The tax-funded website ‘Maria Talks‘ which was begun primarily to direct teens to information on how to obtain abortifacients without parental involvement, continues to provide false information to girls and young women on topics like the beginning of human life, the nature of abortion. and what it means to actually choose life and to be a parent. Young women in need of help are told that they are hearing a voice that is unbiased on the divisive topic of abortion, but what we found at ‘Maria Talks’ indicates quite the opposite.
Let’s take a brief look at some of the troubling things offered at the ‘Maria Talks’ page on ‘Abortion’.
#1. ‘Maria Talks’ participates in the exploitation of teenage girls.
‘Maria Talks’ was built and is maintained not by youth, but by adults who are sympathetic to abortion provider Planned Parenthood. The site speaks ostensibly from the point of view of an informed teenager, implying that the information being offered is from an experienced peer, but the ‘Abortion‘ page directs young and vulnerable readers to Planned Parenthood which, essentially, single-handedly makes up the abortion industry in America. Planned Parenthood is known to engage in child exploitation for profit.
The page also links to NARAL‘s ‘Guide to Abortion Care in Massachusetts. NARAL is a pro-abortion political activist group which actively engages in smear campaigns against life-affirming pregnancy care centers that are dedicated to assisting girls and women experiencing an unexpected pregnancy. NARAL and Planned Parenthood both receive funding from Playboy magazine, which itself exploits women.
Teens should be encouraged to seek consultation with adults who are close to them (e.g., parents, grandparents, other adult family members, pastors) or life-affirming pregnancy centers who care for them and who would be sympathetic to their unique personal needs. Instead, ‘Maria Talks’ directs young women, seemingly by design, to the abortion industry itself and to the political organization most engaged in protecting that industry.
Using teen fears to assist the abortion industry as they seek to turn a higher profit seems to qualify as a clear act of exploitation in and of itself that young women and their families deserve to be aware of. The fact that this activity is tax-funded should be of concern to all who care about the inherent value and dignity of girls and young women. Tax money is clearly being used through ‘Maria Talks’ to feed an industry that exploits young women.
#2. ‘Maria Talks’ hides the truth from girls and young women about what abortion is.
At ‘Maria Talks’, the reader is given a definition of “abortion” that can leave readers with the impression that pregnancy is unnatural and that the new person in the womb has no dignity or value.
An abortion is when an embryo or fetus is removed from the womb (uterus), so that the uterus goes back to how it was before a woman got pregnant.
The terms ’embryo’ and ‘fetus’ often have no real meaning to the average person, so it is very unlikely that a young person can identify with what an ’embryo or fetus’ actually is in human terms: a new person. Coupling doubt or denial about the existence of the child in the womb with the promise that the girl’s body returns exactly as before, ‘Maria Talks’ appears to be exploiting natural fears about pregnancy to encourage abortion. This method can also serve to assure her that there is no need for her to turn to adults close to her about her situation.
While it is implied that pregnancy is unnatural, surgical and chemical abortion, which offer many risks, is presented as being as natural as, and even equivalent to, a miscarriage.
Abortions can happen naturally (sometimes referred to as a miscarriage or spontaneous abortion) or can be done with medications or surgery.
#3 ‘Maria Talks’ discourages girls and young women from seeking help from loved ones.
Children should not have chemical or surgical procedures — like tonsillectomies, flu shots, and appendectomies — without the knowledge or consent of a parent or guardian. Unfortunately, many states do allow the abortion industry to exploit young people by allowing abortion without any parental knowledge or consent, and ‘Maria Talks’ serves as a helpful tool for the industry by helping to convince fearful girls that it is unnecessary to seek help from people close to her.
‘Maria Talks’ brings into the narrative a character who serves as the voice of an adult family member who is conscious of good and evil but who offers an irrelevant scenario.
Aunt Lucia says abortion should not be used as a form of birth control. There are much better ways to avoid unplanned pregnancies.
Since the reader is thinking about abortion, not avoiding pregnancy, “avoiding” unplanned pregnancy is not relevant to what the reader is considering. Rather, she is dealing with a pregnancy. This observation by “Aunt Lucia” leaves young readers with the impression that older family members who may have moral objections cannot always be counted on to offer reasonable answers.
She also says that abortion is not the only option you have if you do get pregnant and are not sure you are ready to be a parent.
In the young reader’s mind, “Aunt Lucia” already has limited credibility due to the previous sentence, so the mention in the subsequent sentence about options other than abortion is far less likely to be considered as a reasonable answer to the situation.
In a separate section, “Aunt Lucia”, who is clearly a voice of morality and experience, now offers her moral authority to alleviate the reader’s fear of abortion, all while encouraging a visit directly to a professional abortionist rather than to a family doctor.
My Aunt Lucia says that abortions are generally safe and effective as long as they’re done by experienced and licensed doctors.
As you can see, teens who are faced with an unplanned pregnancy and who seek assistance from ‘Maria Talks’ are not offered positive, compassionate, life-affirming help that is readily available. Instead, they are charmed and cultivated to reject their loved ones and even their own family doctor so that they can be the next customer for the abortion industry, and perhaps even the next activist for NARAL.
It is vital that girls and young women experiencing unexpected pregnancy are not treated like cattle. Instead, they should be continually affirmed in their own dignity as well as the dignity of the new person that is growing within them. This is why organizations like Care-Net exist, and it is why Live Action will not rest until every woman and girl is affirmed and loved along with the child in the womb.
Let’s love them both.
