Pro-Choice Democrats Fight To Make Abortion The Only Option
Authored by Marrjorie Dannenfelser via RealClear Wire,
At the State of the Union address this week, President Biden and the Democrats intend to leverage a tragic situation involving a woman who suffered a medical emergency during her pregnancy in order to advance their own abortion agenda. My heart goes out to this mother and any other mother experiencing a similar situation. It is heartbreaking to lose a child under any circumstances. But while President Biden exploits this tragedy for political gain, one critical piece of information you won’t hear during his address is that all state pro-life protections have provisions to protect mothers experiencing medical emergencies.
Unfortunately, Biden and the Democrats think it is more politically expedient to scare women into believing they cannot access the care that they need than to roll up their sleeves and help the majority who want to parent. Peer-reviewed research found nearly 70% of post-abortive women describe their abortions as inconsistent with their own values and preferences, with one in four describing their abortions as unwanted or coerced. What are Biden and the Democrats doing to address this epidemic? They are peddling ever more abortion for any reason, past the point at which unborn children can feel pain and indeed at any time during a pregnancy. Theirs is North Korea and China-style abortion policy – and it utterly fails to align with the compassion and aid Americans desire for women facing difficult pregnancies.
Meanwhile, the pro-life community has quietly built a vast network of charitable organizations across the nation that exist to address the needs of pregnant women who want to keep their babies but lack resources. In 2022 alone, pregnancy resource centers met with clients over 16 million times and delivered services with an estimated total value of at least $358 million. They saw almost 975,000 new clients and provided pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, parenting education programs, baby diapers, wipes, formula, clothing, and much more – all at no cost. These pregnancy resource centers not only meet the material needs of women, they can quite literally save their lives.
That is what happened in the case of survivor Jean Marie Davis, who had been trafficked for nearly three decades in 33 states when an unintended pregnancy became the impetus for her escape. With no money and running from a pimp who was trying to kill her, Jean Marie had almost nowhere to turn. After endless calls, she was finally connected to a pregnancy resource director who changed everything. Jean Marie ultimately escaped a life of drugs, violence, and serial abuse, without sacrificing the son she loves, and today she helps women in similar circumstances by running a pregnancy resource center of her own.
Hundreds of maternity homes across the nation also provide pregnant women in need with long-term housing and the material, medical, educational, and emotional resources to transform their lives and live their dreams. Rachel already had a young child, but her partner had turned abusive toward her, and then she found out she was pregnant again. She knew for the sake of her children she had to leave but had no vehicle and nowhere to turn until she found a maternity home which agreed to help. That home provided a safe and loving environment – plus all the resources Rachel needed to heal and thrive. While there, she pursued her education in the medical field and is now a registered nurse working at a local hospital.
Now if Biden and the Democrats have their way, the charitable organizations that stepped in to help Jean Marie, Rachel, and the countless other women who come to them because they want to keep their children would no longer exist. From overt calls to “shut them down,” to an HHS proposal to revoke any public funding for these centers, to the DOJ’s refusal to protect them from the massive wave of disturbing pro-abortion violence post-Dobbs, the message is clear: For Democrats, abortion is the only option.
While the president and Democrats say they care about women, their actions speak otherwise.
Marjorie Dannenfelser is president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and author of “Life is Winning: Inside the Fight for Unborn Children and Their Mothers.”