Pregnancy Charity BPAS rejects pressure to stop using the word "woman"

Alekto wow..
Not giving that person my clicks but at ‘pro life’ or anti choice campaigners trying to spin themselves as ‘progressive’..

just as long as they’re not lumped in with those uncool- looking pro life types you understand. Totally absolutely different of course. Because more up to date hair style..

There are no women's rights the gender ideologists won't campaign against.

twitter.com/paaunow/status/1444407294482071553?s=21

Yes! It’s great BPAS have set it out so clearly and fantastic that it’s being reported on in mainstream media.
Let’s leave aside that it’s shocking it’s even a question or a news story to ask whether clinics can inclusively provide abortion to women…. and still name women as women. For fuck’s sake…

But anyway. BPAS’ CEO Anne Furedi who was there for years wrote this article in Spiked criticising the disappearance of the word ‘woman’. Clearly that set the tone for this latest statement from BPAS:
www.spiked-online.com/2021/09/30/only-women-have-abortions/

Only women have abortions. Yes! Thank you. Absolutely right.
However as far as I know that Spiked article didn’t seem to get massively picked up on as they have a bit of a niche libertarian readership.
So. What’s going to be interesting is what the TRAs will make of this statement from BPAS now it’s been reported on nationally and therefore brought to public attention. They can’t use their usual silencing and bullying tactics against a pro choice organisation… can they?
Will the TRAs and their allies line up to picket abortion clinics trying to block women from accessing their abortions…. alongside the religious right doing the exact same thing?
I wonder how the genderists will be able to spin this..

It is good news agreed. Reading the articles on Kathleen Stock though and all she has been through have really upset me. It really costs these women to speak up doesn't it. She has paid a high price for doing that.

Fantastic. Coupled with Sussex Uni, this has been a good couple of days. Explicit support for women, no having to read between the lines or cling on to what they didnt say, etc.

BPAS have tweeted that they've had a positive response. I'm sure every bit of positive feedback to MPs, companies, public services, etc on this issue goes a long way. If they're brave enough to take a woman friendly stance I think it's really important to thank them.

Otoh, Laurie Penny said she thought Kathleen Stock's book was reasonable, got piled on and consequently retracted.

I’ve written. Women are so marginalised through pregnancy and often butchered through birth. Thank you.

I've also written to bpas to thank them and will be increasing my monthly DD.

Oh this is so sad and ridiculous. All the work there is to be done and we are having to fight to be able to use the word 'woman '. Its so risible and so bloody STUPID.

I mean, well done BPAS, but Jesus. I cannot be grateful for the crumbs of absurdity.

So happy about this. Really hoping that as they have articulated this so well, and not shied away from the difficulties of it, that other organisations might follow suit 🤞🏻🤞🏻

This on the back of the hospital article and all the horror of that is good news.

Also well done to the Telegraph not only for the articles but also for correctly naming Stonewall as the controversial LGBT Charity.

I saw an advert on Facebook for some period product, and the tag line said 'for people who bleed, made by people who bleed' (which sounds creepy and weird.) I was very heartened to see loads of women in the comments outright laughing and being angry at the term 'people who bleed'. I really think women are getting fed up with being called such disgusting names.

I've donated to them and thanked them for helping women.

I've emailed BPAS to thank them for naming and centring adult human females. Shouldn't need doing, but here we are.

Yay! I hope this is covered more widely in the media.

So good to hear....

"Those changes came after pressure from groups including controversial LGBT charity Stonewall, which has advised organisations that they should remove all gendered language in order to be more inclusive."

It's a small point, but significant to me that the term 'controversial' is now being applied to Stonewall in mainstream media.

Sad it’s gone so far that this was necessary.

I don’t know how anyone can read that and declare it transphobic. It’s informed, measured and fair. But we shall see!
Fingers crossed that this, along with the Beeb leaving Stonewall, will be enough for other organisations to speak the truth.
Talking of the Beeb, JKR was on R2 this morning promoting her new book. Was so lovely to hear her

Thank goodness. And well articulated rationale too.

Good news but (as is so often asked) how did we get here? And how have we ended up with toxic trolls being able to smear women as being transphobic for just mentioning the word woman, let alone all the associated sex based language?

Wonderful stuff. Not going to use the usual metaphor but it does feel like some useful momentum is building.

“Women’s reproductive healthcare and choices remain regulated and restricted in the way they are precisely because they are women’s issues, sadly still bound up with heavily gendered and judgmental approaches to female sexuality, ideals of motherhood and expectations of maternal sacrifice, and the need to control women’s bodies and choices.

‘We cannot – and will not – shy away from this’
“If we cannot clearly articulate that it is predominantly women, rather than people at large, who are affected by this, we will find it much harder to dismantle a framework that today is still underpinned by sexism.”

Thank you, thank you, thank you BPAS.

Brilliant! Not just that they’ve refused to change their language, but that they’ve articulated why so perfectly and clearly.