You know who is really and truly pro-life? Dem gubernatorial candidate @WendyDavisTexas http://t.co/rWoAG8ETr0
— GottaLaff (@GottaLaff) November 7, 2013
“I am pro-life. I care about the life of every child: every child that goes to bed hungry, every child that goes to bed without a proper education, every child that goes to bed without being able to be a part of the Texas dream, every woman and man who worry about their children’s future and their ability to provide for that future. I care about life and I have a record of fighting for people above all else.”
For too long, those of us who believe that women should be trusted to make decisions regarding their bodies and their reproductive health care have ceded the field to the radical anti-abortion Right. We’ve allowed them to self-define as “pro-life,” as if they care a whit about children once their born. We should be strongly and vociferously making the case the being “pro-life” means much more than blockading abortion clinics and harassing/threatening those who provide services to women. “Pro-life” should be about standing up for children throughout all stages of development, not just when they’re in the womb. The truth is that the radical anti-abortion Right is ALL about life…until a baby leaves the womb, at which point it’s on its own.
What the radical anti-abortion Right is NOT is “pro-life.” What they are is “anti-choice.” They despise women for availing themselves of safe, LEGAL abortions. They view Roe v. Wade not as the law of the land but as a mere inconvenience to be subverted, and their pious self-righteousness provides them the justification for working to nullify it. If you’ve convinced yourself that God is on your side, anything goes.
“Pro-life” means recognizing that your responsibility to children doesn’t end when they exit the womb. If the radical anti-abortion Right truly cared about the welfare of children, they’d be working to create programs to assist children and families overcome problems they encounter- poverty, developmental issues, learning disabilities, etc. Instead of standing outside clinics and screaming invective at women seeking help, they’d help to make sure that there are programs in place to ensure that no children goes hungry or unloved.
It’s time that we join with Wendy Davis and insist on seizing the definition of “pro-life” and restoring it to something accurate and true. What the radical anti-abortion Right offers is screaming, hatred, and harassment. They use their Christianity as justification to engage in some very un-Christian attacks against women. They’d happily deny their right to a safe and legal abortion, even if that’s the decision a woman believes is best for her.
No reasonable person wants an environment in which women using abortion as a form of birth control, but we should also be standing up for women as they exercise their rights under the law. As Hillary Clinton once said, we should all be working towards a world where abortion is safe, legal, and rare. That’s going to be difficult to do when one side insists that it’s their way or nothing, and that they’ll do whatever it takes- even killing doctors or bombing clinics- to get their way.
During the campaign for Texas Governor, I think we’ll be seeing a strong, consistent effort to redefine “pro-life,” and to make it clear that the radical anti-abortion Right is nothing of the sort. With enough money and support, perhaps Davis will actually be able to beat the anti-woman empty suit that is Greg Abbott. If she can do that, perhaps we can begin to demonstrate what “pro-life” truly means. I’d say that perhaps we’d even be able to convince the radical anti-abortion Right to care about children after they leave the womb, but I’ll stick to what’s realistic. The zealots aren’t going to change, so let’s start by redefining what being “pro-life” really means.
It’s a start.
