Abortion Advocates Compare President Bush’s Pro-Life Record to Terrorism 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 15, 2004
Santa Fe, NM (LifeNews.com) — Since the September 11 attacks, abortion activists have been outraged as a few selected pro-life leaders have drawn a comparison between abortion and terrorism — pointing out the disrespect for human life in both acts.
That’s why a statement by a leading pro-abortion feminist is sparking outrage and claims of hypocrisy from pro-life advocates.
At a NARAL New Mexico fundraising breakfast this week, Ms. Magazine founder Gloria Steinem called President Bush, because of his pro-life record on abortion, "more dangerous to this country’s citizens than terrorists."
Yet, Planned Parenthood president Gloria Feldt took Bush advisor Karen Hughes to task in April when Hughes said America has a greater respect for the value of human life as a result of the terrorist attacks.
Hughes’ comment came in response to the lower than expected attendance at a national march for abortion co-sponsored by Planned Parenthood and NARAL.
Felt criticized Hughes for invoking the terrorist attacks in the context of the abortion debate and called her remarks "insensitive and divisive."
Asked to comment on Steinem’s remark, Chris Lalley, director of media relations for Planned Parenthood of New Mexico, used terrorism comparisons to describe the president.
"We think President Bush is terrorizing women’s rights," Lalley told LifeNews.com.
Regarding whether he thought Steinem’s comment hypocritical given Feldt’s condemnation of Hughes, Lalley said he "was not going to get into the vernacular" of the comments.
Steinem’s offhanded remark was too much for Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for America, who told LifeNews.com, "Gloria Steinem demeans the victims of terrorism by equating opposition to her political agenda to acts of violence."
"To her, giving life is akin to death, and the terror of indiscriminate killing of civilians is a distraction from totalitarian acceptance of the right to kill innocent children," Wright added.
Wright said she was concerned that "Gloria’s statement could persuade readers that believing in abortion-on-demand – the destruction of innocent life – leads one to belittle the evils of terrorism."
