8mm
Posted on 10/09/2006 4:14:58 PM PDT by wagglebee
Pierre, SD (LifeNews.com) -- The abortion debate has long been dominated by language on both sides that often times seems as if neither side is talking to the other. While pro-life advocates typically talk about how abortion destroys the lives of babies before their birth, abortion supporters frame debate in terms of a woman's choice.
Pro-abortion groups expected backers of the South Dakota abortion ban to rely on traditional debate points to persuade voters to support the ban.
However, the pro-life group heading up the fight for the ban is turning the abortion debate on its ear. By employing pro-woman arguments that focus on how abortion hurts women and how women who have had abortions regret their decisions, leading abortion advocates are stumped on how to respond.
Vote Yes for Life campaign manager Leslee Unruh takes what she calls the pro-life "feminist" approach to the abortion debate.
Instead of discussing how abortion "murders babies" she talks about how abortion exploits women. The campaign headquarters features pictures of women and the slogan, "Abortion Hurts Women."
"We women buy the choice line. We're panicked, or we're being pressured, or we're ashamed to have a child outside marriage," Unruh told the Los Angeles Times newspaper.
She knows what she's talking about -- Unruh had an abortion 30 years ago and is still troubled by the decision.
Her language and focus on women has befuddled the other side in the process.
According to the Times, Sarah Stoesz, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood of Minnesota and North and South Dakota, says Unruh's pro-woman, pro-life tactic is "effective" and has thrown her group's campaign "off balance."
"Historically, this debate has been focused on fetal rights, fetal life. We have a lot of language about that," Stoesz told the newspaper. "This adds an element we're not accustomed to. It's a different line of debate…. And that is something we struggle with politically."
Unruh says her groups tactics are working and points to polls showing voters moving from 47 to 39 percent against the ban to 47 to 44 against it. Abortion advocates haven't been able to make any gains because Unruh has effectively taken away their typical argument that abortion benefits women.
As a result, the pro-abortion campaign has relied on television commercials talking about the bans lack of rape and incest exceptions, designed to appeal to voters who lean pro-life on abortion in general but favor abortions in those very rare circumstances.
Her success has also led Unruh to take a stand against out of state pro-life groups with a harsher message.
She opposed the tactics of one Wisconsin group that set up shot in Rapid City with pictures of aborted babies and said their message of "anger and death" should be replaced with one of "compassion and love."
The emphasis on protecting women has appealed to state voters.
Jazmine Brown, 13, said she decided to volunteer to help support the abortion ban after seeing a pro-woman DVD at her church.
"The clips really hit me hard," she told the newspaper. "I knew women were hurt by abortion, but that implanted it in my heart."
Daniel McConchie, vice president of Americans United for Life, told the Times the pro-woman, pro-life message should resonate in other states as well. And other pro-life groups, such as Feminists for Life of America, have been successfully using the message for years.
"It's been very helpful for the pro-life movemen. Who doesn't want to protect women?" he said.
It's difficult for them to admit that they want to kill as many babies as possible and don't actually care about women at all.
Pro-Life Ping
"If it's not a baby,
then you aren't pregnant."
Kind of hard to refute that.
Young Jasmine has a tender responsive heart. God bless her!
The abortion industry, and proponets are doomed for death as the end of life approaches.
The "life message" is pure and wonderful and oriented toward God and love and family.
Death always stinks!
IMHO, one of the keys to unravelling the abortion culture will be making such women understand that they can't erase their guilt by pretending abortion is okay, but only by acknowledging that it isn't. Humans make mistakes--sometimes big ones. Even a person who made a really heinous mistake can still be a good person if they recognize their mistake and seek to atone for it.
Once these people realize that the "pro-choice" people have been twisting their guilt against them, I expect them to become an overwhelming army of pro-life advocates.
love it!!!
The new message is promising in that it appears more down-to-earth/"real life" and less dogmatic than the two traditional lines. It does not need to "pretend" abortion is fine and dandy, or leave the scared and frightened unwed teen out-to-dry all alone.
Another $25 to VoteYesForLife...
This has been the mantra of Feminists for Life for years. Glad to see it's finally catching on. Pro-woman is pro-life.
Like the empty promise of the Welfare State, which has led to the economic enslavement of a significant fraction of an entire ethnic group in this country, so the abortion industry enslaves and entraps huge numbers of women who fall victim to the siren song of the empty promises of the pro-abortion crowd. Rather than "choice", in fact, abortion allows an easy out for irresponsible men, a chance to buy off a woman who has conceived their child, as if waving a wad of bills under the mother's nose will assuage a lifetime of regrets and trauma. Likewise, a woman who is swayed to kill her child under the guise of "exercising control of her body", often becomes a victim of the empty promise of wiping the slate clean and "moving on" with her life, as if such a heinous act can be covered over by the sterile and antiseptic appearance of the abortion procedure. Only later, when the realization of the true nature of the act becomes clear, does the woman who made the awful choice bear the weight of her conscience, often alone and without support. Abortion advocates are so blinded by their headlong desire for blood and slaughter that the consequences suffered by those who bear the burden, the murdered child and the guilt-ridden mother, are of little concern.
For South Dakota, I agree with Unruh - these pictures are not needed since the people already have some notion of the violence of abortion. The images should be reserved for parts of the nation that comprise the stoniest ground - not conservative, traditional-values bastions like the Midwest. Use judgment and discrimination, people!
Please FreepMail me if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List.
Repairing the severely-broken systems involved with adoption is important, to be sure. There is something wrong when there are simultaneously queues of children waiting to be adopted and queues of parents waiting to adopt. I don't blame parents who go overseas for their babies--given how horrible the adoption system in this country has become, such action is probably prudent. On the other hand, the notion that the system should be supported in its continuing devolution even past the point where such measures become decessary is sick.
It's great that this is working, but it's horrifying to me that "murdering babies" isn't enough!
"It's difficult for them to admit that they want to kill as many babies as possible and don't actually care about women at all."
They don't have to admit anything, all one need do is watch and listen. And learn.
My daughters' health class was having an abortion chat today. The teacher took the typical position one expects of a lefty teachers union type, and was apparantly quite surprised that 27 of the 30 students in her class (mostly girls 15 to 18 years of age) were anti-abortion unless the mothers' life is in danger. Only reason. Even rape and incest, these kids were saying, "why kill the baby?" "What did the baby do to deserve death?"
They were absolutely horrified that some girls as young as 12 and 13 have abortions simply because they were too stupid to use protection, or too morally bankrupt to keep their pants on.
Probably a result of many many churches growing by leaps and bounds in my AO.
Great post!: I expect no less of you, backhoe! (; So good to see you in top form as usual!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.