Abortion: It’s “Much Easier Than it Sounds!”

Just a "fetus"

Site: No stigma in abortion

Via Boston Herald: A state-funded sex education Web site that tells teens an abortion is “much easier than it sounds” has drawn fire from outraged pro-lifers who say mariatalks.com is glossing over ugly truths, steering teens toward the controversial procedure and counseling them how to keep mom and dad in the dark.

“The commonwealth is using taxpayer money to tell kids how to get a secret abortion, and that’s wrong,” said Linda Thayer, a former Boston schoolteacher who is vice president for educational affairs of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, which this week took aim at the site.

“This is a misuse of state funds, especially for parents who are taxpayers,” said Thayer, who also blasted the Web site for “deception by omission” for describing abortion simply as “when the contents of the womb (uterus) are removed.”

Mariatalks.com (a site I was able to get to earlier today yet as of 11:26 PM PST I got this message – “Internet Explorer cannot display the web page”, yet they are still on Facebook) featuring fictional hip teen “Maria,” who addresses teens in a breezy tone, has been produced since 2008 by the AIDS Action Committee with $100,000 annual grants from the state Department of Public Health. The money also covers a sex-crisis hotline and other outreach efforts.

Maria tells teen readers abortion is a “hot topic” but that the procedure is “more common than you might think” and “safe and effective, though some people may experience temporary discomfort.” The site’s discussion of risk is limited to advising that it is better to get an abortion sooner rather than later.

In another segment, Maria says to Massachusetts teens, “The reality of getting an abortion is much easier than it sounds here.” In contrast, a more cautionary Maria counsels on another page that adoption “can be pretty tough for some people, especially emotionally.” Of conflicted feelings over abortion, Maria counsels that one of her fictional friends found it a “difficult decision” but decided the procedure was the “best choice . . . for herself, her boyfriend, her family and her future.” Guess the unborn fetus didn’t have a choice.

Of bypassing parental approval, Maria says, “It may be really hard for you to imagine talking to either your parents or a judge about getting an abortion, but there are people who can help you through it.”

NARAL Pro-Choice America Executive Director Andrea Miller called Maria Talks “terrific.” “It’s really a complete and medically accurate set of information,” Miller said. “I’m impressed that the state has provided this information in a youth-friendly, -non-judgemental manner.”

Yes, “Maria” has a voice yet the unborn “fetus” does not.  That’s so youth-friendly and non-judgemental.

DCG