Hullabaloo

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

 

Martyr makers

by digby

Right Wing Watch is featuring some of the triumphant press releases from the religious right over the Komen Foundation's decision to defund Planned Parenthood over trumped up wingnut nonsense. One of the weirdest things about them is this common refrain:

Tony Perkins: Susan G. Komen's decision to stop funding the abortion industry is good news for women seeking help dealing with breast cancer.

Lou Engle- Let’s rejoice but let’s not stop praying! Today’s announcement isn’t given with permanence. Komen officials state they want to keep a "positive relationship" with Planned Parenthood, so that, along with their support of embryonic stem cell research, means we shouldn’t be running to sign up for a Race for the Cure quite yet, but we should positively reinforce what’s happening and thank Komen for this decision. Every step is a step for LIFE.

The destruction of one of the country's leading mammogram providers is good news for women with breast cancer. And being against stem cell research is a step for "LIFE". These people are funny.

It's possible that Tony Perkins is still advancing this pernicious lie that says abortion causes breast cancer, but if so, he's being very obscure. (It wouldn't be the first time.) But I suspect that this is just reflexive paternalism --- all women are better off if abortions are inaccessible, even the ones who might die of breast cancer because of this single-minded crusade. After all, abortion is literally worse than death for any woman who has one. Cancer victims should be happy to make the sacrifice for the greater good. As should pregnant women:

[L]est you think these people are just pandering to the fringe so there's nothing to worry our little heads about, remember this from this past year:

[T]he GOP-led House of Representatives, with the blessings and encouragement of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and extremist religious groups such as the Family Research Council, passed a bill in a vote of 251 to 172 that would, among other things, allow doctors and hospitals to "exercise their conscience" by letting pregnant women facing emergency medical conditions die.

And it's entering the popular consciousness. Witness the glowing words applied to yet another sad young woman who made the decision to forego cancer treatment in order to give birth. Perhaps you'll recall this earlier case as well, as reported by Robin Marty:

Did the "pro-life" cause really need an actual martyr? The conservative website "Hot Air" has published a doting ode to Stacy Crimm, a woman who refused chemotherapy that would save her life in order to not endanger her long awaited pregnancy.

And anti-choice supporters couldn't be more proud of her.

Tina Korbe writes:

Crimm truly did have a choice: Even if abortion were illegal, she could have opted to receive chemotherapy. That she bravely chose to place her child’s life before her own recalls forcibly to mind why the phrase “a mother’s love” has such resonance. When we talk about abortion, rarely do we talk about the ache many women feel after they choose to abort their babies. Crimm’s physical suffering must have been unimaginable — and, yet, three days before she died, she was able to hold close the fruit of her choice in what Phillips said was a perfect moment. Would that her story might help all mothers see nothing is worth the sacrifice of their own child.

Crimm did have a choice, and acted out on her own wishes. But when you switch that to "nothing," including the life of the mother, is worth ending a pregnancy, well, then that's not really a choice, is it?

Evidently, the pro-life movement is now calling for women to die rather than have an abortion or even treat their illnesses if it might result in fetal death. I guess some lives are more valuable than others after all. And it isn't the woman's.

The religious right seems to be pushing hard for female martyrs to die in their crusade. Sadly, it appears that many of them aren't signing on voluntarily. But that doesn't matter:

[T]he politically-charged investigation [was] launched by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) into [Planned Parenthood], which is greatly based on the smear campaign by Lila Rose, who recently told WORLD magazine that lying is appropriate as long as it’s for a worthy cause.

It's how they roll.

Update: Here's a good question: If Komen is required to sever all relationships with any institution that's under investigation, why haven't they severed their ties to Bank Of America?

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digby 2/01/2012 06:00:00 PM |