Comments on: Roe v Wade + 39: The Corruptness of the Pro-Life Movement

By: Personhood is Right for Wisconsin, Part II: Why Wisconsin Right-to-Life’s Public Campaign Against Personhood is Deeply Flawed » De Civitate

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 03:43:31 +0000

[…] I ask all my readers to understand that, while I have sometimes become angry while researching this series, the following post is written in a tone of bafflement, not […]

By: BCSWowbagger

BCSWowbagger — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:16:32 +0000

REPOST FROM THE FACEBOOK REACTION THREAD:

‎”Will those institutions that are fighting abortion now be willing to shift their mission to help those women choose to give birth rather than seek an illegal abortion or will those institutions pat themselves on the back for a job well done and do nothing to solve the problems they have created while solving another?”

SHIFT their mission? The overwhelming bulk of care for women in crisis pregnancies COMES from those institutions, working entirely on the donated time, talent, and treasure of private persons — in stark contrast to Planned Parenthood, which provides virtually no recourse to women in trouble, yet which derives more than a third of its funding from government grants.

Because pro-life pregnancy/childcare assistance is organized from the bottom up, we’ve ended up with a diverse patchwork of services in different areas around the nation, so there’s no single go-to organization. However, a few groups can be counted on to know where to connect with resources in your area.

IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW IS PREGNANT OR MAY BE PREGNANT, and feels she HAS NO OPTIONS besides abortion, or just NEEDS SOME FRIGGIN’ HELP, contact any of the following. They will be able to connect you with services in your area:

PROLIFE Across AMERICA’s Hot line: 1-800-366-7773
The National Life Center: 1-800-848-LOVE (5683)
Silent No More: http://www.silentnomoreawareness.org/
Your local Roman Catholic diocese, esp. its Pro-Life Office: (look up in phone book).

If you or someone you know has HAD an abortion and is seeking post-abortion healing, contact:

Project Rachel: 1-888-329-3773
The National Life Center: 1-800-848-LOVE (5683)
Silent No More: http://www.silentnomoreawareness.org/

Planned Parenthood provides abortions. These organizations provide a way out. They’re the real pro-choicers on the market.

I’ll post this information on the blog, too. The “pro-lifers only care about the baby until it’s born” trope is one of the greatest, most widely believed lies ever dreamed up by the abortion lobby — and they’ve had some humdingers! It’s instructive to read Dr. Nathanson’s famous article on that subject: http://www.aboutabortions.com/Confess.html

By: BCSWowbagger

BCSWowbagger — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:52:29 +0000

In reply to David.

I’d have dinged you for cynicism a year ago, David, but obviously here I am being, if anything, even more cynical.

If you are right about the NRLC and AUL — which is still difficult to conceive — then I wish they would just be honest about their real policy goals. But, if they were, it would cost them their influence, so I suppose this is too much to ask. We will have to hold them accountable ourselves.

By: David

David — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:17:50 +0000

James’ idealism is failing him…it’s kind of sad 🙁
Politicians play to public opinion, James. They have no principles. If they did, they wouldn’t be politicians. Honestly, I find it amazing that it’s still possible to get a majority of a base (conservative or liberal) united behind one person. The first thing to learn about causes is that you can only have one that you really focus on at any given time. This means that all “bases” are composed of a multitude of one-issue voters who are each really passionate about one particular issue–be it right-to-life, gay rights, Social Security, gun rights, anti-pedophilia, animal rights, you name it.
The trick to winning over a “base”, if it is, in fact, appropriate to refer to such an aggregate of special interests as if it were some kind of truly cohesive group, is to make all of the different special interests believe that you care about their issue as much as they do. This, of course, is what undergirded Obama’s victory in 2008–somehow he convinced most of the liberal base that he was going to make each one of their issues a top priority in his administration, when in fact he merely supported the factions that took very popular positions (free health care for everyone!), tossed minor victories to moderately popular ones (DADT), and completely blew off the others (coughGuantanamocoughpacifistscough).
This, of course, is what he did with Congress (almost) in his pocket; now that Congress is split, nothing can get done. But the Republicans act similarly, and abortion is not unpopular enough to merit anything more than minor victories. Honestly, even the fate of Obama’s health care law is subject to the opinions of the SCOTUS; their stamp of approval (or a constitutional amendment) is the only way to effect a major change in this country.
Which brings me back to my main point: Personhood is a RADICAL position in 2012 American politics. It shouldn’t be, but it is. Most people don’t believe strongly that an embryo is a person, and as much as science has laid bare the wonders of prenatal development over the past 40 years, it also shows clearly that life starts as a formless blob of cells, and it’s hard to get people enraged about those being killed. In fact, I would guess that many mothers have seen a number of those washed out with their periods, and some may figure that if they die so often naturally, it can’t be so bad if a few early embryos are “terminated” as well.
To succinctly answer your post: The NRLC and AUL aren’t radical organizations, James. They’re “mainstream pro-life”, which means that they are whatever attracts the broadest base of support for their continued operation. They’re not staffed by idealists–they’re staffed by savvy, albeit unelected, politicians who try to maximize funding, and therefore only rock the boat to the extent that it gains them more supporters than it loses. I’m sure significant factions of their membership don’t believe that single-celled embryos ought to be persons under the law, so they are careful what they say and do.
Sorry, James. Majority consensus, not passion, conviction, or sticking to principles, makes one successful in politics. (Unless you become a judge on the SCOTUS, in which case do whatever you want. =P)