Circular Reasoning and Disbelief of Facts

I love oxymorons...one of my favorites being "Feminists for Life." Now, I may be partial to the pro-choice position, but I have been able to find some things I can agree on with most anti-choice people. For example, the vast majority of Americans think that birth control is an OK thing, and we should work to increase access to and ensure people are educated about methods to prevent pregnancy and STDs.

A fabulous article by Katha Pollitt in the Nation, Feminists for (Fetal) Life, takes the group to task for their so-called feminist title.

In an interview with Feminists for Life's executive director, Serrin Foster, Pollitt uncovers dirty secrets that FFL either tries to gloss over or fails to recognize.

The problem is that FFL doesn't just oppose abortion. FFL wants abortion to be illegal. All abortions, period, including those for rape, incest, health, major fetal defects and, although Foster resisted admitting this, even some abortions most doctors would say were necessary to save the woman's life.

This is a stance that most anti-choice people don't accept. Most anti-choice politicans and activists allow for abortions for people who are traumatized by rape and incest or to save the woman's life. I don't know what's feminist about forced pregnancy for anyone, but I digress. The article contines:

It was extremely difficult to get Foster to say what she thought would happen if abortion was banned. At one point she would not concede that women would continue to have abortions if it was recriminalized; at another she argued that criminalization was no big deal: Instructions on self-abortion were posted on the Internet. I had to work to get her to admit that illegal abortion was common before Roe, and that it was dangerous--numbers on abortion deaths were concocted by pre-Roe legalization advocates, she told me.

I think the fact that abortions will continue to happen even if they are illegal is a no-brainer, but I do have to say the promotion of finding out how to do a self-abortion on the internet is a tactic I've never heard before from anti-choicers. I'm not sure what's feminist about putting women's lives at stake. Didn't we all see Dirty Dancing?
Seriously though, I encourage all of you to check out this article. Congrats to Katha Pollitt for outing this group that on the surface seems "well-intentioned" but when you dig a little deeper is off its rocker.

P.S. Patricia Heaton from Everybody Loves Raymond is the celebrity spokesperson for this group. I've been personally boycotting that show for years due to that fact-- and the fact that the show is annoying. I realize it's not on anymore, but it will be in syndication for years to come, thought I'd share.