Thousands of messages supporting adoption rather than abortion have been posted on social media this week in response to calls to celebrate abortion.
Activists in the USA used the hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion on Twitter in response to political moves to tackle abortion giant Planned Parenthood.
The effort to remove funding from the US’ largest abortion provider follows shocking undercover videos that appear to show the group selling babies’ body parts.
Choose life
More than 8,000 tweets using #ShoutYourAdoption have been sent in the last seven days, with #ChooseLife and #ShoutForLife also popular.
“Please don’t #ShoutYourAbortion, there are thousands of couples waiting for a chance to adopt your baby. #ChooseLife, you won’t regret it”, was one tweet highlighted by the BBC.
Please don’t #ShoutYourAbortion, there are thousands of couples waiting for a chance to adopt your baby. #ChooseLife, you won’t regret it.
— Ben Gill (@BenGillCBN) September 22, 2015
Another social media user said while she was “pro choice”, she disagreed with shouting about a “deeply personal and emotional” issue.
‘Own my body’
Writing online, Lindy West and Amelia Bonow – the instigators of the pro-abortion campaign – have attempted to justify their actions.
West commented: “I own my body, and I decide what I allow to grow in it”, while Bonow said her abortion “made me happy”.
Challenging the social media abortion message in an article on the Spectator website, Dan Hitchens said: “There are countless human beings living right now who will never feel the sun on their faces – a fact that is probably too astonishing to fit into a hashtag.”
Undercover videos
Controversial organisation Planned Parenthood has been under continued pressure since the first undercover video about its alleged activities was released in July.
I own my body, and I decide what I allow to grow in it.
Lindy West
Since then The Center for Medical Progress has released a further nine videos – one of which heard from a woman who saw a brain being taken out of a baby whose heart was still beating after an abortion.
Holly O’Donnell previously worked at StemExpress, which has done work with Planned Parenthood in the past.
Blocked
The first secret video showed a senior Planned Parenthood doctor talking casually over lunch about the price of vital organs.
In the wake of the videos, American politicians in the House of Representatives voted to stop giving taxpayers’ money to Planned Parenthood. However, the Senate and the White House oppose any such move.
Individual states have taken steps to stop funding the abortion group, including Louisiana, Utah and New Hampshire.