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News > World

#UnbornLivesMatter? Anti-Abortion Groups Hijack #BlackLivesMatter

  • People against abortion march at a rally.

    People against abortion march at a rally. | Photo: Vimeo / Medill Reports

Published 13 July 2016
Opinion

Many have attempted to derail the Black Lives Matter movement, and anti-abortion activists are just one group among these.

While people have been using social media since the inception of the Black Lives Matter movement to voice their anger at police brutality against Black people in the United States, one group has joined the ranks of those looking to hijack the conversation.

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#AllLivesDidnt Matter Debunks Critics of Black Lives Matter

Anti-abortion groups replaced the #BlackLivesMatter with one of their own: #UnbornLivesMatter, calling attention to what they perceive as one of the gravest injustices in society—abortion.

As Salon reported Monday, the hashtag by those against reproductive rights isn't new, but rose to prominence as part of a coordinated effort.

"The phrase 'unborn lives matter' has been around for a few years," Miranda Blue, a researcher with People for the American Way, told Salon. "Since the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement, parts of the anti-choice movement have attempted to co-opt it to promote their own agenda, and they often do so in a way that is completely dismissive of BLM's concerns."

In December, Missouri legislators actually introduced the "All Lives Matter Act," which in its proposal included the legal redefinition of a fertilized egg as a person.

"To appropriate the Black Lives Matter movement in the midst of the brutal tragedies too many in the Black community face from state violence is repulsive," Planned Parenthood's Alencia Johnson told Salon.

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