The Left often claims that Republicans are not only anti-abortion extremists, but also anti-woman for their positions on the issue. They completely discount the fact that tens of millions of women in America are pro-life.
Granted, more women track pro-choice than pro-life, but it’s not a huge gap, except among Democrats. Fifty-four percent of women in America identify as pro-choice. That’s not exactly a runaway endorsement of the procedure, so why do Democrats act like anyone who opposes abortion is anti-woman?
The short answer: politics. Liberals become consumed by the topic of abortion and have decided that they are on the right side of history; so anyone against abortion — including the 46 percent of women who don’t identify as “pro-choice” — are anti-woman.
They then proceed to either pretend pro-life women don’t exist, or, when confronted by a pro-life woman, accuse her of “internalized misogyny.”
I was once on a panel with just such a woman, who was utterly shocked when I pointed out that it was just “her opinion” that conservative views on abortion are anti-woman, as if no one could possibly disagree with that suggestion.
Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards took a similar approach on Monday, when she said that “A woman voting for Ted Cruz is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders.” As if Cruz’s platform is about butchering women and cannibalism.
Richards, who no doubt sees herself as a woman’s advocate, insulted the agency and intelligence of the millions of women who have cast their votes for Cruz. But if you’ve read up to now, you’ll know that Richards likely doesn’t count those women as real women.
Because real women vote for Hillary Clinton, except for in 2008, when it was acceptable for women to vote for Barack Obama. Now, however, women must vote for women, say the feminists. And not just only women, but feminist-approved women, like Clinton, who as we all know rode her husband’s coattails to get to where she is today. Feminism! Empowerment!
Outside of major pro-life groups, whose leaders I’ve never met, the only overtly pro-life people I know are women.
It’s okay for women to be pro-life. Women can decide for themselves what they believe and what they find moral and immoral. Telling women they must think and believe certain things seems to be the opposite of empowerment, in my view.
Women might believe abortion isn’t the magical, simple procedure that the Left makes it out to be when they learn about Planned Parenthood selling aborted baby parts. The Left can discount the undercover sting videos released last year all they want, but a congressional hearing on Wednesday shed further light on the market for fetal tissue.
Among the evidence presented at the hearing was an order form with a drop-down menu allowing researchers to choose what part of the fetus/baby/clump of cells they wished to order. Procuring tissue for research is not illegal, and ultimately beneficial, but the blasé way it’s handled can turn people off.
Evidence was also presented showing the “profitability” of fetal tissue for abortion clinics. Profiting off the sale of aborted baby parts has been illegal since 1993, so this advertisement would seem to fly in the face of the law.
But it doesn’t matter. Planned Parenthood will continue to flout the law and receive money for fetal tissue (even though the third-party procurement business is the one that actually incurs the costs), and the Left will continue to accuse conservatives of being anti-woman monsters.
Note to liberals: Pro-life women do exist, and their belief that abortion is inhumane and hurtful to women doesn’t make them anti-woman. In fact, you could even say it makes them pro-woman.
Ashe Schow is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
