Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, there has been an unprecedented outpouring of rage, shock, and interest in getting involved with the movement for abortion rights. Many organizations, especially local collectives, are being flooded with requests to volunteer. In fact, many have actually had to pause volunteer recruitment because they are overwhelmed with the number of people who want to help.
Trans men, nonbinary people, and intersex people need abortion, too.
However, there’s been a troubling trend of newcomers to the movement not taking the time to educate themselves and understand certain nuances. While it is absolutely good and necessary that we are seeing an increase in engagement in the movement for abortion rights, it’s critical that anyone joining this movement respects and understands that using gender-neutral and gender-inclusive language when talking about abortion is non-negotiable.
By making abortion solely about “women’s issues” or claiming that it only affects cisgender women, we overtly exclude large swathes of the population who also need access to abortion care. Trans men, nonbinary people, and intersex people need abortion, too. By making these groups an afterthought, we do them an injustice in the movement.
Demonstrations are rife with this kind of exclusive language, unfortunately. It seems impossible to attend a march or rally without seeing a barrage of posters and speeches that, at best, tack on trans men as an afterthought and, at worst, leave trans and nonbinary people out altogether.
The abortion justice movement cannot succeed without making abortion accessible for everyone. We will not achieve our goal until we bring trans and gender-nonconforming people from the margins to the center of our movement. By centering these voices in our activism, not only are we making this movement inclusive of everyone, but we’re also making abortion accessible to everyone.
The Guttmacher Institute estimates that between 462 and 530 trans and nonbinary individuals obtained abortions in 2017, with only 23 percent of abortion clinics also providing transgender-specific care. Trans people already have a fraught history of receiving equitable medical care, and, unfortunately, it happens in abortion clinics as well.
Patients experience being misgendered by providers and staff, are often asked inappropriate questions regarding their sexuality and sexual activity, and even receive poor medical treatment because of their gender identities. The reality is that many abortion clinics and abortion funds have the word “women” or “woman” in their names, presenting an additional barrier to treatment before a trans person even comes into contact with them.
Instead of talking about how far women will have to travel, or how mothers will be impacted, use an accurate, gender-neutral term. “Abortion seeker” is a great way to describe someone who is traveling to access abortion care. “Pregnant people” is how you can describe people who are personally affected by anti-abortion laws. “Those with the capacity for pregnancy” can replace the instances where you talk about people who could be directly impacted by abortion bans.
Another consideration to be mindful of is reducing people to their reproductive parts. Despite what the U.S. Supreme Court might think, we are more than our ability to reproduce. Echoing this language, even in the spirit of inclusivity, can still be harmful. Avoid talking about “uterus-havers” or “people with uteruses.” These terms are reductive and not necessarily accurate. For one, many trans men don’t want to be constantly reminded that they have uteruses, and causing body dysmorphia should not be a side effect of our activism. Secondly, even if someone does have a uterus, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are able to get pregnant, due to circumstances such as infertility, disease, or menopause. By referring to people as “having the capacity for pregnancy,” for example, we can be as accurate and inclusive as possible.
I am a white, queer, cisgender woman. Within the movement for abortion rights, I operate with a lot of privilege. I myself haven’t always used the most accurate and inclusive language when talking about abortion, but I’m grateful to the trans and gender-nonconforming activists who have taken the time to educate all of us on how critical it is to expand our language.
To other cisgender women in the movement: It’s time to listen to trans people. The easiest way to make sure that abortion is accessible to all is to stop reinforcing the gender binary when we do this work. Practice at home. When scrolling social media, make note of all of the times you see exclusive language. Push your local organizers to include trans and nonbinary speakers at your next rally or event. In conversation with others, call in those who only refer to cis women when discussing abortion rights.
We cannot leave trans, nonbinary, and intersex people behind when we fight for abortion access.