As the debate around abortion rights rages in America, it’s easy for businesses to find themselves feeling trapped in a culture war. And rightly or wrongly, abortion is a political issue – according to Pew, six in ten Americans believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 39% believe that abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.
But cultural discourse around abortion hasn’t appeared from nowhere and can’t be understood in isolation. It is symptomatic of myriad drivers that have collided and been coded into this major political, cultural, and social event. On the one hand, the move to roll back Roe v. Wade signposts the rapid polarisation of American society, a discourse led by a set of conservative groups but exaggerated by an algorithmic digital landscape that intensifies certain beliefs. On another, it feeds into an ongoing disconnect between women’s health and systems of care. For those who are pro-choice, the conversation about abortion exists within a wider theme of women needing more support and openness around wellbeing through all stages of life – through menopause, periods, fertility. Research has shown that access to abortions and women’s wellbeing are inextricably linked, so rolling back abortion rights would be a major setback for women’s health. The debate is highly emotional, and the fear and belief on both sides are visceral. For businesses, there is no ‘right’ way to address such an event when society is as polarised as it is. Feeling clued into both sides of the coin can be challenging when personal values are at play, but as tensions dial up, that dynamic understanding is what matters.