Leading Abortion Group Drops ‘Pro-Choice’ from Official Name

The nation’s oldest extant abortion political advocacy organization announced on Wednesday that it is rebranding, dropping the term “pro-choice” from its name.

NARAL Pro-Choice America will now be called “Reproductive Freedom for All” — a name change the organization hopes will frame unfettered abortion access as a matter of “freedom” in a post-Roe America rather than a “choice” between saving or ending the lives of the unborn.

“This change comes after a vote from our organization’s membership and after years of NARAL research and discussions with people in communities across the country found that people think of abortion rights and access as a matter of freedom,” the organization said in a press release.

“Our research has shown that reproductive freedom is a core value for people across the country—across religion, race, and age. With this change, our organization boldly forges ahead toward a future where reproductive freedom is a reality for everybody,” it continued. 

This is the fourth time the organization has changed its name since its inception in 1969. The organization was first called the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, and then it became the National Abortion Rights Action League after the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which led to the abortions of an estimated 64 million babies in the following fifty years. Subsequently, the organization added the term “reproductive rights” to its name in 1993.

Then in 2003, the organization changed its name to NARAL Pro-Choice America, its president at the time, Kate Michelman, telling the New York Times that the name change “underscor[ed] that our country is pro-choice.”

Kate Michelman, then-president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, poses during the March For Women’s Lives at the National Mall in Washington D.C., on April 5, 1992 (Mark Reinstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

“David J. Garrow, a legal historian at Emory University who has studied the abortion debate, said the organization was using its new name to put a greater emphasis on choice as opposed to abortion,” according to the 2003 Times report. 

In a statement, Reproductive Freedom for All President Mini Timmaraju said that the organization’s leadership “identified a clearer and more inclusive path forward” to mobilize abortion supporters. 

She said: 

The fight for abortion rights and access is at a critical moment. With the coalition of Americans who support reproductive freedom growing by the day, our leadership identified a clearer and more inclusive path forward to mobilize this new and expanded base of support. Our more than 4 million members are fired up, and in order to win back our constitutional right, we need more of the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion to join this fight.

Across the country, communities have risen up against the anti-abortion extremism the GOP is hawking. In election after election, voters decisively deliver victories for reproductive freedom—marking a grassroots energy that has and will continue to change the political landscape for decades to come. There is a long road ahead of us, and there is no time to waste. Reproductive Freedom for All is a demand, a call to action, and a vision of the future we’re fighting for. Together, we’re going to make that vision come true.

Fellow pro-abortion giant Planned Parenthood celebrated the name change in a post to X. 

“NARAL’s evolution to Reproductive Freedom For All reminds everyone that reproductive rights and freedoms is [sic] for every body [sic]. This new vision looks good on you, and we’re honored to continue to fight alongside you. #BansOffOurBodies,” the post reads.

Leading pro-life organization Susan B. Anthony (SBA) Pro-Life America said, in a statement, that the name change is “just another example of the radical abortion lobby lifting the curtain to show Americans their true agenda.” 

“NARAL’s decision to abandon their ‘pro-choice’ label is just another example of the radical abortion lobby lifting the curtain to show Americans their true agenda,” said E.V. Osment, vice president of communications for SBA Pro-Life America. “This further confirms that the days of ‘safe, legal, and rare’ abortion positions on the Left are on the ash heap of history.”

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She continued:

Not only have abortion extremists erased ‘choice’ from their platform, but they have also erased any mention of women. NARAL’s decision to drop ‘choice’ from their name is arguably more honest, as most women cite their abortions as inconsistent with their values or coerced. In stark contrast, the pro-life movement stands ready to serve women and save babies. We will never be ashamed to acknowledge her and her needs, nor will we tire of exposing the harm done by pro-abortion activists who will go to any lengths to disempower her and keep her from accessing help to be a strong mother.

The name change comes as Democrats continue to collectively take heat for refusing to name any abortion limits they support (see here and here). In return, many Republicans are accusing Democrats of supporting abortion up until birth and of being pro-abortion rather than “pro-choice” — accusations backed up by many examples and furiously denied by Democrats and the pro-abortion media.

RELATED: “Praise Jesus for Abortions!” — Pro-Abortion Activist Screams at People Praying at March for Life

The change also comes as pro-abortion groups paint radical abortion ballot initiatives in various states as a matter of “freedom” and protection against government overreach in an effort to undercut pro-life laws and codify abortion on demand into state constitutions.

Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.