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Pro-Abortion Zealots Practice Their Religion
By Doug Patton
July 9, 2001

The headline on the Associated Press article read, "Fetuses May Get Reclassified," with the sub-heading, "Under a White House plan, 'unborn children' would be eligible for federal health-care aid." Under this proposal, put forth by the Bush Administration through Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, individual states could consider a developing baby a "targeted low-income child" under the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and therefore pay for prenatal care and childbirth expenses.

My first expectation was that the pro-abortion zealots who populate the American left would exhibit their usual sky-is-falling hysterics about the "assault on Roe vs. Wade." They didn't disappoint me.

Kate Michelman weighed in on the issue, warning that "this is the most cynical of politics and, once again, the administration, trying desperately to satisfy the demands of the far right wing." Michelman, who never heard of an abortion she didn't approve of, is president of the ultra-radical National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, a fanatical organization whose main purpose is to promote as many abortions as it can, whenever and wherever it can. Michelman went on to say that the policy seems to be an attempt to set a precedent that would establish the fetus as a person under law, "leading to the criminalization of all abortions."

Leaders of Planned Parenthood, the largest single provider of abortions in America, said they were investigating prospects for filing a lawsuit against the regulation. Meanwhile, Michelman and her ilk say that it is not the fetus but the mother who is served by prenatal care.

It is my sincere hope that the Bush administration is not using this plan as a diversion to mollify the pro-life movement in preparation for a cave-in on the issue of stem cell research (which Secretary Thompson supports), or on the first Bush Supreme Court nomination (which will surely be in for a fight in the Senate if the nominee is a conservative). That said, I'm going to take the administration at its word -- for now -- and accept this proposal at face value.

Setting aside for a moment the fact that I believe the federal government is already paying for far too much, this proposal may actually have a chance at improving the quality of prenatal care for poor women and their babies. But the extremists who continue to promote abortion in America and around the world cannot let that happen, lest their entire agenda collapse before their very eyes.

Those who have promoted the abortion mentality have told so many lies over the last three decades that it is hard to know where to start. Before Roe vs. Wade, they told us, unsafe abortions were being performed with coat hangers in back alleys by the millions. Abortion, they say, is safer than childbirth. And then there's my personal favorite: legal abortion, they said, would eliminate child abuse by reducing the number of so-called unwanted children.

It has long been my contention that dishonest people ascribe to their opponents the same motives that motivate them. There is no clearer example of this than in the pro-abortion movement. They call pro-lifers "extreme" and "radical" and "religious fanatics." They compare us to the fanatics of the Middle East, call us names like "Ayatollah" and claim we are engaged in a holy war.

In reality, there is no more fervent religious fanatic in America today than the radical pro-abortion activist. Reason has no place in the discussion when trying to deal with these people. Left wing political ideology has become their religion. Radical feminism is their chief article of faith. And abortion is their primary sacrament.

The time for timidity on the part of pro-life politicians is over. The Bush administration has struck a nerve with the religious fanatics on the pro-abortion left. We've got them on the defensive once again. This is no time to retreat.

Doug Patton is a freelance columnist who has served as a speechwriter and policy advisor to federal, state and local candidates and elected officials. His work can be viewed weekly on GOPUSA.

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