The radical anti-choice movement didn’t take a moment to rest on their laurels after engineering the murder of Dr. George Tiller. For a moment, it looked as if they intended to go after Dr. LeRoy Carhart with the same zeal, but these groups have found a new target – health care reform.
One would think that anti-choice groups would be in favor of a plan that would improve the health of women and children – which would (logically) lead to fewer abortions. One would be wrong.
It’s all about the fetus for these fetishists. They don’t even care if it’s healthy, just as long as there is a fetus. Once it hits the chute, any concern ends. These folks do not lobby against poverty or homelessness. The 1.5 million children who are currently homeless are not a concern for the radical anti-choice groups. All they want is a fetus and an incubator. Health, poverty, housing, education – none of these things matter. There is little concern for the future of mother or baby.
Operation Rescue is trying hard to gin up their membership to oppose Obama’s health care reform plan. They claim it’s a “radical abortion plan.” Despite their efforts, the membership isn’t buying. According to an online poll at their website, around 90% of those responding support the plan, whether or not it includes funding for abortion.
All Operation Rescue offers women contemplating abortion is some sappy religious verbiage, a link to finding a pregnancy “help” center, a link to a maternity home in California, and a link to “answers for your pregnancy related questions.” To their credit, “His Nesting Place,” the maternity home does actually help women and children long term, just as long as they don’t mind a heaping helping of evangelical Christianity. The helpful answer link focuses on “how can I avoid getting pregnant” and “how do I tell my parents.” Nothing about “how will an unwanted teen pregnancy affect my future.”
It is also worth pointing out that Operation Rescue’s non-profit status was revoked by the IRS in 2006, due to illegal political activities by a charity. This means we don’t know how much money they pay their staffers, but comparable charitable groups pay in the $100,000 plus range. They accuse doctors of “making money off abortion” when they certainly benefit quite nicely from it themselves – with the added benefit of not having to pay for security guards and bullet proof vests, because no one is trying to kill them. Despite their lack of tax exempt status, the Operation Rescue website does provide a phone number for folks to call if they really do need a tax exemption for their donation.
The group known as National Right to Life also opposes Obama’s health care reform plan. They are opposed to any single payer plan as well. In fact, one graph on their site suggests that if we spend less money on food and clothing (especially shoes) we could all afford health insurance. They’re breathing new life into the term “barefoot and pregnant.”
The United States ranks 37th in the world for infant mortality. The US, spends more on health care than any other country (over 15% of our GDP) and has 6.37 deaths from ever 1,000 births. We are behind Cuba, Taiwan, and South Korea. The evil, socialist, health care Commie states like Canada, France, and the UK) have lower infant mortality rates. In 1960 the US was the twelfth lowest nation in infant mortality. Clearly we’re doing something wrong – and just as clearly, the groups who claim to value “life” actually have very little concern for it. More than 9 million children have no health care coverage, and double that number will have gaps in coverage at some point in the year.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation released a report this week that shows NH ranks 17th in the nation for infant mortality. NH has 6.1 deaths out of every 1000 births. Our evil socialist neighbors to the south have a 4.8 infant mortality rate, which is second only to Washington state. Apparently providing social and health supports for pregnant women actually lead to better outcomes? Who knew?
Instead of working for better outcomes, the radical anti-choice groups just scream about abortion and religion. The Bible actually says nothing about abortion. That’s right. Nothing. In fact, Old Testament God wasn’t at all shy about killing infants and children. He sent bears to kill 42 children who made fun of a bald guy. He killed all the firstborn sons in Egypt. In Leviticus, Old Testament God threatened to release wild animals that would kill infants and cattle, if the people refused to obey. Old Testament God was pretty harsh in his treatment of women, children, and critters. Plenty of murder, rape, and pillage – a fact our loudest religious factions fail to mention.
It’s a simple concept, really. If women’s lives are better, and they have health and social supports, there will be fewer abortions. That also means there will be fewer paydays for groups like Operation Rescue and National Right to Life. This is why they don’t care what happens to the born.
As for those who claim that their religious freedom is being oppressed if they are not allowed to oppress women – perhaps they should take Matthew 19:12 to heart:
For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.
I encourage the men who are so opposed to a woman’s right to choose to set a good, Christian example by making themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven.
This was published as an op-ed in the Conway Daily Sun on July 31, 2009© s bruce 2009
