The Dangerous Lies of Anti-Choice Extremists | = Reproductive Justice and Gender

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One of the most contentious issues now in the news, in the aftermath = of the=20 assassination of Dr. George Tiller, is how much moral culpability the=20 anti-choice movement bears for motivating the man who took Dr. Tiller's=20 life. I've had innumerable discussions with folks who are confused = about=20 the extremism and anger that characterizes the "right to life" movement, = people=20 who mistakenly believe that it's a mostly harmless group of = rosary-shuffling=20 grandmothers who, at worst, sit around abortion clinics looking = doe-eyed. Or that the picketers at women's clinics could be = reasonably=20 described as peaceful. Discrediting these myths isn't fun or = easy, but=20 something that fell into my lap in the past week coincidentally turns = out to be=20 quite helpful in convincing people that the anti-choice movement, rather = than=20 being composed of generally good-hearted folks who just have a thing for = fetuses, is in fact composed of hard-hearted sexist ideologues. I've got my = hands on a=20 113-page=20 training manual (PDF) for protesters working for Justice For All, an = anti-choice organization that targets college campuses (in keeping with = the=20 anti-choice obsession with singling out young, middle class women, whom = they=20 wish to preserve as symbols of virginal innocence). Don't worry. = My=20 sources got this manual the old-fashioned way, by asking.

As a long-time observer of the anti-choice movement, I thought I'd = really=20 seen it all in terms of lying, phony sanctimony, and heated rhetoric = that will=20 push anti-choicers to commit violence, but still, = reading this=20 manual, titled "Abortion: From Debate To Dialogue," was = distressing. The=20 book assumes that its protesters will be sent into a field where they = actually=20 have to engage arguments instead of merely yelling abuse and scaring = women=20 seeking abortion care. Since my scanner is slow, and time is = limited, I=20 didn't turn all 113 pages into a PDF, and since much of it is just = Q&A=20 sections and scripture, I didn't feel I had to. But I did grab = some=20 interesting pages on arguments to make and rhetorical strategies to use = against=20 pro-choicers who try to engage anti-choice activists.

What I first learned was that Justice For All has no problem = instructing its=20 activists to use deception to lure people into a conversation. = In=20 the section titled "Why Don't You Pass Out Condoms and Promote Birth = Control?,"=20 the authors tacitly admit that sensible people might be put off by the=20 anti-choice movement's willingness to increase the abortion rate by = standing as=20 firmly against contraception, especially the birth control pill, as they = do=20 legal abortion. So instead of allowing members to admit their = hostility to=20 all forms of contraception, they instruct them to conceal their beliefs = until a=20 target has been softened up to hear about their true message--sexual = abstinence=20 for all not trying to procreate--through a series of dodgy, misleading=20 arguments, including misinformation about how the birth control pill = works.

This tactic is a mainstay of the anti-choice movement: it shows = one=20 face to the initiated, and another to the public, especially on the = topic of=20 contraception. Once you realize this, the movement's half-hearted=20 denunciations of Dr. Tiller's murder, coupled with the enthusiastic = return to=20 calling Dr. Tiller a monster, become all the more chilling.

Throughout the handbook, you find a willingness to ignore or outright = deny=20 inconvenient facts. The section "What If The Mother's Life Is In = Danger"=20 is particularly outrageous, in light of the fact that it spreads many of = the=20 lies that led directly to Dr. Tiller's assassination. Dr. Tiller = performed=20 a number of medically indicated late term abortions, and anti-choice = attempts to=20 use legal persecution to catch him fudging the ugly realities proved fruitless. Despite = this, Justice=20 For All encourages its activists to believe they know better than = medical=20 doctors what constitutes a medically necessary abortion, and the = handbook claims=20 there is only one instance where a pregnancy can threaten a woman's = life. =20 Conveniently, the one dangerous condition they'll admit exists (and = consider a=20 justifiable reason for an abortion) happens to be the one that is most = likely to=20 threaten her future fertility--the ectopic pregnancy--so they can rest = easy=20 knowing that even if a woman's life is saved through abortion, she's = paid a=20 steep price. Other dangerous conditions caused by pregnancy--eclampsia = and=20 placenta previa being the two biggies--are dismissed as myths used to = get away=20 with abortions. Other life-threatening illnesses like cancer are = ignored,=20 and it's assumed that a woman's health is certainly an acceptable = sacrifice for=20 a pregnancy.

This casual disregard for women's lives is acknowledged as a=20 credibility-wrecking problem in another section "Women Will Die in the = Back=20 Alleys with Coat Hangers." It's clear that Justice for All = activists have=20 convinced themselves that making abortion illegal actually doesn't = hinder access=20 to safe abortions (!), but followers are instructed to pretend to = concede that=20 illegal abortion is dangerous, to gain credibility. (Which means they = have to=20 pretend to believe what they don't, but ironically what they don't = believe is=20 true. It's a rabbit hole of deceit and misinformation.) The = important=20 thing is creating the illusion of concern for women's lives, apparently, = and the=20 manual even offers a small section titled "Sound Bites For Showing = Concern,"=20 which the activist is supposed to use to soften up the target before = comparing=20 an elective abortion (most commonly performed in the first trimester) to = shooting a toddler. One does wonder when reading this section if = Justice=20 for All offers role-playing classes so you can practice your "concerned" = face=20 when someone brings up the problem of women who are mutilated and die = due to=20 illegal abortion.

Shocking as all this is, perhaps the most shocking is the section = addressing=20 what Justice For All believes about the motivations of doctors who = perform and=20 women who obtain abortion, in a section titled "Abortion Isn't = Genocide!" =20 Yes, they believe that abortion is genocide, and their rationales for = this=20 belief depend on a bunch of out-of-context quotes suggesting that = terminating a=20 pregnancy is exactly the same thing as targeting a people for = elimination. =20 People commit genocide because they hate the group in question, so the=20 implication (barely implied, and almost directly stated) is that doctors = and=20 women who have abortions do so because they hate fetuses. = Not=20 because the woman can't go through a pregnancy for a myriad of personal=20 reasons. Not because the doctor is trying to help the woman. = No,=20 because pro-choicers hate fetuses.

This is the sort of vicious lie that led to Dr. Tiller's = assassination. =20 Realistically speaking, Dr. Tiller was a good man who loved children = enough to=20 have four of his own, who joyfully celebrated the pregnancies of women who wanted = to be=20 pregnant, who opened his home to women who wished to give their = babies up=20 for adoption, and who=20 mourned the loss of very much wanted pregnancies with his patients who = had to=20 terminate. In the eyes of his detractors, Dr. Tiller was a genocidal = monster=20 who killed fetuses because he hated them.

That is why every person who trots out this nonsense about how = abortion is=20 "genocide" played a part in Sunday's tragedy. You paint good, = moral, righteous man who lived by his principles, even in the = face of=20 grave danger as an irrational monster who gets his kicks by killing = babies,=20 and the people who believe you will feel they have to do=20 something. Even if that something is murder.

=20 3D"submit =

See more stories tagged with: gender, anti-choice, rights, feminism, abortion, choice, women, radicals, tiller, tiller=20 assasination

Amanda Marcotte co-writes the popular blog Pandagon. She is the author = of It's = a Jungle=20 Out There: The Feminist Survival Guide to Politically Inhospitable=20 Environments.

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The hypocrisy of the pro-life = movement [Report=20 this comment] Posted by: Kym525 on Jun = 4, 2009=20 4:14 PM Current rating:=20 4 [1 =3D poor; 5 =3D=20 excellent] It is interesting that = everything=20 that can be done and should be done to reduce the numbers of = abortions as=20 well as take care of the children who are already here are the = very things=20 most pro-life people are against. It makes no logical sense to be = against=20 prevention and education, but pro-lifers would rather waste = millions of=20 dollars in taxpayers (mine) money on failed abstinence-only = programs=20 rather than the proven track record of age-appropriate and = comprehensive=20 sex education WHICH INCLUDES ABSTINENCE. What the pro-life = movement=20 and its followers fail to realize is that should they somehow = manage to=20 make abortion illegal, their actions will do NOTHING to stop a = desparate=20 woman from seeking one. And if we're talking about class or race, = rich=20 women will always be able to secure one from either a trusted and = safe=20 medical facility (on the hush) or travel to another country. Poor = women=20 will simply have to take their chances with pregnancy or a = back-alley=20 procedure that will endanger their lives. Here is a short = list of=20 the problems I have with this movement: 1) You don't = believe in=20 birth control; 2) You don't believe in age-appropriate, = comprehensive=20 sex education--which INCLUDES abstinence--something even famous = single-mom=20 Bristol Palin says is unreasonable; 3) You don't believe in = allowing=20 single parents and gay and lesbian parents to adopt--why not if = children=20 need loving and stable homes; 4) You don't believe in=20 cross-cultural/transracial adoptions--don't even get me = started; 5) You=20 believe in the death penalty; just ask Ann Coulter; 6) You are = against=20 social services that assist women and children - most of the = strident=20 pro-lifers are against welfare and a decent minimum wage; 7) = You are=20 against decent and equal access to health care--your talking heads = are=20 looking to battle Obama on health care for all; 8) You are = against=20 equal access to education 9) You care nothing for the tough = decision a=20 woman has to make and show no compassion for her, regardless of = whatever=20 reason she may choose to end a pregnancy 10) You believe in = punishing=20 the victims of rape or incest by forcing them to carry an unwanted = pregnancy to term If there are ANY sane and rational = members in=20 this movement (and I am sure there are), their voices are being = drowned=20 out by the demogogues. I am asking for any rational pro-life = person to=20 take back their movement from the psychos who are responsible for = so many=20 acts of terrorism against clinics, against women and against = doctors. This=20 is NOT an insurmountable issue, but the pro-life side has GOT to=20 understand that an ounce of prevention is worth the cure. Support = access=20 to family planning and adoptions by gay and lesbian people. = Moreover,=20 let's start having the adult discussion about sex and sexuality. = [=C2=AB=20 Reply to this comment] [Post=20 a new comment =C2=BB] [Rate = this=20 comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]=20 =C2=BB=20 Progressive Pro-Lifers exist amongst you Posted=20 by: rakista =C2=BB=20 Nothing "Progressive" About Coercion Posted by:=20 Sayna =C2=BB=20 Rakista, you're a rare one Posted by:=20 Kym525 =C2=BB=20 RE: The hypocrisy of the pro-life movement Posted=20 by: luzmejor Um, this is truly sophmoric at this = point=20 [Report=20 this comment] Posted by: rakista on = Jun 4, 2009=20 4:16 PM Current rating:=20 2 [1 =3D poor; 5 =3D=20 excellent] What you are calling for = is=20 censorship of those people who disagree with you and it is = abhorrent to=20 see someone claim to be progressive so profoundly misguided. I am = a=20 pro-life progressive, would you try to silence me by equating my = views=20 with incitement to murder? How dare you, for I have stood against = all=20 forms of violence for more than a decade including the Death = Penalty,=20 Animal and Human Euthanasia, Poverty, Abortion, War, Police = Brutality,=20 Racism and Homophobia. I question your supposed Progressive = credentials=20 when you rail against the entirety of your opposition as = 'anti-choice'=20 because it sounds a lot like 'anti-revolutionary' which is what = places=20 like China and the former USSR used to charge dissidents with.=20 Congratulations you have established yourself as the old guard and = that=20 means it is only a matter of time before you are challenged and=20 overwhelmed by those who have a more coherent worldview than you.=20 We progressive pro-lifers have called attention mostly to = the way=20 in which you pro-choice folks dehumanize the unborn by refusing to = even=20 acknowledge its humanity. We recognize that the plight of the = unborn is=20 similar to many other civil rights struggles such as slavery and = women's=20 rights where they were excluded based on the reasoning they were = not equal=20 to some white male and women were not equal to black males till = they were=20 given the right to vote decades later. Just as we pro-life = progressives=20 stand for Gay Rights, Gay Adoption and Parental rights with = organizations=20 like PLAGAL (Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians) and also = other gay=20 rights organizations that remain neutral on the issue of abortion = we will=20 overcome you with the help of the younger generations. Those who = were not=20 hoodwinked into thinking abortion on demand has anything to do = with=20 reproductive rights for women, it was a way to keep the population = in=20 check to mitigate the possibility of civil unrest by eliminating=20 undesirable classes of people from ever being born. In 10 = years=20 there are going to be more than enough people to overturn Roe v = Wade and=20 the impetus is not going to come from the older more conservative=20 generation but the younger more progressive one that understands = that=20 civil rights begin by recognizing someone's humanity not by = denying it.=20 Hopefully they will be able to get Gay Rights on track as well. = [=C2=AB=20 Reply to this comment] [Post=20 a new comment =C2=BB] [Rate = this=20 comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]=20 =C2=BB=20 Way to prove our point. Posted by:=20 Sayna =C2=BB=20 What you are calling for is censorship of those people who = disagree with=20 you Posted by: = rickiey Re: Abortion [Report=20 this comment] Posted by: roddma on Jun = 6, 2009=20 11:29 PM Current rating:=20 1 [1 =3D poor; 5 =3D=20 excellent] Yes an ounce of = prevention is worth a=20 pound of cure problem: abortion solution: birth control. Outside = of rape=20 and incest which there was no choice, I have no compassion for = those who=20 choose to bring child into the world carelessly. They need to suck = it up=20 and take repsponosibility. Choice is about having other options. = The death=20 penalty is whole different matter. The baby has done nothing wrong = unlike=20 the criminal. [=C2=AB=20 Reply to this comment] [Post=20 a new comment =C2=BB] [Rate = this=20 comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]=20 =

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=C2=BB=20 Progressive Pro-Lifers exist amongst you Posted=20 by: rakista

=C2=BB=20 Nothing "Progressive" About Coercion Posted by:=20 Sayna

=C2=BB=20 Rakista, you're a rare one Posted by:=20 Kym525

=C2=BB=20 RE: The hypocrisy of the pro-life movement Posted=20 by: luzmejor

=C2=BB=20 Way to prove our point. Posted by:=20 Sayna

=C2=BB=20 What you are calling for is censorship of those people who = disagree with=20 you Posted by: = rickiey

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