--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Abortion politics have distracted all…" description: "\"Abortion politics have distracted all sides from what is really essential: a major aid campaign to improve midwifery, prenatal care and emergency obste..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/nicholas-d-kristof-4679_abortion_abortion-politics-have-distracted-all-si_1414041.png" --- # Abortion politics have distracted all sides from what is… ![“Abortion politics have distracted all sides from what is really essential: a major aid campaign to improve midwifery, prenatal care and emergency obstetric services in poor countries.” quote by Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/nicholas-d-kristof-4679_abortion_abortion-politics-have-distracted-all-si_1414041.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/nicholas-d-kristof-4679_abortion_abortion-politics-have-distracted-all-si_1414041.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/nicholas-d-kristof-4679_abortion_abortion-politics-have-distracted-all-si_1414041.png) > “Abortion politics have distracted all sides from what is really essential: a major aid campaign to improve midwifery, prenatal care and emergency obstetric services in poor countries.” [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Abortion politics distract from essential global health needs like midwifery, prenatal, and emergency obstetric care. **In simple terms:** Political focus on abortion diverts from vital maternal health care. Key Takeaway Prioritize maternal health aid. Themes politics healthcare global aid Mood concerned urgent Type policy critique advocacy When to use this quote - advocacy - NGO funding Key Concepts public policy maternal health resource allocation Questions to Reflect On - How can we shift attention to maternal health? - What strategies ensure sustained aid? A Different Perspective Political debates can stall health initiatives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abortion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abortion/) [Abortion Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abortion-politics-276396/) [Aid Campaign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aid-campaign-4990242/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Distracted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distracted/) [Improve Midwifery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improve-midwifery-4990243/) [Major Aid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/major-aid-2880329/) [Midwifery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/midwifery/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Poor countries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-countries/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) ## Related quotes > [“for anyone who gave money to a major aid group, that they were going to be able to spend your $20 donation on actual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-m-katz/for-anyone-who-gave-money-to-a-major-aid-group-that-they-were-going/) [Jonathan M. Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-m-katz/) > [I have no respect for the right-to-life position. But when you legislate personal belief, you're in violation of freedom of religion. The Catholic Church…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-have-no-respect-for-the-right-to-life-position-but-when-you/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [For millions of women, health centers that provide reproductive healthcare are the only place they ever see a doctor or nurse. When abortion politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leana-s-wen/for-millions-of-women-health-centers-that-provide-reproductive/) [Leana S. Wen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leana-s-wen/) > [“the political scientist Roger Pielke, Jr. has called the transformation of “abortion politics” into “tornado politics.” The debate preceding a collective decision about abortion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-political-scientist-roger-pielke-jr-has-called-the-transformation/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So Kim Kardashian is getting a divorce, 72 days after a wedding that is variously reported to have cost $10 million or more. Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/so-kim-kardashian-is-getting-a-divorce-72-days-after-a-wedding-that/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [If one is talking to a finance minister of a poor country, moral arguments tend not to get very far. But if you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/if-one-is-talking-to-a-finance-minister-of-a-poor-country-moral/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [If the U.S. wants to help people in tsunami-hit countries like Sri Lanka and Indonesia - not to mention other poor countries in Africa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/if-the-u-s-wants-to-help-people-in-tsunami-hit-countries-like-sri/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [More girls were killed in the last 50 years, precisely because they were girls, than men killed in all the wars in the 20th…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/more-girls-were-killed-in-the-last-50-years-precisely-because-they/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [“Today, the lay midwife is a response to a growing home-birth movement. In my own community most physicians have decided to withhold prenatal care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-mccutcheon/today-the-lay-midwife-is-a-response-to-a-growing-home-birth-movement/) [Susan McCutcheon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-mccutcheon/) > [Having a highly trained obstetrical surgeon attend a normal birth is analogous to having a pediatric surgeon babysit a healthy 2-year-old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-wagner/having-a-highly-trained-obstetrical-surgeon-attend-a-normal-birth-is/) [Marsden Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-wagner/) > [“And thus, through the courage and great skill in obstetrics of Queequeg, the deliverance, or rather, delivery of Tashtego, was successfully accomplished, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/and-thus-through-the-courage-and-great-skill-in-obstetrics-of/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Remember this, for it is as true and true gets: Your body is not a lemon. You are not a machine. The Creator is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ina-may-gaskin/remember-this-for-it-is-as-true-and-true-gets-your-body-is-not-a/) [Ina May Gaskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ina-may-gaskin/) > [There is no other organ quite like the uterus. If men had such an organ they would brag about it. So should we](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ina-may-gaskin/there-is-no-other-organ-quite-like-the-uterus-if-men-had-such-an/) [Ina May Gaskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ina-may-gaskin/) > [“Many midwives work as employees in large hospital practices, where the techno-medical model of care is still the rule. In practices like these, midwives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ina-may-gaskin/many-midwives-work-as-employees-in-large-hospital-practices-where-the/) [Ina May Gaskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ina-may-gaskin/) > [“I am persuaded from long years of experience amongst women of many nationalities that good midwifery is essential for the true happiness of motherhood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grantly-dick-read/i-am-persuaded-from-long-years-of-experience-amongst-women-of-many/) [Grantly Dick-Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantly-dick-read/) ## More by Nicholas D. Kristof > [Random violence is incredibly infectious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/random-violence-is-incredibly-infectious/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [Our national leaders tend to try to protect the national interest as they see it. They may screw up in that, but they at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/our-national-leaders-tend-to-try-to-protect-the-national-interest-as/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [The north of the Central African Republic is now a war zone, with rival armed bands burning villages, kidnapping children, robbing travelers and killing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/the-north-of-the-central-african-republic-is-now-a-war-zone-with/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [Sometimes I wish eastern Congo could suffer an earthquake or a tsunami, so that it might finally get the attention it needs. The barbaric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/sometimes-i-wish-eastern-congo-could-suffer-an-earthquake-or-a/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [Americans of faith should try as hard to save the lives of African women as the lives of unborn fetuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/americans-of-faith-should-try-as-hard-to-save-the-lives-of-african/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [Palestinian militancy has accomplished nothing but increasing the misery of the Palestinian people. If Palestinians instead turned more to huge Gandhi-style nonviolence resistance campaigns,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/palestinian-militancy-has-accomplished-nothing-but-increasing-the/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [The news media's silence, particularly television news, is reprehensible. If we knew as much about Darfur as we do about Michael Jackson, we might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/the-news-media-s-silence-particularly-television-news-is/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [It’s time for a 21st-century abolitionist movement in the U.S and around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/it-s-time-for-a-21st-century-abolitionist-movement-in-the-u-s-and/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [The bulk of the emails tend to come after a column. I can get about 2,000 after a column.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/the-bulk-of-the-emails-tend-to-come-after-a-column-i-can-get-about-2/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [American airstrikes...create risks, especially if our intelligence there is rusty. The crucial step, and the one we should apply diplomatic pressure to try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/american-airstrikes-create-risks-especially-if-our-intelligence-there/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [Let me be clear: I'm a believer in a robust military, which is essential for backing up diplomacy. But the implication is that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/let-me-be-clear-i-m-a-believer-in-a-robust-military-which-is/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [Every year 3.1 million Indian children die before the age of 5, mostly from diseases of poverty like diarrhea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/every-year-3-1-million-indian-children-die-before-the-age-of-5-mostly/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [One of the principles of journalism is you don't lie. You never lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/one-of-the-principles-of-journalism-is-you-don-t-lie-you-never-lie/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [You could perhaps better tell the story of a place by writing of a tiny village as a sort of prism into the bigger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/you-could-perhaps-better-tell-the-story-of-a-place-by-writing-of-a/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [All of a sudden their husband's dead and maybe a child is dead and they have absolutely nothing - and they're heading through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/all-of-a-sudden-their-husband-s-dead-and-maybe-a-child-is-dead-and/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) [Explore all 107 Nicholas D. Kristof quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) ## More Abortion quotes > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) [Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/) > [Hey everyone, in case y'all didn't hear, I'm pregnat, and after discussing it w/ my family, I've decided to get an abortion, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-badesheim/hey-everyone-in-case-y-all-didn-t-hear-i-m-pregnat-and-after/) [Madison Badesheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-badesheim/) > [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. 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Many base that claim on China's strict population laws, which allow them to have only one child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-koch/the-chinese-describe-themselves-as-political-refugees-many-base-that/) [Ed Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-koch/) > [I'm a pro-life candidate because I believe that science is proving us right every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-fiorina/i-m-a-pro-life-candidate-because-i-believe-that-science-is-proving-us/) [Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-fiorina/) > [I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion…has been born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-noticed-that-everyone-who-is-for-abortion-has-been-born/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [We talk a lot about how abortion is a medical procedure, but actually if you look at what the other side is doing, they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-northup/we-talk-a-lot-about-how-abortion-is-a-medical-procedure-but-actually/) [Nancy Northup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-northup/) > [“The Vatican won't prosecute pedophile priests but I decide I'm not ready for motherhood and it's condemnation for me? These are the same people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-renee-taylor/the-vatican-won-t-prosecute-pedophile-priests-but-i-decide-i-m-not/) [Sonya Renee Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-renee-taylor/) > [Pro-lifers have long been castigated for bringing private values into the public square. But actually it is the pro-abortion position that is based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/pro-lifers-have-long-been-castigated-for-bringing-private-values-into/) [Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/) > [I am 100 percent pro-life and have been my whole life. That means I am opposed to abortion at any stage of pregnancy, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-hawley/i-am-100-percent-pro-life-and-have-been-my-whole-life-that-means-i-am/) [Josh Hawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-hawley/) > [Any woman should have the right to a safe and legal abortion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-ford/any-woman-should-have-the-right-to-a-safe-and-legal-abortion/) [Betty Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-ford/) > [“For Republicans, life begins at conception but ends at birth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-adam-snyder/for-republicans-life-begins-at-conception-but-ends-at-birth/) [J.Adam Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-adam-snyder/) > [I think fundamentally, the real power behind the anti-choice movement in regard to abortion and the opposition to the rights of LGBT Americans is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-w-lynn/i-think-fundamentally-the-real-power-behind-the-anti-choice-movement/) [Barry W. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-w-lynn/) [Browse all 1,629 Abortion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abortion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Abortion politics have distracted all sides from what is really essential: a major aid campaign to improve midwifery, prenatal care and emergency obstetric services in poor countries.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicholas D. 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