Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this guest post are solely those of the guest author. Live Action News has made minor edits for clarity.
As most of the world knows by now, Taylor Swift has endorsed Kamala Harris for president.
In a September 10 Instagram post, Swift told her 285 million followers that she’s endorsing the Democrat ticket because “the simplest way to combat misinformation is truth” — then credited herself with “doing the research” before announcing her endorsement, as if there was any doubt which candidate she’d put her support behind.
Some might be inclined to laugh off the political endorsement of a pop star, but that would be selling Swift’s influence short: more than 400,000 people clicked her link to a federal voting information site, resulting in tens of thousands of new registrations and a significant bump in Google searches for voter registration, according to Reuters.
Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, quickly capitalized on Swift’s post, selling merchandise like friendship bracelets ($20) from their campaign site printed with lyrics from the ubiquitous singer’s songs.
But if Swift is really looking for truth, she should do a little more “research.” Citing bodily autonomy and “reproductive health,” Swift claimed she’s speaking out now because she wants to be “on the right side of history.”
I know the truth about abortion. Not only have I had an abortion, I’ve worked with thousands of women over the years who suffer from their own past abortions.
If Swift knew the truth – about the reality of abortion, the suffering it inflicts on child, mother and families – perhaps she wouldn’t be making grandiose statements about being on the right side of history, as if students of the future will be sitting with rapt attention as their teachers tell them a pop star upended the precarious balance of a divided republic.
Amplifying the lies
According to an August 2024 CNN article, there were an average of 98,990 abortions each month in the first three months of 2024, per the latest data from #WeCount, a research project from the Society of Family Planning.
Like it or not, Swift has influence. With millions of people who blindly follow her, she has a responsibility not to traffic in misinformation, and by citing the Harris campaign as a champion and authority on abortion, she’s amplifying the lies of the campaign.
Even more disturbing is the Democrats’ joyful frolicking around the issue, as if the killing of the unborn is something to celebrate no matter what the circumstances. Abortion is no laughing matter.
Harris and her surrogates intentionally talk about abortion in the abstract because they don’t want people to think about the reality. They use phrases like “reproductive healthcare” and “women’s health” — or, as Swift put it in her endorsement post, “A woman’s right to her own body.”
Over the years, I’ve met thousands of women whose lives have been destroyed by abortion. Most have bought into the lies and misinformation fed to them by the extreme pro-abortion stance of people like Kamala Harris, who, despite dancing around the issue in her recent debate with former President Donald Trump, still supports abortion up until birth.
Harris, aided by blatantly sympathetic moderators, denies the fact that late-term abortions exist, but anyone with access to the internet and the inclination to read about the issue for themselves can find out that’s not true. Nine states plus Washington, D.C., currently have no restrictions or time limits on abortion, and every state allows abortion at any time during gestation under the broad category of protecting the mother’s life.
Abusing her position as a moderator, ABC’s Linsey Davis “fact-checked” the former president, claiming there “is no state in this country where it is legal to ill a baby after it’s born.”
That’s misinformation, disseminated to millions of viewers who tuned into the debate. There’s plenty of evidence to prove that’s precisely what happens. As governor of Minnesota, Walz, whom Swift praised in her Instagram post, signed a 2023 bill that allows physicians to refuse life-saving care to infants born after failed abortions. If Swift wants truth, she can start by reading the text of that Minnesota law.
What is Taylor Swift really endorsing?
Swift shouldn’t have any influence over young people on these issues, and we shouldn’t be listening to pop stars, rappers, actors and “influencers” when it comes to civics and serious issues that mean life or death for fellow human beings. I don’t want my grandchildren or anyone else’s growing up believing these lies only to find out too late that they’re not true, leaving destruction in their wake.
Because when it comes to abortion, there’s never “only” one victim. In my work ministering to women, men and siblings impacted by abortion, I’ve encountered people who have been tormented by grief and guilt their entire lives because of decisions to abort.
Swift said she felt compelled to speak out because Trump suggested she supports him. She could have simply issued a statement saying she won’t comment on her personal political views instead of claiming to be the arbiter of truth. That would have been the prudent and humble thing to do, since the majority of her artistic output is predicated on repeatedly making bad personal decisions in her own life.
I invite Swift, a fellow New Yorker, to attend one of our group meetings for women suffering from the impact of abortion. She can hear what those women have to say directly from them, instead of allowing politicians to shape her opinion. She can listen to the anguish in their voices as they struggle with their own feelings while the media gaslights them, inflicting even more suffering by insisting their grief and guilt isn’t real.
She can hear the firsthand accounts of women who, since the Dobbs decision, were told they could abort “in the comfort of their own homes” only to suffer the horror of disposing of their unborn children in their toilets. That image will never leave those women.
Someone with so much influence should know exactly what she’s endorsing, and how she’s abusing the trust of innocent young women who trust her opinion on matters she has no expertise in. That’s why I’m compelled to combat that information with the truth — the real truth.
Bio: Theresa Bonopartis is Director of Lumina/Hope & Healing After Abortion and Co-developer of Entering Canaan.
