During the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night, NARAL President Nancy Keenan made some interesting comments about abortion and politicians.
Speaking of Senate candidate Todd Akin’s recent remarks about rape, pregnancy, and abortion, Keenan said, “We believe that a woman should make healthcare decisions with her family, her doctor, and her God. And we believe that there’s no place in that room for politicians — especially politicians who don’t know how women’s bodies work.”
Now, obviously there has been a lot of talk about Todd Akin’s remarks, and I don’t want to belabor the point with more commentary. What struck me about Keenan’s comments, however, was her blanket statement about how there is no room in the abortion discussion for “politicians.”
This is interesting, considering that it was politicians (President Obama and his administration) who rescinded the Mexico City Policy that prevented U.S. dollars from being used for abortion in foreign countries.
It was politicians who passed the government healthcare law and issued executive orders specifically placing abortion within its coverage.
It was politicians (President Obama, Kathleen Sebelius, and members Department of Health and Human Services) who issued the contraception mandate that requires employers—including religious institutions—to pay for contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs under the healthcare law.
Politicians give public funding to abortion-providers like Planned Parenthood; advocate “comprehensive” sex-education that includes contraception and abortion; and promote “healthcare” policies intended to make abortion, “safe, legal, and rare.”
The 2012 Democratic Party Platform spills a lot of ink over protecting “a woman’s right to choose” and low-cost or no-cost contraception—which includes abortion-inducing drugs under the new healthcare law.
If there really is no place for politicians in the discussion about abortion, then why doesn’t NARAL call out the politicians advocating pro-abortion legislation and policies?
If abortion really should be apolitical, then there should be no public funding for abortion services; no monthly abortion taxes on healthcare; no contraception and abortion mandates; and certainly no policies intended to make abortion “rare”—that would imply politicians are somehow interfering with a woman’s healthcare choices.
When the pro-abortion lobby says that there is no place for politicians in the discussion on abortion, they are really saying there is no place for pro-life politicians. That’s what it ultimately boils down to.
