Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Americans on both sides of the abortion debate were horrified this week when delegates at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Philadelphia burst into a raucous round of cheers and applause when Ilyse Hogue, president of the radical pro-abortion group, NARAL Pro-Choice America, admitted to having an abortion.
According to the abortion-loving media, the moment that Ilyse Hogue testified to having an abortion was an “historic first” for the DNC, as if her admission was something to be proud of.
“To succeed in life, all we need are the tools, the trust and the chance to chart our own path. I was fortunate enough to have these things when I found out I was pregnant years ago. I wanted a family, but it was the wrong time,” Hogue said.
“I made the decision that was best for me — to have an abortion — and was able to get compassionate care at a clinic in my own community. Now, years later, my husband and I are parents to two incredible children.”
Even more disturbing was the way the audience reacted – with cheers and applause – reminiscent of how spectators cheered the slaughter of innocents in the Colosseum in the days of ancient Rome.
Hogue’s testimony, and the audience reaction, was completely oblivious to the fact that this testimony was about the murder of a human life. Either they were allowing themselves to be completely blinded by the uber-disingenuous “pro-choice” label, or they just don’t care.
Hogue, however, went on to show just how duplicitous that label really is by condemning Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his vice presidential pick, Mike Pence, for their support for life and a woman’s right NOT to choose abortion.
Of course, this doesn’t sit well with the “reproductive rights” crowd who never say what they really mean – that pro-choice means “our choice or no choice.” This is precisely why the DNC platform, which now claims the distinction of being the most radical in history when it comes to abortion, is calling for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment in order to force taxpayers to fund abortion.
But Hogue wasn’t finished yet. She went on to wield the usual “straw man” argument, which has been used so successfully to manipulate women, by declaring Trump and Pence to be all about “making misogyny great again” – as if the only way to protect a woman’s rights is to let her have all the abortions she may want.
Hogue’s witness – and the crowd’s reaction – is part of a new strategy to not only defend abortion, but to celebrate it as a “blessing.” This is evidence by the 2012 campaign at one Planned Parenthood clinic to host “40 Days of Prayer for Abortion” and the highly offensive #ShoutYourAbortion social media campaign launched last year which is designed to give voice to women who don’t feel sad or angry about their abortions.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue says Hogue is not an anomaly, nor is her desire to be praised for having an abortion.
“In 1975, atheist Anne Nicol Gaylor published a book titled, Abortion Is A Blessing. It was endorsed by feminists Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem,” Donohue reports. “Friedan previously had close ties to the Communist Party, and Steinem had an abortion when she was 22. In 2009, Rev. Katherine Ragsdale, an Episcopalian priest, also boasted that ‘Abortion is a blessing’.”
He goes on to ask the obvious question – “are the Democrats now ready to join this merry band of abortion enthusiasts?”
It certainly looks that way, especially after nominating Hillary Rodham Clinton, an old-school feminist who is one of the most strident abortion supporters in U.S. history and who has already reassured the abortion industry that she will be their president.
Which begs the question – what about the rest of us?
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