October 24, 2023

Setting the Scene: New Resource for Storytellers on Pregnancy Decision-Making and Abortion in Context

Research and Tips for Re-Scripting Gender, Work, Family and Care in Stories that Include Pregnancy Decisions 

Setting the Scene is a newsletter for media creators from the Entertainment-Focused Narrative and Culture Change Practice at New America's Better Life Lab. Issue 2.

Hello again from Vicki Shabo at New America's Better Life Lab! 

In this second issue of our Setting the Scene newsletter, we're focused on tips for storytelling about pregnancy decisions — including abortion — that take finances, jobs, caregiving responsibilities and health into account. 

On the day in June 2022 that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs decision, I was part of a plenary panel at a conference of work-family policy researchers and practitioners. The best thing I could think to say as we all grappled with the loss of reproductive rights and autonomy that people in the U.S. had for nearly 50 years, was this:

The Dobbs decision is beyond troubling not just for its unprecedented erosion of well-established rights but also because it wrongly assumes that America is a country that supports families.

Decisions about whether and when to have a child take place in a broader context, where only about one-quarter of workers have employer-provided paid family leave at their jobs, half of service workers don’t have a single paid sick day, workers' wages are often too low to support a family, jobs are unstable and work schedules are inflexible, and child care is often unaffordable or unavailable.

I also told the audience that "researchers and practitioners have an outsized voice in highlighting work-family injustice." I've tried to use my voice in writing for outlets like the Boston Globe on this topic, too (read a recent-op ed here, if you're interested!). 

Entertainment media storytellers are also powerful. You have a broad reach in depicting people's lives and the context in which they make decisions  — and in advancing a vision of a different future.

That's why I'm excited to share a new resource: Re-Scripting Depictions of Abortion on Screen: Telling Stories about Pregnancy Decisions and Abortion in Context (also in pdf) published jointly by Abortion Onscreen at UCSF's Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) and our team at New America’s Better Life Lab (BLL). In it, we talk about about TV and film portrayals of abortion and pregnancy decision-making in the context of work, family, finances, and caregiving.

We find that from 2018 through mid-2023:

• Only about 5% of TV and film abortion storylines included discussions of work, family, finances, or health when, in reality, people's pregnancy decisions are often shaped by these factors.
• Only 9% of abortion plotlines included a caregiver for the person seeking an abortion when, in reality, most people do disclose their decision to have an abortion to at least one person and receive support.
• Less than 2% of abortion plotlines  reference workplace accommodations, including paid leave, for an abortion-seeker or caregiver. In reality, the issues of abortion access and workplace leave are intertwined, particularly as more restrictive laws force people in some places to travel further distances. 

Our new guide also recommends ways to incorporate more context -- whether your story deals with abortion or parenting, including:

• Key ways in which finances, work, care, and health show up in people's lives and affect pregnancy decisions, based on research and data.
• State-specific information for understanding child care costs, access to workplace leave laws, wages, and abortion laws to help shape authentic storytelling.
• Questions to consider when a character is pregnant and making decisions about their future.

Read the resource guide. We'd love it if you would check out and share our report posts and stories on Instagram!

We also have related research focused on specific populations where pregnancy decisions might come into play, including rural communities, Black women's health and wellness, and more.

Please reach out if you'd like a customized briefing, a brainstorm discussion, or any practical advice for current or prospective projects! 

I'd also love to know what stories you've had a hand in creating that you're proudest of on these topics! Our resource guide names several standouts, and we'd love to amplify others. 

If this newsletter was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here. (And if you're a new subscriber, welcome! You can read the October 3rd issue here.)

Vicki

shabo@newamerica.org

Vicki Shabo (she/her)

Senior Fellow: Paid Leave, Gender Equity & Care Policy and Strategy

Founder, Entertainment-Focused Narrative and Culture Change Practice 

Better Life Lab @ New America

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About New America

New America is dedicated to renewing the promise of America by continuing the quest to realize our nation's highest ideals. New America's home office is located on the traditional land of the Nacotchtank and Piscataway Peoples.

About the Better Life Lab

The Better Life Lab works in solidarity with the movement for work-family justice to elevate the value of care, advance intersectional gender equity, and transform policy, practice and culture so people and families can thrive. We provide original research and reporting that challenges existing narratives around work and family. As connectors and conveners, we translate that, the work of academics and partners, and the stories of working families into accessible, solutions-focused stories, practical tools and policy and workplace interventions. We creatively amplify them to the widest possible audiences for the greatest impact.