Until yesterday, I was part of a distinct minority on the center-left--I was pro-life. However, I have become increasingly disturbed by a seeming disregard for privacy and basic human dignity on the pro-life side. The last straw, however, was SemDem's post about a pending anti-abortion measure in Florida. This bill would force any woman wanting to get an abortion in the state to submit to a vaginal ultrasound. According to several people who commented on a previous attempt to pass this bill, this is a horribly invasive procedure. It boggles my mind how any woman could support such a bill.
Then I realized--the pro-life movement is a mere stalking horse to erode the right to privacy in general. And for that reason, I can no longer, in good conscience, consider myself even a non-traditional pro-lifer.
This monstrosity in Florida is but the latest in a series of horribly invasive bills supposedly passed in the name of the sanctity of human life. For instance, back in 2009 Oklahoma tried to pass a law that would set up a database containing information on every abortion performed in the state. It would have contained enough information on a woman getting an abortion to legally identify her--basically, an open door to harassment. Fortunately, this law was struck down in court.
And recently, the federal House tried to change the definition of rape so that only "forcible" instances of rape could qualify for federal funds to pay for abortion. However, enough of a stink was raised about this provision that it was quickly abandoned.
After this recent spate of legislative monstrosities, I can only conclude that the pro-life movement doesn't have a damn thing to do with the sanctity of life. Rather, it's a convenient facade for slowly eroding the right to privacy. Why else would you even consider such outrageously invasive legislation if the real purpose was to put government in our bedrooms, Singapore-style?
The pro-life movement is a massive snowjob intended to tug at people's heartstrings. Most people don't understand complex issues of privacy, but they do understand ultrasounds and X-rays. And the results have been nothing short of disastrous longterm. You have people in some of the poorest areas of the country being represented by troglodyte Republicans even though economically speaking they have no business voting Republican. And it's largely due to demonizing Democrats as baby-killers.
I confess that I've been snowed twice by this myself. But after this, I'm not going to be fooled again any time soon.
Updated by Christian Dem in NC at Mon Mar 14, 2011, 02:43:25 PM
Thanks for the support, guys. I have to admit, I agonized a lot over this, as when I went pro-life back in 2005 I sincerely believed that it was wrong. However, if these legislative monstrosities are any indication, outlawing it would open the door to a far greater wrong.