Thank Papers for Not Running the Pro-Abortion Doonesbury Comic

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Mar 13, 2012   |   5:16PM   |   Washington, DC

The following newspapers have chosen not to publish a week-long comic strip from Doonesbury that promotes abortion, compares ultrasounds to rapes and attacks pro-life legislators wanting to reduce abortions.

Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau is under fire from conservatives again, this time because he is running a cartoon that some newspapers already plan not to run because it compares ultrasound to rape.

The cartoon — a response to new pro-life laws in Texas and Virginia allowing women to see the results of the pre-abortion ultrasound that abortion centers routinely perform but don’t always show women — attacks Republican lawmakers for putting the laws in place.

The Doonesbury cartoon depicts a woman at an abortion center in Texas who is told to take a seat in the “shaming room.” A state legislator asks her if she has been to the abortion clinic before and when she says she has to pick up contraception, the legislator replies, “Do your parents know you’re a slut?”

Later in the strip, the woman says she doesn’t want a vaginal ultrasound but an abortion center nurse tells her, “The male Republicans who run Texas require that all abortion seekers be examined with a 10-inch shaming wand. By the authority invested in me by the GOP base, I thee rape.”

The strip, published on Monday and scheduled to run this week has been rejected by several papers already, including the Portland Oregonian. Others have said they will move the cartoon out of the cartoon section of the newspaper and on to the editorial page since it is so political in nature. About 1,400 newspapers run the cartoon.

Guardian, “I can’t say how many papers will choose ultimately to run or not run the series, but we’ve had inquiries from 30 to 40 papers asking about the substitutes.”

Responding to the criticism and the decisions by the papers, Trudeau described it as “appalling” and “insane” that Republicans would allow women to see their baby on the ultrasound screen before an abortion.

Thanks to the pro-abortion web site RH Reality Check, which is asking pro-abortion activist to complain, here is a list of newspaper to thank for not carrying the offensive pro-abortion Doonesbury comic strip:

The Los Angeles Times refused to publish the Doonesbury comics in their comics section, where people would look for them. They published them, but in their op-ed section.

You can post on their Facebook wall here, comment at their website here

* * * * * * *

The Houston Chronicle in Texas (!) likewise refused to publish the comics in their comics section. Instead, they moved the strips to their “Outlooks” page, where no one would know or care to look.

You can post on their Facebook wall here, comment at their website here

* * * * * * *

The Athens Banner-Herald in Georgia refused to publish the comics because the editors “thought there was a real possibility that readers might confuse the topic of this week’s ‘Doonesbury’ with Georgia’s proposed abortion legislation.”

You can post on their Facebook wall here, comment at their website here

* * * * * * *

The Oregonian refused to publish the comics because they “went over the line of good taste and humor.”

You can post to the Oregonian‘s Facebook page here, comment at their website here

* * * * * * *

The Indianapolis Star declined to publish the strips in print. You can post to their Facebook wall here

* * * * * * *

The Arizona Star likewise declined to publish (in print). You can post to their Facebook wall here

* * * * * * *

The SC Herald refused to publish the comics because the editors were “concerned about the graphic content.” How this excuse applies remains unclear.

You can post to the SC Herald‘s Facebook page here

* * * * * * *

The CA Reporter refused to publish the comics because “[e]ditors believe [cartoonist Gary Trudeau] has expressed that opinion in a manner that skirts, if not crosses, the boundaries of good taste expected in a family newspaper.”

You can post to the CA Reporter‘s Facebook page here

* * * * * * *

The Ocala Star Banner is not running the series of strips.  Hit up their Facebook wall here

* * * * * * *

The UT Standard-Examiner refused to publish the comics because the “language in the original strips was not appropriate for a comic that could be viewed by children.”

* * * * * * *

The Press of Atlantic City refused to publish the comics because “Texas abortion cartoons venture too far for the comics pages.” That’s really not an explanation.

You can post to the Press of Atlantic City‘s Facebook page here.

* * * * * * *

The Gainesville Sun in Florida refused to publish the strips. Find them on Facebook here

* * * * * * *

The St. Paul Pioneer Press refused to publish the comics in print because “[t]he editors have decided the commentary in some panels is inappropriate for the comics section in the newspaper.”

You can post to the St. Paul Pioneer Press‘ Facebook page here

* * * * * * *

The Fort Worth Star Telegram refused to publish the comics in print, and today published an article stating that “the reason for not printing the strip has nothing to do with left- or right-wing politics. It has everything to do with civility and consistency.”

You can post to the Fort Worth Star Telegram‘s Facebook page here, comment at their website here

* * * * * * *

The North Carolina News & Record and the Winston-Salem Journal (both smaller NC newspapers) refused to publish the strips in print. You can post to the Winston-Salem Journal’s Facebook site here.

* * * * * * *

The Utica Observer-Dispatch refused to publish the strips in print. You can post to their Facebook page here, comment on their website here (registration required)

* * * * * * *

The Tallahassee Democrat refused to publish the comics in print, and no one will say why. According to one reader, “Thus far, [there has been] no disclosure about its decision either in the paper or online.”

You can post to the Tallahassee Democrat‘s Facebook page here

* * * * * * *