shirt, even though I have not, just to get it out there, make people talk, make people think, make people uncomfortable and make them share their stories. I want it as a show of support.