UPDATE 5/6, 6a: Dustin has emailed me a link to a clarification he wrote of his original post, here.
5/5, 11:53: Dustin Siggins, associate producer with The Laura Ingraham Show and co-author of a forthcoming book about the national debt, authored a piece that piqued my interest in CrisisMagazine.com on May 1, “Time to change pro-life tactics?”
I usually don’t post my opinion when asking weekend questions but frankly, Siggins’ op ed ticked me off, and I can’t contain myself.
First, just about all of his premises were wrong. Second, he caricatured/generalized pro-lifers, just as someone on the Left would. Third, I wondered at points which pro-life movement Siggins was looking at. He does not appear to be involved in pro-life activism. He wrote like an uninformed outsider who certainly doesn’t have his finger on the pulse of the movement.
Against that backdrop I give you his thoughts. Feel free to disagree with me….
On April 16, [Mississippi’s] new governor signed legislation that “requires all physicians at abortion clinics in Mississippi to be board-certified OB-GYN and to have admitting privileges at a local hospital.” This is both a victory and a “teachable moment” for the pro-life movement.
What is so significant is that the pro-life legislation passed in Mississippi (and similarly in Virginia) was made as fool proof as possible from the demonizing tactics of the left. The pro-life movement should emulate these successful principles and move away from those that are not working. For example, ultrasound legislation can be deemed as guilting mothers into not aborting their children or invading personal privacy. However, it is more difficult to argue against raising the standards of medical clinics so that women have a more sterile and professional environment….
There are four other things pro-lifers should keep in mind that are tangentially related to the lesson Mississippi has provided, and which are directly related to converting a culture that is largely indifferent regarding abortion:
- Stop using Biblical arguments to debate abortion. After attending the 2010 March for Life, I do not think using religious arguments will persuade either self-described Christians who agree with abortion or non-Christians who agree with abortion. The science of life is in our favor, and we should emphasize this. This is not meant as a denigration or repudiation of religious work or prayer done to protect life – I am a strong Catholic participating in prayer protests before abortion clinics – but a practical recognition of living in a pluralistic society with many people who do not possess a Christian-based belief in the sanctity of unborn life.
- Do a better job of educating people about the responsiblilty [sic] that comes with sexual activity and explain better the help and care that can be provided so women will not feel as though abortion is their best or only option. I supported Indiana governor Mitch Daniel’s position of reforming and shrinking the federal welfare state as it is a critical piece in taking away incentives to act irresponsibly.
- Shock and awe have their place, as does presenting difficult truths, but indiscriminately throwing up images of dead babies and similar tactics as employed by Randall Terry will cause most people to simply turn and look in the other direction. Again, the majority of Americans are pro-choice, pro-abortion, or indifferent to the debate and just want it to go away. Used correctly, the shock and awe strategy can be effective, but often less so than engaging in a strong, purposeful, respectful discussion.*
- Stop making abortion about women vs. children. Both are victims. Every time a pro-life activist blames a woman for having an abortion, that activist should in the same breath blame the men who get women pregnant and then either abandon them or encourage them to abort the child. We should make the battle about protecting women and unborn children from the abortion centers whose livelihood depends on the murder of children.The unfortunate fact is that we live in a nation where abortion is legal, and much of the public either favors it or is neutral on the debate. Undue focus on the women involved makes it even easier for supporters of abortion to successfully claim a false “war on women,” which makes creating a culture of life that much harder.
The pro-life movement is gaining ground, and the desperation of the pro-abortion left after the temporary decision by Komen to defund Planned Parenthood is indicative of this. However, if we continue to make the kinds of tactical errors disucssed here, millions of babies will die before America becomes a culture of life instead of a culture of death. The pro-life movement must adapt its strategies appropriately, and soon, in order to protect as many mothers and unborn children as possible.
*The first sentence of this bullet point originally was, “Get people like Randall Terry out of the movement,” which was subsequently deleted. As Adam at Caffeinated Thoughts wrote in an excellent analysis of Siggins’ article, “I’d gladly trade twenty armchair quarterbacks like Mr. Siggins for one Randall Terry.”
[Photo via Caffeinated Thoughts]
by JivinJ, host of the blog, JivinJehoshaphat
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.