Late last week, in partnership with MomsRising and We Testify, UltraViolet—a leading women’s advocacy group—launched a major six-figure new digital persuasion and storytelling campaign targeting progressive younger voters and moderate swing voters on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube in Virginia, Georgia, Missouri and Ohio.
The ads have a simple message for these voters: “Someone they love had an abortion.”
View the 30-second spot here:
View the 60-second spot here:
Centering on abortion truth-tellers and their stories, the ads aim to shift the abortion conversation to focus on the reality, not the caricature: namely, that we all love someone who has had an abortion, and someone we love may need to have an abortion one day.
June Medical Services v. Russo and Other Attacks on Abortion Make Campaign Timely
The ad campaign launched the same week that the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of June Medical Services v. Russo—a legal challenge orchestrated by the anti-choice movement with the ultimate agenda of gutting Roe v. Wade.
If the Supreme Court decides to let Louisiana’s abortion clinic shutdown law stand, defying precedent established just four years ago by the Court, it will serve as a green light to anti-choice politicians in other states to pass similar laws aiming to roll back reproductive freedom.
“As our right to safe and legal abortion continues to be attacked, it’s important we remind people of the impact losing that access could have for themselves and those they love,” said Monifa Bandele, senior vice president of maternal justice Programs at MomsRising. “The truth is, Black women and women of color suffer the most from efforts to restrict abortion care, especially those who live in low-income communities with little access to critical healthcare resources.”
UltraViolet hopes to convince voters that people who have abortions deserve support and love and for their stories to be represented with honor. The ads attempt to change the frame of the abortion debate to empathy—and persuade new audiences to join the fight to protect reproductive freedom and abortion rights in their communities and across the country.
“Abortion is a common and safe medical procedure, and people who seek care deserve to be met with love and support,” explained Shaunna Thomas, co-founder and executive director of UltraViolet. “Given that one in four cisgender women will have an abortion by the age of 45, it is time that our communities come together and love people who had abortions.”
Thomas continued: “We invite everyone who views these ads to see themselves or someone they love in these stories and, no matter how they may feel about abortion individually, get engaged in the fight to ensure all of our right to make the healthcare decisions best for ourselves, our futures and our loved ones.”
It’s Time for More Honest Media Representation of Abortions
Renee Bracey Sherman, founder and executive director of We Testify, said:
“Everyone loves someone who had an abortion. It’s just that simple. Yet, the stigmatizing anti-abortion rhetoric in our society allows us to be demonized and ostracized. We deserve to be seen and loved in public, and remind everyone that they care deeply for someone who has had or will need abortions.
“It is time that people who have abortions are shown in ads—and news articles, pop culture, and in our communities—as the courageous, caring, and powerful people that we are. We deserve to be shown in our full humanity, given the space to share our stories—full of nuance and complexity—and showered with compassion by our loved ones.
“These ads show people along the gender spectrum, with different racial identities, religions, and family sizes who are from different communities across the country living their fullest lives and showing other people who want and need abortions that they’re not alone.”
Learn more about the campaign here.
