Look. You want to end abortion? I get that. Cool. Do you. The neat thing is: we already know how to reduce abortions A LOT. 4 Simple Steps to End (Most) Abortion

1. Comprehensive evidence-based sex education. It reduces rates of unwanted pregnancy, which reduces rates of abortion. Hey it also DELAYS young people starting to have sex, if that matters to you.

2. Access to free, effective, safe contraception. It prevents pregnancy, which prevents abortion.

(And if you believe contraception is abortion, you were persuaded that by powerful assholes who realized contraception prevents abortion and so they had to REAL QUICK DECIDE CONTRACEPTION KILLS BABIES to keep you engaged and voting for them.)

3. Educational and economic opportunities for women and girls, including, sure, free college. Support parents, too -

You want a pregnant mom not to abort a pregnancy bc she's already struggling to feed the child(ren) she has? The solution is not to make abortion illegal, it's to end poverty. I think there was some guy, nice guy, really famous, had something to say about that...?

4. End rape culture. End male sexual entitlement, which is the primary cause of sexual violence. You don't want a rape victim who gets pregnant to get an abortion? Prevent the rapist from raping her. This is not rocket science.

Now none of these prevents the small percentage of abortions that happen after the first trimester, especially the wanted pregnancies where something goes dangerously, heartbreakingly wrong. -

These are families that have been decorating the nursery, deciding on names... the last thing they need is a law interfering with a moment that should be between them, their medical provider, and their faith.

Nothing I've suggested here is controversial. The public health question has been settled, empirically, for decades. It's not that we don't know how, it's that we lack the political will. We lack the will because the abortion debate isn't really about abortion. -

It's about controlling women's bodies and punishing them for making choices and being in situations you don't approve of.

If what you really wanted was to end abortion, you'd prevent unwanted pregnancies. And if you're not interested in policies that prevent pregnancy, then ending abortion isn't really what you want.

This has been a sex nerd tweetstorm. I feel a little better. And I hope maybe it offered handy language for anyone having this argument with friends and family.

PS here's my dog Olive who is sleepy