Let’s talk about "Bloodmoney" – the anti-choice film that is sweeping the country, and was recently given free screening at a local Catholic high school here in my hometown of Muskegon, Michigan.
With this film, pro-life seems to be taking a new tac: this time they’re going after the US Supreme Court, Congress, Planned Parenthood, science, and anybody else they disagree with, to cast them – not only as murderers, because that’s old school – but as money-grubbing liars, racists and co-conspirators in genocide plan rivaled only by the Holocaust. I saw this film, and I took notes.
First of all, kudos to our brave West Michigan politicians -- Holly Hughes and Goeff Hansen -- who had the courage to attend this one-sided, preaching-to-the-choir event. Their public support of government intrusion into the decision-making process of the American family should not go unnoticed.
Now, on with the show: let’s start with the performers. The narrator is (honorary) “Doctor” Alveda King, niece of Reverend Martin Luther King – a fact she just can’t stop sharing. Ms. King has made a career of accusing abortion providers of outright genocide of African Americans, while blithely ignoring the fact that her famous uncle was a strong supporter of Planned Parenthood and won the Margaret Sanger Award in 1966, and that Rosa Parks served on its Board. Civil rights activists have consistently rejected Alveda King and her claim to her uncle’s legacy. Oh, and by the way: Ms. King has had 2 abortions, and attempted to get a third, but couldn’t find a family member to pay for it.
The lead is played by Carol Everett, former manager of 3 different abortion clinics in Dallas. She made a great living providing abortions, and now makes even better money regaling the horrors of her clinics – the cash-only, unregulated, skanky clinics she managed -- to the pro-life crowd, as though all medical facilities are like hers. She claims to have "seen the light" about abortion and resigned from her clinic position in 1983. Actually, she was fired, and then took her employer to court for her rightful share of clinic proceeds. She continues to milk that cash cow by painting all abortion providers with the same gruesome brush. Her allegations are conveniently unsupportable except through the word of Ms. Everett herself. By the way: after Ms. Everett’s abortion, she confesses to have descended into drug and alcohol abuse.
Next is the standard pro-life attack on science. Their hand-picked scientists claim the irrefutable, absolute, definitive, final-final word on when life begins. “The science is clear,” says one expert, “you have a human being at day one. It’s science; it’s laughable to question it”. In reality, where the rest of us live, there exists objective scientific measurement of the neurological and developmental requirements of “personhood”, which is uniformly rejected by those who refute science. Most folks agree that human life is a continuum, and leave the rest to individual philosophical and religious opinion. Those opinions surely differ, but to claim that the “scientific consensus” is that life begins at conception is, in itself, a lie.
After science, the next offender is none other than the US Supreme Court, portrayed here as “unelected and unaccountable to the people”, who have “usurped their role” in creating a “fabricated right” to abortion, and have “turned their backs on the Constitution.” So, let’s get this straight: a biased group of non-lawyers now attempt to second-guess the best legal minds in the country about the wisdom of their decision 30 years ago. They claim that Plaintiff Roe was duped, that her lawyers were charlatans, and that the Supreme Court gleefully participated in this travesty of justice. Lower courts and politicians don’t fare any better: they have “violated their oath of office” in allowing abortion to continue as a legal medical procedure. In reality, where the rest of us live, it is a fact that the US Supreme Court thought long and hard about its decision. It’s also a fact that turning back the clock and making abortion illegal in the US will not stop it. Laws have never stopped abortion, but only made it unsafe for women.
Because the pro-life movement is widely perceived as being white, religious and far-right, “Doctor” King is trotted out in a effort to shore up African American support for their agenda. Abortion providers, she contends, are racists. They have masterminded a plan to target Blacks for abortions, thereby eliminating them to the point of “politically irrelevancy”. The NAACP is complicit in this genocide by remaining “deathly silent” about it, she says. In reality, where the rest of us live, no one in the reproductive rights movement is out to kill all embryos of any group or any race. It’s ludicrous, it’s paranoid, and it’s insulting to the intelligence of African Americans.
Planned Parenthood! Don’t get them started! PP is singled out as a prime “conspirator” in this evil eugenics plot. Their clinics are “strategically located” to prey upon college students and African Americans. Their “stated goal is 3-5 abortions for every girl between 16 and 18 years old.” No kidding; that’s a quote. Their methods are just so darn sneaky: see, they break down family connections by forcing birth control (free love) on unsuspecting teens without parental knowledge, then they provide the lowest quality contraceptives, knowing they will fail, and boom: they are perfectly poised to provide the inevitable abortion. “Counselors are nothing but telemarketers” who “skillfully market their product to people in crisis.” In reality, where the rest of us live, Planned Parenthood is not getting rich off abortions (unlike Carol Everett), they are a non-profit organization. They are often the only source a woman has for reproductive services because the pro-life movement has created such an atmosphere of violence and scorn that many doctors fear for their careers, and their very lives, if they provide such services.
The next segment of the film is devoted to weeping women who felt coerced and shamed into having an abortion. “80% of abortions in US are a result of coercion,” says some “expert”, without a shred of evidence. Who coerced them? Their boyfriends. Who shamed them? Their pro-life families. Their tears have nothing to do with Roe v. Wade or Planned Parenthood. In fact, if these women were truly free to make their own reproductive decisions, they would have nothing to cry about. Again, without any support, another “expert” claims that “some studies show that teenagers are 6 times more likely to commit suicide after an abortion”. The American Psychological Association says that abortion rarely causes any long-lasting or severe psychological after-effects; such feelings are often related to the unwanted pregnancy, not the abortion, which usually brings feelings of relief. Psychological problems are actually more common in new mothers.
The grisly stories that come out of clinics like the one in Texas run by Carol Everett and the Philadelphia clinic of Dr. Kermit Gosnell are the stories that sell newspapers. The boring fact is that most clinics like Planned Parenthood are closely regulated. They are in the boring business of providing day to day education, counseling, contraception, breast and pelvic exams, abortions and a host of other services to the young and the poor. Unlike in pro-life clinics, these patients are provided with alternatives and, if they seem ambivalent, they are encouraged to take their time. It’s true that “women aren’t warned that abortion leads to breast cancer and barrenness”. Because it doesn’t.
If pro-life advocates would only use their well-funded organizing power to make movies that promote contraception and sex education instead of producing screeds that demonize those who don’t share their views, they could likely cut the abortion rate in half within a few years. And, really, isn’t that what we all want?
Update: I thought long and hard about "pro-life" vs. "forced birth" and other tags I could use. I decided that the merry-go-round of name calling was pointless, and detracts from my fact-based discussion of the film. Thanks for the input, though.