Response to a pro-life opinion piece published on cnn.com.
Franchetta Groves is a college senior at the Catholic University of America. CNN published her opinion piece in which she hopes SCOTUS overturns Roe v Wade. I am glad CNN publishes a diversity of opinions. I will go through some of her points and demonstrate why this seemingly well-meaning and sincere young woman misses the whole point of the pro-life, pro-choice debate in the United States. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/20/opinions/supreme-court-roe-abortion-women-groves/index.html
Dear Franchetta,
You tell the beautiful story of your own mother who
suffered complications while pregnant with your younger sister. Doctors urged your mother to get an abortion
because she was at risk. But despite
this advice, your mother persevered and produced a healthy younger sister and
thank God she did. That is a nice story
and there are thousands like it. I
myself am indirectly a product of a similar scenario. Had my mother known I would be legally blind;
she might well have had an abortion.
When she found out about my condition about six months after I was born,
she prayed to God that God would kill me so I would not experience
suffering. Fortunately, as my mother
often joked later, God never answered her prayers and thank God he didn’t
answer that one. I believe many who know
me are glad I wasn’t aborted. The
problem with stories like this is they only show one scenario in favor of the opinion
being presented. I’m sure if you did your
research, you would find cases in which mother persisted in keeping her baby
and both she and the child died in childbirth.
I am 100% certain of this, in fact. Thus, feel good stories like yours
and mine are not good arguments when dealing with questions of national policy
because they present an incomplete and narrow picture.
“And I know I am in good company. In fact, according to a
Gallup poll [link to poll is incluced] this year, 33% of American women are
"pro-life." Combine this quote with: “Those of us who feel
differently, who fervently want to see Roe overturned, also want freedom for
women. We just want it for their unborn children as well.” Franchetta, the problem with this thinking is
that 67% of women disagree with you. In
case you did not notice, we live in a democracy in which the policies and laws
of the country are supposed to be governed by the will of the majority, and not
the minority. And you are not even close
to being in the majority. You advocate
that your 33% shove your opinion down the throats of the 67% of women who
disagree with you. This is not
democracy. Your opinion, which you state
eloquently, is a nice opinion complete with good wishes for all women. I even agree with some of it, like making
sure women have supportive resources available to help them keep the baby. Not only do I agree with you, but so do
Democrats. It is we who fund such
resources. Abortions declined more
sharply under Clinton and Obama than under any Republican president because
Republicans keep trying to defund supporting services while we, the supposedly
evil Left, keep trying to fund them. It was
Ruth Bader Ginsberg, you know that supposedly evil SCOTUS justice who died
recently, who started doing this and Democrats have supported these types of
services ever since. You probably
believe the false pro-life rhetoric that Democrats fund abortion factories. You are a university senior. Do better research please. I am talking about cold hard numbers and
facts that support what I state in this paragraph. You claim you want freedom for both women and
their unborn, but what you actually want is your opinion rammed through
regardless of whether the other 67% of women want it or not. News flash!
That is not freedom. That is
totalitarianism and, in your case, theocratic tyranny. In a democracy, the majority rules. Remember this please. And can I just add please that the unborn
never had much freedom to start with.
They don’t get to choose a damn thing in fact such as where they are
born, when they are born, the parents they have, their physical and mental condition
medically speaking, their race, their nationality or their financial
circumstances. Since God, from your
Catholic point of view, doesn’t seemed to have ever been interested in giving
the unborn any freedom, how will the overturning of Roe V Wade give them
freedom they never had in the first place?
“After Roe, I believe it will be possible for our nation
to be one that doesn't cast judgment on women who become pregnant, but one that
embraces them with love and compassion. And it must also be one that always
protects human life and appreciates the intrinsic value of each being from the
moment of conception.” Sorry Franchetta. I was raised as a Roman Catholic. Your church tells women who get an abortion
they are evil murderers and will burn in hell forever and ever and ever and
ever without end amen. This has led many
thousands of women all over the world, as well as in America, to commit
suicide. I hate to break it to you, but
this is not love and compassion. And in
case you are wondering, the above is the official doctrine of the Roman Catholic
Church. You may want love and
compassion, but your church does not.
Please consider this in future.
“How can I support the women in my life who may be facing
an unexpected pregnancy? How can I engage with those who view the issue
differently than myself to engage in productive dialogue so that I can grow and
learn how to cultivate a society that better supports women? I hope that the
highest Court in the land deciding this issue once and for all will make it
possible for me to find answers to these questions.” Franchetta, may I remind you that on January
22, 1973, the “highest court in the land” did decide this issue. Those in your pro-life camp did not like this
decision and so they set about remaking SCOTUS until they get a decision they
and you like. Explain to me please how
this time the “highest court in the land” will decide this once and for
all. You do not respect SCOTUS, or you would,
like the vast majority of Americans, be content to live under their 1973
decision. You are young and so probably
do not realize that your view here means you do not actually want to rule of
law to decide anything. You only want
people to enact laws you agree with. As
a result, you would be happier living under someone like Putin than living in
the United States. If SCOTUS does
overturn Roe V Wade, you do realize those of us in the pro-choice camp will do
what you did and remake the court until we get what we want. Oh, but I forgot, you don’t believe in
democracy. You believe in a totalitarian
theocracy. You may actually feel you
want to engage in dialog with those who believe differently from yourself. I would like to point out that the anti
abortion laws you support call for civil and criminal punishments for women who
do not see things the way you do. I
remind you again this is, in fact, the majority of American women who differ
from you. This is not engagement. This is dictatorship.
You seem sincere.
You seem genuinely interested in doing good. But you are misguided and do not understand
the difference between your personal opinions, and making laws and policy for a
democratic country. I hope you learn the
difference because only then will you truly be a good American.
posted by Marc Breault @ 8:37 AM
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