Kristi HamrickOutside the U.S. Supreme Court during the contentious confirmation process for now Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Students for Life and SFLAction activists kept vigil dressed in judges’ robes in stark contrast to the self-proclaimed ladies of the fictional “Handmaid’s Tale.”
All across America, video of activists attacking statues plays on a loop while some political leaders voice their support for removing all reminders of people whose personal histories put them in a negative light. In asking for the U.S. Capitol to be cleansed of Confederate statues, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said they must go because their efforts were “to achieve such a plainly racist end.” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on NBC’s “Today” show that removing statues is a “healthy expression” of priorities and values.
Looking at certain polls, Roe v. Wade with its companion case Doe v. Bolton seems to have broad public support. For example, an NPR, PBS Newshour, Marist poll concluded that 3 out of 4 Americans want Roe to remain in place, something that is being debated this month as the Supreme Court has another opportunity to allow states like Louisiana to keep health and safety standards in place, protecting women who go to an abortion vendor. But the problem with that kind of math is that people also support all kinds of abortion regulation. What many don’t understand is that support for limiting abortion equals support for getting rid of Roe, returning the issue of the abortion to the states where voters would have a voice and a vote on abortion policy.
The Counseling and Wellness Center at Paine College, a school affiliated with both the United Methodist Church and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, in Augusta, Georgia, lists Planned Parenthood as a resource for students in two places on their website.
The pro-life movement faces a difficult decision every time there is a national tragedy like the one we are facing today. As people who are motivated to activism by the human rights issue of the day, chemical and surgical abortions that have ended millions of innocent lives, pro-life Americans wrestle with how to engage when lives are being lost for other reasons. Given the horrific loss of George Floyd and others since the protests began, many Americans are grieved and responding to these tragedies. But critics of the pro-life movement are abusing this crisis to dictate what our responses must be. They have it all figured out because if we “were really pro-life” our life’s work would be something else.
The problem with the time capsule that is Hulu’s Mrs. America, a Mad Men-styled glimpse into the tug-of-war over the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment between conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly and feminists leaders in the 1970s, is that what it leaves out explains why the ERA agenda has failed today.
Pro-lifers are often accused of not really caring about human beings after they’re born. Consider that after Alabama’s Human Life Protection Act passed, abortion advocates once again started using arguments about poverty, foster care, and adoption to argue against the legislation. But a developing story out of the commonwealth of Virginia shows where the problems lie—with radical, pro-infanticide delegates.
The image of courageous and self-sacrificing healthcare workers draped in garbage bags at Mount Sinai West hospital in midtown Manhattan because of a shortage of personal protective equipment is a horrifying picture for the coronavirus crisis. Despite Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s assurances that all is well, nurses report that a dire shortage puts their lives at risk, and a national call to action has been sent out, asking for donations of lifesaving gear.
Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins said that the Pro-Life Generation and advocates from across the nation will have an expanded package of online events and trainings as Americans spend more time at home as a result of the Coronavirus. “As campuses across the country shut down or pivot to online education, Students for Life of America’s team is doing the same, expanding our materials so that the Pro-Life Generation can be training for the day after Roe and for when we can return to our communities,” said Hawkins. “We are sticking together! Just virtually…and with hand sanitizer.”
