We Heart: Anti-Abortion Advertisement Challenged Through Strategic Stickering

This defaced anti-abortion advertisement was spotted on the 7 train in NYC. The strategically placed sticker covers up the words ‘Abortion Changes You,’ and the full advertisement with altered text reads:

I thought life would be the way it was before. Now I can go to college & fulfill my dreams.

Michaelene Fredenburg founded Abortion Changes You in San Diego and says it is a “support system” for those struggling with post-abortion trauma, rather than an anti-choice campaign. 

Samantha Levine of NARAL Pro-Choice New York views it differently:

“[These ads suggest] that feelings of sadness and self-harm are the universal experiences for someone who had an abortion. And there’s no evidence to suggest that that’s true.”

Tracy Clark-Flory from Salon.com thinks this anti-abortion advertisement is one-sided:

[Y]ou know what is guaranteed to change you and your life in a profound way? Motherhood. But I don’t recall seeing any subways ads featuring a woman knee-deep in dirty diapers with the text, ‘I thought life would be the way it was before.’


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About

Erica Shultz is the digital production artist at RVCA in Costa Mesa, California. She spends her free time reading, making zines & comics, and playing drums. Follow her comics on Instagram or check out her website.