Abortion

Maria Talk Gets Revamped Due To Anti-Choice Pressure

The Boston-area sex ed website has changed some of its language after a major assault by anti-choice activists.

The Maria Talks website, a teen sex information site that was under fire by anti-choice activists who declared that it was “dirty” and made abortion sound “too easy,” has been changed.

The Boston Herald reports:

“We needed to pull back a little bit, and add a more cautious and medically accurate tone,” Department of Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach told the Herald.

Auerbach said he decided to revise some of the “controversial” language on Maria Talks after hearing complaints from about 20 lawmakers. The site, produced by the AIDS Action Committee, described abortion as “more common than you might think.”

The updated Web site, due to roll out today, will still discuss teen pregnancy and abortion, but in a way “that isn’t emotionally charged or doesn’t underestimate the seriousness of the decisions,” Auerbach said. “It will address some of the concerns we heard.”

The revised site, Auerbach said, will recommend that teens who are afraid to talk to their parents about pregnancy and abortion ask their doctor for help. It will also use different language to describe abortion.

Objections made by anti-choice advocates included the site using common words for sexual acts, not telling teens that getting abortions without telling their parents is really really bad, and not informing young women that having an abortion will leave you scarred for for life both physically and mentally.  So we can expect the revamped Maria Talks to look much more like a crisis pregnancy center website full of medically inaccurate information with information no longer at all helpful to teens.

Enjoy your teen pregnancy boom, Boston!