In the United States of America, attacks on the right to abortion have been rising ever since 2011. In Texas, as well as other Republican-dominated states, lawmakers are trying to find ways to restrict abortion access. As recently as September 2021, an anti-abortion bill has come into effect in the state of Texas (The Texas Heartbeat Act) which states that abortions cannot be performed after the sixth week of pregnancy. As a result, the Pro-Choice movement that defends the reproductive rights of menstruating people has become more active than ever. 

The Pro-Choice Movement: the File

In this file, we will discuss multiple aspects of the Pro-Choice movement:

In the paper The Pro-Choice Movement: A brief ideological history of abortion we will go in-depth on the history of abortion and the emergence of its two accompanying ideologies; Pro-Choice and Pro-Life which have clashed for centuries and continue to do so in our contemporary society. 

This is followed by the paper The Pro-Choice Movement in the 21st Century (which discusses the 21st-century manifestation of the Pro-Choice movement and focuses on its current ideology and the paper The Pro-Life Movement: The response to Pro-Choice and Roe v. Wade in which the counterparty of Pro-Choice, namely pro-life, and its ideology is highlighted. Both papers take a deep dive into the movements and what they stand for, but also look at the representatives and spokespeople of the movements and their chief objectives.

Lastly, the paper The Role of Digital Media in Pro-Choice Activism hones in on the way the Pro-Choice movement uses the affordances of the hybrid media system, in particular, digital media and its accompanying algorithmic activism, to fight for the right to safe and legal abortions for all. 

Having read each of these papers, we can draw the following conclusion:

The contemporary American abortion debate is rooted both in Pro-Life and Pro-Choice ideologies that have existed and been in conflict with one another for centuries. Pro-Choice fights for bodily autonomy for all American womxn whereas Pro-Life fights for the right to life for all American babies. The abortion debate between these two ideologies has intensified due to the introduction of multiple anti-abortion bills such as the Texas Heartbeat Act, which also threaten to overthrow Roe v Wade. Through activism adapted to the hybrid media system, Pro-Choice continues the fight for safe and legal abortion more fiercely than ever.