With states passing more Pro-Life legislation than ever before (44 bills in the past year), anti-Life activists have been left scrambling to come up with ever more euphemistic and rosy descriptions of “choice” to entice Americans back to the dark side.
We’ve heard abortion called “reproductive freedom” and even “reproductive justice” for decades, but now the abortion camp is really stepping up the rhetoric. Former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, called abortion “the most basic of human rights.” MSNBC host, Toure Neblett, gushed on the air that abortion was there to “save” him from an awkward relationship with his then girlfriend. And Planned Parenthood claimed three weeks ago that abortion is too nuanced of an issue to be called anything at all. The abortion giant has abandoned the euphemism “pro-choice” altogether, going for a more relativistic approach in its campaign “Not in Her Shoes.”
But just when we thought abortion activists couldn’t come up with anything more outlandish, Ilyse Hogue, the brand-new president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, stepped up to the mic and proved us all wrong.
In a video message to supporters yesterday, Hogue lamented the success of Pro-Life lawmakers, stating, “The rise of the Tea Party has surfaced a real desire on the part of a few to ramp up restrictions on women's freedom and to do, what I call, 'stuff the genie back in the bottle.’”
She continued, “The past century has seen steady momentum behind women achieving more equality and more freedom, from winning the right to vote in 1920, to affirming our right to safe and legal abortion in 1973…That freedom to decide is foundational to everything we want to achieve for ourselves, our family, and our country.”
So, abortion is a salvific agent that equalizes women and men? When you’re in trouble, just rub the light-giving, life-restoring, lamp of abortion, and all your problems will be solved and all your dreams will come true. That sounds really good — too good to be true. In fact, that sounds a lot like a fairy tale. Try telling that one to the women who gather at Rachel’s Vineyard retreats or at Silent No More rallies.
Hogue likes to tell stories, like the story that the Life Cause is being pushed by “a few.”
Texas Right to Life has been working with Pro-Life legislators in Austin since the inception of the Life movement, and we can tell you that our successes are not credited to “a few.” We didn’t pass the Sonogram Law, take $64.2 million away from the abortion industry, and restore funding to Pro-Life pregnancy centers because “a few” tea partiers wanted it.
We had those victories because Texans won them. Texans elected Pro-Life women and men to represent them, and whenever there was a crisis in the capitol, Texans told their representatives in no uncertain terms that they were not to compromise on Life. Victories like these are by no means limited to Texas.
Hogue wrapped up her video message by promising her supporters that NARAL will “not just keep the genies out of the bottle, we'll keep releasing more and more by igniting a movement to embrace the pro-choice values that most Americans share.”
Hogue’s promise to lift all abortion restrictions is not to be taken lightly by Pro-Lifers. Hogue previously held senior positions in the progressive (and anti-Life) organizations, Media Matters and MoveOn.org. Her command of language and skill in recruitment are great.
While it’s true that the abortion camp is losing members, and that the science, the compassion, and the polls are on our side, we will not succeed if we take our resources for granted. Language (even if it seems silly to us Pro-Lifers) is a proven, powerful way to change people’s minds — for better or worse.
