If Wendy Davis’ 11-hour filibuster to protect late-term
abortion in the Lone Star State wasn’t
proof enough of the Texas
pro-abortion movement’s desperation, a new video game does the trick.
In “Choice: Texas,” designed by Carly Kocurek and Allyson Whipple and currently in development, players hunt for abortion access in Texas via the “choose-your-own-adventure” technique – and confront obstacles such as geography and healthcare.
Gamers live vicariously through characters such as 35-year-old Latrice [1] who, despite a long-time boyfriend, “has never planned to have children, and between her career and family obligations, she feels she has her hands full enough.” Another, 19-year-old Leah [2] bartends as she “save[s] up money and think[s] about what she would like to do.”
Wow! So it’s of like Frodo bearing the Ring to Mordor to save Middle Earth. But the Ring you want to lob into the lava is a baby, and Middle Earth is your personal convenience. How inspiring.
Besides teaching [3] “awareness and empathy,” Kocurek and Whipple hope the game provides [4], “a sex education tool for older high schoolers.” Whipple explained their intent in an interview [3], highlighting how “Many people, including privileged pro-choice people, do not realize the extent to which people with less privilege struggle with geography, time, and money to obtain abortions.”
Their IndieGoGo [5], which asked for donations, advertised the game in further detail:
The game “Choice: Texas” is an educational interactive fiction game which will be freely available on the web. Players will explore the game through one of several characters, each of whom reflects specific socioeconomic, geographic, and demographic factors impacting abortion access in Texas. Although billed as interactive fiction, Choice: Texas is based on extensive research into healthcare access, legal restrictions, geography, and demographics, and is reflective of the real circumstances facing women in the state.
In other words, as feminist site Jezebel translated [6]: “Sounds like a uniquely challenging game, and maybe something every anti-choice legislator should by forced to play.”
Yeah, a thrill-a-minute experience. I you’re going to trivialize infanticide with a video game, shouldn’t it at least be fun?
The project so far raised $4,855 of the $9,250 goal needed for completion just in time for Valentine’s Day [4].