Stanek wkend Q: Is the push for unconditional acceptance of abortion hurting or helping the pro-choice side?
Columnist Eva Wiseman wrote at The Guardian wrote:
Pro-choicers are facing some uncomfortable truths….
When, at the end of April, escort, aspiring glamour model and mother-of-two Josie Cunningham [pictured top right] told the Sunday Mirror she was planning an abortion to ensure her place on Big Brother, there was mild uproar. The earliest response was from Mirror readers, 93% of whom said they’d boycott Big Brother if she appeared on the show… These alongside disgusted tweets from high-profile doctors and liberal commentators….
A week or so later, a YouTube video of an abortion went viral. The clip, by 25-year-old abortion counsellor Emily Letts [pictured bottom right], focuses on her face as she breathes, calmly, through the short procedure. At the end she says: “I feel good.”…
Again, the reaction has been fierce – both from anti-abortion protestors… and from those who are passionately pro-choice….
For me? The reactions have illustrated a widening gap between the theory of being pro-choice and the real, day-to-day “Oh sh**… oh well” of abortion….
These two cases have brought uncomfortable truths about many pro-choicers’ feelings to the surface. They’ve shown that many believe that not only are there right and wrong reasons to get an abortion but that women’s (legal, considered) decisions are up for examination….
There is no right or wrong reason for a woman to get an abortion, and there is no right or wrong way for her to feel about it. For pro-choicers, there should be no confusion.
Similarly, columnist Jessica Valenti wrote at The Guardian:
I think abortion should be legal without any restrictions - no parental consent laws, no mandated ultrasounds, no waiting periods, no bans on late term abortions and no bans on federal funding for abortion….
If that were the law of the land, it would also mean an end to rape and incest exceptions - because we wouldn’t need them. Women wouldn’t (and shouldn’t) have to prove that their abortion is of the “acceptable” variety. We wouldn’t (and shouldn’t) have to pretend that women who are forced into sex are somehow more deserving of medical care than women who chose to have sex. We could rid ourselves of the hierarchy of “good” and “bad” abortions.
I particularly found Valenti’s thoughts on the rape/incest exception quite interesting.
It’s true that to decry abortion in any way is to cast judgment on the act itself.
Is it possible to expect people who consider themselves “pro-choice” to reach this level of acceptance? Or is pushing this level of acceptance working in favor of the pro-life position?
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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.
Any conversation about abortion forces people to confront the issue and make a decision. People naturally want to choose life for our culture.
Abortion has thrived in shadows and silence.
Abortion advocates cannot win by continuing to assert that no one is hurt or killed by abortion. They have not succeeded in persuading the public that abortion part of healthcare.
The abortion & incest exceptions are not healthcare for rape victims. They are decisions (by the legislatures) that children of rape victims merit the death penalty for their fathers’ crimes.
I’m thinking that it might not help or hurt, but just be.
I say this because, by nature we want to think we (as a species and a culture) are doing ok, and so when reports like these come out people are quick to be reassured that these are limited, extreme cases. Taking a moment to heap criticism on the named individuals even lets people feel more ok. Then they continue to sit comfortably in their “should be legal” camp because they are happy to think that the majority of women choosing abortion are doing so for morally sound reasons and exhibiting extraordinary maturity. They figure the fringe cases are a small price to pay for the rights of the wise and perspective-rich masses.
At the same time, the media has successfully bolstered the idea that any pro-life stance is a radical one. So when someone is sitting in their pro-choice comfort zone looking disdainfully on an extreme abortion case they have very little instinct to consider moving to the other side of the debate where they run the risk of becoming narrow-minded, judgmental, and lacking in compassion.
My hope is that it provokes people to think and that their thinking might ultimately help save lives, but the key is the willingness to think and I don’t think these reports nurture that environment…
Im happy there was severe backlash on both of these women. The first gal is keeping her baby and I believe the second woman was acting. I no longer believe she had an abortion. Abortion ( years ago ) was a procedure not to be taken lightly. Even Hillary said ” Lets keep abortion safe legal and rare.” Many women are stuck in the pain of abortion. Maybe others in the Choice crowd are thinking of rape…i actually have met PC people who want it for rape only. They are destroying themselves with every abortion anyway.
After all these years the abortion sellers are STILL searching for a way to find respectability and acceptance. Fat chance at that.
A hundred and one ways have been tried over and over…here…there…one approach…then another. Time has shown that for abortion…ignorance is bliss. Secrecy, hiding, obscurity, and self-delusion…smoke and mirrors are their stock–in–trade. The experienced abortionists know this and sticks to what works…for them…they don’t struggle.
Inevitably, some young idealist finds the cold and the dark unacceptable. Intuitively, they seek the light of day. However, coming into the light has risks. We pro-lifers should encourage these souls who don’t yet believe what I just said.
Reality is a wonderful thing ;-)
Hi heather,
I never viewed either of these women as anything more than attention whores. They got their 15 minutes of fame and attention is attention, negative or positive.
Like you I’m not convinced Letts had an abortion. She could have had an ingrown toenail removed for all we know.
I used to be in favor of abortion for rape yeeeeears ago. Incest included…..until I studied the abortion industry at great legnth. Now its no no no! So as Ive said before I used to be PC. Now you hear of so many women having multiples and people have a right to express disgust! My friends niece expressed just that as her niece just gave birth in April. She said “Shes been pregnant 8 times and this is her first birth.” She muttered “Abortion is not birth control.” My reply? “Amen”
Mary Nice to see you! Agreed. I believe Letts is a fraud now. After all she lists herself as an actress. And agreeing with Tommy…you will never be able to sell abortion and make it look acceptable. The reactions to both of these women and their stories have proven that.
And to add Mary…every womans pain tolerance is different. Some women say their abortions were just like mild period cramps and uneventful. Others will tell you ” It was the most painful thing Ive ever felt in my life.” So even if Letts did have an abortion she may have felt okay. What was the point? Ive read stories where women were in so much pain they had to be held down.
Hi heather,
For her next film feature, maybe Letts will grace the public with a video of her colonoscopy.
Why do people like Letts think anyone gives a fat flying about anything she does?
Mary lol…fat flying? I like how you cleaned that up. :) ….on that same note Josie and Emily who????
The PP and NARAL need to learn from Big Tobacco — once the public has your detested industry in their sights, and the government thinks they can gain a lot of money by fining you (or save a lot of money by defunding you) — then shut up and keep your head down. Pay all the fines. Submit to all the restrictions. Do not protest the bans. Let the good public convince themselves that you’ve gone away. You’ll always have the addicts and the bottom feeders to rely on for revenue.
As long as the abortion industry believes their own myth that women want abortion, need abortion, and are not hurt by abortion — we gain ground against them.
Hi Del I just thought id tell you that I watched the Dr. Phil show interview with Michelle Knight. She made our case for us on rape telling Dr. Phil she wanted her babies to live despite being impregnated 5 times by Castro. Each time he beat her children out of her. Shes the one who lived it. What more can I say? And she delivered Amandas baby and saved the babys life. She told Dr Phil she loved Amandas baby.
Didn’t Jessica Valenti have a baby a short while ago? Did she really think she was carrying a clumo of cell around for NNE months? When she felt the baby move did she say “the blob is kicking?”. I just don’t understand how you can have experienced pregnancy and birth and still be pro abortion?
Hi phillymiss. I looked up Jessica Valenti. Past abortion. However many of the women I know who have had children after abortion have never said the blob of tissue line. Suddenly it was the baby because it was a wanted child.
And phillymiss Jessica writes very creepy things about her pregnancy. Above all she has said her pregnancy made her more PC than ever.
Heather I am not surprised. Clarence Page, a Chicago journalist, went to a pro abort rally to celebrate the birth of his child. What are these people thinking?
Hi phillymiss…i have no idea. As Mary had pointed out in a prior post Susan Sarandon showed up to a pro abortion March For Womens Lives..pregnant! They are trying to send the message ….see we dont hate pregnancy….we just want you to hear our reasons for our past abortion choices. Many Hollywood elite think this way and I couldnt tell you why. Sarandon would only say that her abortion was due to her ex boyfriend being an *&&$@*& ! Curse word naturally.
Ironic….March For Womens Lives from those SAFE and legal abortions. Apparently the elite havent been paying attention to all of the women who are part of the rising death toll.
“Abortion has thrived in shadows and silence” – only because of the behavior of the anti-choice meddlers. First it was illegal now it draws interference.
“Reality is a wonderful thing ;-) ” – why thank you Tommy R, I shall have to pay even more attention to your contributions :-)
“The PP and NARAL need to learn from Big Tobacco — once the public has your detested industry in their sights” – that’s all a rather inverse comparison.
“As long as the abortion industry believes their own myth that women want abortion, need abortion, and are not hurt by abortion” – given it’s presence and persistence throughout history it’s no myth.
The case of Dr. Kermit Gosnell should wake up everyone. The interviews of the women at Lancaster abortion clinic was/is shocking.
@Reality
Everyone is wonderful…everyone.
Tommy R, there’s no need to feed the troll.
Yes Tommy R, they are, in some way or other :-)
Arrgh. I wanted to post my commentary here, but I’ve been too busy to write it the last couple of weeks. Looks like I’m going to run out of time :(