The Problem Is The Messaging

by Hailey
(USA)

(Editor's note: We received the following note in response to our page about common sense not being common. The link to that page is just below.)

>Common Sense Is Not Common

I'm writing in response to your post about common sense. In particular, the section about what you describe as "the hottest of hot buttons."

It's a messaging problem. I'm in the marketing field so it's easy for me to recognize. And I was in the demographic that was confused by the messaging because it was confusing.

It wasn't until I was challenged to do the research that my mind was changed. I was part of the population segment that was convinced "those zealots" were single-minded and cruel. I was sure they hated women and were devoid of any sympathy for major health issues. I believed this because that is what the commercials repeated over and over, and because the messaging from their side wasn't clear.

Then I spent some time at those pregnancy centers. I saw how they provided support; financial, material, and emotional support. I found out that, no, they do not believe women facing miscarriage should be denied health care to save their lives. I saw them provide the same methods of support to families, long after childbirth, so another myth was busted.

I discovered that those people do not believe ectopic pregnancies should be exempt from healthcare to save the mother. I discovered that actually they are some of the strongest proponents for paid parental leave and they provide before birth and after birth care to anyone who comes through their doors in need.

The problem is the messaging. You addressed it to a degree, but it should be further addressed. There needs to be a clear separation between the subject of abortion and all the other issues that are blended into that one, single topic. It confuses people and it detracts from any possible common ground. I would suggest to your readers that they take the same challenge. Go witness first-hand what they do in those pregnancy centers. Be careful who you get your news and information from, because they might have a financial incentive to spread confusion.

My high school English Literature classes taught me that Voltaire was among the first to recognize that common sense is not common. Many years later, that is still true.

While I am still fiercely on the side of equality for women, I am also aware of the misinformation I accepted in the past. It is very hard to present any case for equality for women when we disregard the life of any segment of our population. You wrote something that hit me most directly. I'll end here by suggesting better marketing of the message would help in solving this issue, if that is the desire. You wrote the following about people in what you describe as the true pro-life movement and it needs to seen by more people.

"Half the humans killed by abortion are women. They just believe innocent humans should be protected from violence. They believe women should be supported during pregnancy and afterward. They believe in paid leave, they believe in pre and post natal care for all. They believe killing the human because it isn't convenient is wrong. Just as nearly anyone would if the child was a year old. That's just common sense."

Something to Think About

"Grief can be a burden, but also an anchor. You get used to the weight, how it holds you in place.”

Sarah Dessen