2016 March for Life Promotes Faux Feminism

The 2016 March for Life took place on Friday, January 22nd on the National Mall in Washington D.C. The March for Life is an annual gathering of anti-abortion activists, including conservative religious figures and political leaders. The March for Life rally included speakers such as Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, Focus on the Family president Jim Daly, Susan B. Anthony List president Marjorie Dannenfelser, and Southern Baptist Convention ERLC president Russell Moore.

This year's March for Life included several satellite events, such as an anti-abortion expo and the 34th Annual Rose Dinner. The March for Life Conference featured keynote speech was entitled "Why the Pro-Life Movement Is the Authentic Women’s Movement", while the March for Life Youth Rally included workshops such as "Regret and Aftermath from Planned Parenthood Abortions" and "Pro-life Activism: Street, Online and Undercover".

I was astonished that thousands of participants marched in Washington D.C. right before an impending blizzard. The next day, when heavy snow made roads impassible and air travel impossible, many of those demonstrators probably found themselves stranded. I hope the march was worth it.

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I observed the march in person in 2011 and blogged on the 2012 and 2015 marches from afar, and found the rhetoric repetitive and disconnected from reproductive realities on the ground. This was equally true for the 2016 gathering, which was oblivious to women's wants and needs.

Speakers at this year's march promoted a faux feminism, assuring their followers that denying reproductive rights to women actually empowered women. Anti-abortion figures claimed historic feminist champions as their own, insisting that the women's rights movement has always been anti-abortion. Activists who seek to protect abortion rights follow a "perverted feminism" that pits women against their children, they claimed. 

Presidential candidate Carly Fiorina combined the usual anti-abortion rhetoric with faux feminism. At the 15:02 mark of this C-SPAN video, Fiorina attacked Planned Parenthood funding, referred to a discredited smear campaign that accused Planned Parenthood of selling fetal tissue, and claimed that the Democratic platform says that "a life isn't a life until it leaves the hospital". Your nose is growing, Pinocchio, I thought.

"In less than a year, there will be a new president in the White House, and that next president will have the awesome responsibility to pick up to four Supreme Court justices who will decide issues of life and religious liberty. She will decide ... whether we force taxpayers to fund the political arm of the abortion industry, whether we as a nation believe, as the Democrat platform says, that a life isn't a life until it leaves the hospital. Yes, that is the Democrat platform, that a life isn't a life until it's born, and they call us extreme. It is Democrats, the pro-abortion industry, that is extreme.

The next president of the United States will have a lot to say about whether a baby only a month, only a month from being born is only as good as the organs you can sell from it. Make no mistake, ladies and gentlemen, this fight for the character of our nation."

Fiorina took swipes at Hillary Clinton and the left's "perverted" form of feminism at the 17:39 mark. She sneered at the idea of a war on women and of abortion as a vital health service.

"As we stand here today, Hillary Clinton is in New Hampshire giving a pro-abortion speech. She is saying that I, as a conservative woman, that all of us as conservative women, don't count. But here's the truth. The left has perverted feminism into a political ideology where women are pitted against men and used as a political weapon to win elections ... Being empowered means having a voice, but ideological feminism now shuts down conversation on college campuses and in the media. If you are a pro-life man or, heaven forbid, a conservative woman who doesn't believe the litanies of the left, then you are waging a war on women, or you are a threat to women's health, or you are variously described as 'window dressing' ... or 'offensive' as a candidate."

Sue Ellen Browder, author of Subverted: How I Helped the Sexual Revolution Hijack the Women's Movement, also promoted faux feminism at the march. At the 49:46 mark, Browder claimed that "pro-life family feminism" was responsible for women's suffrage and second wave feminism. The anti-abortion movement is the true champion of women because it refrains from "pitting the rights of a mother against the rights of her baby", she argued.

"In 1969, I was fired for being pregnant. I went on to get a job at Cosmopolitan magazine, where I promoted abortion as the royal road to women's freedom. Now I have written this book, Subverted, to say I was wrong. I was wrong about abortion.

Women are most empowered and most free when we are interconnected in love with others. Your branch of the women's movement -- pro-life family feminism -- gave women the right to vote. Your branch of the women's movement -- pro-life family feminism -- launched second wave feminism in the 1960s. And your branch of the feminist movement -- pro-life, family feminism -- is still here today, marching in the streets, hundreds of thousands of strong, defending the bond of love between a mother and her baby.

You, not Planned Parenthood, not NARAL Pro-Choice America, represent the authentic women's movement of the 21st century ... We need to stop pitting the rights of a mother against the rights of her baby. Whatever harms the baby harms the mother."

The willful blindness was astonishing. Browder appropriated second wave feminism for her cause, ignoring the many second wave feminists who advocated for abortion rights. She flatly ignored the fact that control of one's reproductive destiny -- control over if, when, and how often one bears children -- is seminal to women's empowerment.

Underneath all of the pseudo-feminist rhetoric of the march was the belief that women should be mothers. Former NFL athlete Matt Birk couldn't imagine why a woman wouldn't want to have a baby, or why mothers might regret having unintended children. At the 57:17 mark, he had this to say.

"We march because I've never heard a woman give birth to a baby and then say, 'I wish I'd had an abortion'. That's why we march. Because I've never heard somebody say, 'I wish I'd had fewer kids'. That's why we march."

I have heard people say those things. Matt Birk really needs to get out more.

Marguerite Duane, co-founded of the Fertility Appreciation Collaborative to Teach the Science, was appalled that women might choose to delay childbearing or take measures to be "free to have sex without pregnancy". At the 1:02:03 mark, she claimed that abortion devalues that which "makes a woman truly unique".

"Being pro-life is pro-woman because the pro-life movement affirms what is unique and special about every woman in all phases of her life, personally and professionally as a daughter, a mother, a sister, a single person, or a married woman.

As a physician, I have seen the effects of the segment of our society that does just the opposite, that does not affirm the dignity of women, but instead convinces women that in order to be equal to men, we need to be just like them, free to have sex without pregnancy, and to succeed in their lives professionally, they need to delay having children, or if they get pregnant, destroy their unborn baby. This does not empower women! Instead, it devalues or destroys what makes a woman truly unique."

Let that sink in. According to Duane, society tells women that in order to be men's equals, they need to be "just like them, free to have sex without pregnancy". What is Duane saying here? Does she see pregnancy as women's punishment for having sex? It wouldn't surprise me, since anti-abortion activism seems less concerned about cherishing life than about punishing women for being sexual.

The March for Life shows us how the anti-abortion movement has adapted its tactics. More and more Americans are realizing that the War on Women is real, and that opponents of reproductive freedom are not acting in women's best interests. The march's faux feminist rhetoric tries to distract women from those facts. Oh, we're treating women with respect by forcing them to carry pregnancies to term. Oh, we're actually celebrating women by pressuring them into unwanted motherhood.

Give me a break.

News Tidbits

The Guardian: Carly Fiorina accused of 'ambushing' children for anti-abortion rally

Oregon Live: Education department will out every religious college that discriminates against LGBT people

Buzzfeed: Republican Frontrunner For Montana Governor Has An Extreme Anti-LGBT Past

Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier: Iowa lawmakers will investigate gay youth conference on smaller scale

Associated Press: GOP Lawmakers Want Exemptions for Gay Marriage Opponents

Christian Science Monitor: Ted Cruz isn't backing off 'God talk,' even in New Hampshire

Tri-City Herald: Mid-Columbia lawmaker in Olympia asks teens about their virginity

Nashville Scene: Far Right Protests Same-Sex Marriage at State Capitol

LGBTQ Nation: Donald Trump admits antigay hate group leader Tony Perkins helps write his speeches

New York Times: In Ireland, ‘Baptism Barrier’ for Public Schools Draws Protests

Republican Presidential Candidates React to Planned Parenthood Shooting

Robert L. Dear was arrested for allegedly going on a shooting rampage at the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood office on November 27th. (More here.) Authorities reported that Dear said "no more baby parts" after his arrest, a possible reference to a smear campaign against Planned Parenthood launched by the Center for Medical Progress, an anti-abortion group. The Colorado Springs rampage has triggered a national conversation about the relationship between vicious anti-abortion rhetoric and anti-abortion violence, a conversation that the Religious Right is reluctant to join.

In an earlier post, I argued that figures from the Religious Right were being disingenuous when they denied any connection between anti-abortion rhetoric and the shooting rampage at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood clinic. Unfortunately, several Republican presidential candidates have taken the same approach, denouncing the attack while ignoring its deeper implications.

First, Texas Senator Ted Cruz tweeted his condolences on November 28th, applauding the first responders who arrived on the scene of the Colorado Springs shooting. Ohio Governor John Kasich decried the "senseless violence" as well. (Hat tip to the Hill.)

Praying for the loved ones of those killed, those injured & first responders who bravely got the situation under control in Colorado Springs

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 28, 2015

Senseless violence has brought tragedy to Colorado Springs. I pray for the families in mourning and have hope our nation can heal. -John

— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) November 28, 2015

Ted Cruz should ask himself how his rhetoric contributed to the atmosphere of anti-abortion hatred out of which the shooting sprang. During the CNN Republican presidential debate on September 16th, Cruz blasted Planned Parenthood over a dubious smear campaign, calling the organization a "criminal enterprise".

"These Planned Parenthood videos are horrifying. I would encourage every American to watch these videos. See senior Planned Parenthood officials callously, heartlessly bartering and selling the body parts of human beings, and then ask yourself, 'are these my values'? These are horrifying. On these videos, Planned Parenthood also essentially confesses to multiple felonies. It is a felony with ten years' jail term to sell the body parts of unborn children for profit. That's what these videos show Planned Parenthood doing. Absolutely, we shouldn't be sending $500 million of taxpayer money to funding an ongoing criminal enterprise."

Unfortunately, Cruz is reluctant to reexamine his own rhetoric. In an audio segment from an Iowa event posted by the Texas Tribune, Cruz refused to consider the relationship between strident anti-abortion rhetoric and anti-abortion violence. (Hat tip to CNN.)

REPORTER: Do you think the rhetoric involved in the Planned Parenthood videos in this race had any impact or effect on the events that happened in Colorado Springs on Friday

CRUZ: Well, I think there has been some vicious rhetoric on the left blaming those who are pro-life. I'll tell you, I am proud to be unambiguously pro-life, to support protecting every human life from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. I think every human life  is a gift from God. This murder that occurred in Colorado is tragic. It is a criminal act. We don't fully know the motivations of this deranged individual. We know that he was a man who registered to vote as a woman. The media promptly wants to blame him on the pro-life movement when at this point, there is very little evidence to indicate that.

REPORTER: It was reported he said 'no more baby parts' as he was apprehended.

CRUZ: Well, it's also reported that he was registered as an independent and as a woman and a transgendered leftist activist, if that's what he is. I don't think it's fair to blame on the rhetoric of the left. This is a murderer ...

Cruz isn't the only Republican presidential candidate deflecting attention away from anti-choice rhetoric. During the November 29th edition of Fox News Sunday, Carly Fiorina called the shooting a "tragedy" and referred to the suspected shooter as "deranged". However, she rejected the idea that vitriolic anti-abortion rhetoric and smear campaigns played any role in the Colorado Springs shooting. (Hat tip to Huffington Post.)

WALLACE: You have been one of the toughest critics, as we've said, of Planned Parenthood's alleged harvesting of body parts, selling them for fetal research. Some of the pro-choice advocates are saying language like yours -- not specifically singling you out -- but language like yours has incited violence. I'd like to get your reaction to that ...

FIORINA: Well first, it is not alleged. Planned Parenthood acknowledged several weeks ago that they would no longer take compensation for body parts, which sounds like an admission that they were doing so. Secondly, this is so typical of the left, to immediately begin demonizing a messenger because they don’t agree with the message. The vast majority of Americans agree. What Planned Parenthood is doing is wrong, and that's why the vast majority of Americans are prepared not only to defund Planned Parenthood, but also to stop abortion for any reason at all after five months. So what I would say to anyone who tries to link this terrible tragedy to anyone who opposes abortion or opposes the sale of body parts is this is typical left-wing tactics.

Donald Trump was reluctant to entertain the connection as well. During the November 29th edition of NBC's Meet the Press, Donald Trump called the shooting "a terrible thing" and referred to the suspect as a "maniac". At the 7:02 mark of the above video, Chuck Todd asked Trump whether heated anti-abortion rhetoric influenced the shooter. Trump shrugged off the possibility, preferring to slam Planned Parenthood over dubious videos from the Center for Medical Progress. (Hat tip to NBC News.)

TODD: A spokesperson for Planned Parenthood ... is concerned that the heated rhetoric around the Planned Parenthood debate could have had an adverse effect, basically, on this mentally disturbed individual. Do you think the rhetoric got out of hand on Planned Parenthood?

TRUMP: No, I think he's a sick person, and I think he was probably a person ready to go. We don't even know the purpose. I mean, he hasn't come out, to the best of my knowledge, with a statement as to why it happened to be at that location ...

TODD: Well, we have reporting that he was talking about baby parts and things like that from law enforcement officials during his interview.

TRUMP: Well, I will tell you, there is a tremendous group of people that think it's terrible, all of the videos they've seen with some of these people from Planned Parenthood talking about it like you're selling parts to a car. I mean, there are a lot of people that are very unhappy about that.

Finally, Ben Carson contributed little insight to the Colorado Springs discussion. During an interview with ABC's This Week, Ben Carson did not acknowledge any connection between vicious anti-abortion rhetoric and the shooting. Rather, he argued that all sides of the abortion debate have misbehaved, insisting that "there's no saint here". (Hat tip to ABC News.)

"Unfortunately, there is a lot of extremism coming from all areas. It’s one of the biggest problems that I think is threatening to tear our country apart. We get into our separate corners and we hate each other. We want to destroy those with whom we disagree. That comes from both sides, so there’s no saint here in this equation. But what we really have to start asking ourselves is what can we do as a nation to rectify the situation? How can we begin to engage in rational discussion?"

The Republican presidential candidates seem hesitant to offend anti-abortion voters, so they tip-toe around the Colorado Springs shooting. None of these candidates seem willing to wrestle with the implications of vitriolic anti-abortion rhetoric, even in the face of anti-abortion extremism. It's a safe bet that if any of these candidates were elected president, their policies would reflect this.

We can't pretend that vitriolic language plays no role in extremist violence. While vicious anti-abortion rhetoric does not cause violence, it does demonize abortion providers and galvanize extremists. Are Republican candidates and Religious Right figures deliberately ignoring this relationship because it would force them to reexamine their attitudes and language? I think so.

Religious Right Reacts to Kim Davis' Incarceration

Kim Davis was recently taken into custody after refusing to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples in her capacity as Rowan County (Kentucky) clerk. Predictably, the Religious Right is enraged, depicting Davis as a martyr for religious freedom. The fact that Davis' religious beliefs do not absolve her of the responsibility to perform her job escapes them.

First, in an August 13th statement, Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver defended Davis while sneering at the Obergefell v. Hodges decision. In Staver's eyes, Davis' job responsibilities were changed by "five lawyers" who exceeded their authority. "Kim Davis did not sign up as a clerk to issue same-sex marriage licenses," he wrote. "Her job duty was changed by five lawyers without any constitutional authority. At a minimum, her religious convictions should be accommodated."

"Judge Bunning’s decision equated Kim’s free exercise of religion to going to church. This is absurd! Christianity is not a robe you take off when you leave a sanctuary ... The First Amendment guarantees Kim and every American the free exercise of religion, even when they are working for the government."

With no hint of irony, Concerned Women for America president Penny Nance decried the supposed "lawlessness" of the Supreme Court for putting Kim Davis in jail.

"We support Kim Davis’ right to act according to her conscience and face the consequences.  Her predicament is the direct result of the lawlessness promoted by the Supreme Court of the United States itself with its unconstitutional Obergefell decision. It’s flippant, and frankly insulting, treatment of religious liberty and Obergefell is a disgrace to that great institution.

Same-sex ‘marriage’ supporters are chastising Mrs. Davis now, but they were the same group of people that applauded with glee when public officials forced the granting of marriage certificates to same-sex couples in direct violation to their state constitutions, before the Supreme Court’s decision.  They are not concerned about the law or the constitution but simply want to promote their activism through it.

We believe the law should provide reasonable accommodation to any person who does not want to participate in a same-sex ‘marriage’ union because of their deeply held religious beliefs, as has been done in other areas throughout our history."

Family Research Council president Tony Perkins released a statement warning readers that religious liberty is in "grave danger". Perkins ignores the fact that Americans can still practice their religion freely in favor of a tiresome persecution narrative.

"Today we are witnessing what the four dissenting Supreme Court Justices warned of in the Obergefell decision: religious liberty in America is in grave danger.

While five justices on the Supreme Court created this dilemma, it is incumbent upon Congress, and in this case legislatures, to ensure orthodox religious beliefs are accommodated. Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear could solve this court-created conflict by immediately calling for a special legislative session and establishing statutory accommodations for clerks like Kim Davis.

Ultimately, this is about more than same-sex marriage licenses in Kentucky. It is about the ability of Christians and other religious people to serve in positions of public trust. If this is not resolved in a manner that accommodates the orthodox religious beliefs of Clerk Davis, this will, in effect, establish a reverse religious test barring those who hold biblical views of marriage from positions of public service. Such a religious test by proclamation or practice is wrong.

Now a court is jailing someone over this because the governor failed to act. How hard is it to change a simple form to remove her name from it? Isn't that worth doing to keep someone out of jail because of what they believe? Governor Beshear must call for a special session of the legislature and grant an accommodation to Kim Davis."

Even political leaders chimed in. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal defended Davis in an interview with the Huffington Post, accusing the government of discrimination. The fact that Davis violated the law by discriminating against same-sex couples did not seem to perturb him.

"I don't think anyone should have to choose between following their conscience and religious beliefs and giving up their job and facing financial sanctions. I think it's wrong to force Christian individuals or business owners. We are seeing government today discriminate against whether it's clerks, florists, musicians or others. I think that's wrong. I think you should be able to keep your job and follow your conscience..."

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee has loudly supported Davis. The Associated Press reports that Huckabee plans to visit Davis in jail next week and arrange a rally in support of her cause. In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, he called Davis' incarceration "the first example of the criminalization of a Christian for believing the traditional definition of marriage". Huckabee complained that Davis was "not accommodated for her faith, but was jailed without bail". In another interview with MSNBC, Huckabee blasted the Obergefell v. Hodges decision that triggered the controversy, criticizing the ruling as an affront to God.

"I believe that it's time for us to have a real clear understanding of what should be something that we learned in ninth grade civics, that the Supreme Court is not the supreme branch. It's the Supreme Court, and it certainly is not the supreme being. It cannot overrule the laws of nature and nature's God."

However, not all conservative leaders have defended Davis' actions. Huffington Post and Washington Blade report that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and presidential candidate Carly Fiorina weighed in on the controversy during an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt. Graham admitted that Davis should "comply with the law or resign" in keeping with the rule of law, and Fiorina said that any further defiance of the courts "is not appropriate". Fiorina explained that as an elected county clerk, Davis is expected to act as a arm of the government, and if she is unwilling to do so, she must consider another job.

"...this woman now needs to make a decision of conscience — is she prepared to continue to work for the government, be paid for by the government in which case she needs to execute the government’s will, or does she feel so strongly about this that she wants to sever her employment with the government and go seek employment elsewhere where her religious liberties will be paramount over her duties as a government employee?"

Graham and Fiorina notwithstanding, many right-wing figures are having difficulty understanding that Christian faith does not trump the law. Kim Davis' religious beliefs did not entitle her to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite what the Religious Right believes. Religious liberty is not under threat; Davis is not being persecuted for her faith; and America has not descended into lawlessness. Davis simply refused to do her job.

The Planned Parenthood Controversy: Anti-Abortion Activists Call for Defunding

As discussed in a prior post, the Center for Medical Progress has launched a video smear campaign against Planned Parenthood, accusing Planned Parenthood of illegally selling fetal tissue derived from abortions. In reality, Planned Parenthood donates fetal tissue to medical research, which is perfectly legal.

As the controversy rages, anti-abortion activists are demonizing Planned Parenthood with gusto. Many anti-abortion figures are repeating their usual calls to defund the organization, ignoring both the lack of evidence of any illegal activity and the many positive health care services it provides.

For example, Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina demanded that Planned Parenthood be defunded during her visit to the Iowa State Fair. In this C-SPAN video, Fiorina spouts the usual right-wing myths about Planned Parenthood, accusing it of targeting poor women and pressuring women to terminate pregnancies.

"I am pro-life, and I believe science is proving us right every day, but you do not have to be pro-life to understand the hideous nature of what is going on here. This is about the moral character of our nation, when you can have employees who target poor communities, who are pushing women into later term abortions so they can more successfully harvest body parts, even thought late term abortions are demonstrably bad for women. You can only be horrified when you see employees picking over a petri dish for body parts while they say, 'look, it's a baby'. There is no excuse. Planned Parenthood must be defunded."  

In an August 20th statement at the Concerned Women for America website, Jaime Ballew accused the mainstream media of biased reporting on the video controversy. Ballew then accused Planned Parenthood of greedily seeking profits (despite Planned Parenthood's status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit) and raged against taxpayer funding for the group.

"The (now seven) videos from the Center for Medical Progress have clearly outlined Planned Parenthood’s disregard for not only life but also the law. Another heartbreaking facet is how the mainstream media choses to ignore these facts to better serve their own interests. Instead of fair and unbiased reporting, the media chooses sides and overwhelmingly reports on pieces that illicit a response that does not inconvenience anyone or make anyone unnecessarily uncomfortable."

[...]

Planned Parenthood has an agenda, and to think that their sole interest is women is a lie. Over and over again one thing has come across loud and clear: Planned Parenthood is concerned with the bottom line; they’ve said so themselves. It is appalling that a cent of taxpayer money has gone towards the vicious annihilation of a generation, especially considering Planned Parenthood tops one billion dollars in assets. Even if no taxpayer funds go directly into providing abortions, those dollars allow Planned Parenthood to keep the lights on and print pink t-shirts to hand out to their blind celebrity following. Do not be deceived; taxpayer funding allows Planned Parenthood to more efficiently operate."

Arina Grossu, director of the Family Research Council's Center for Human Dignity, also cited the videos in her call to defund Planned Parenthood.

"With the release of two more videos this week showing several other senior officials at Planned Parenthood callously and casually discussing sale of babies’ organs as if they were selling car parts, this country has been presented with another reminder of the ugly realities of the abortion industry. Even pro-abortion Americans have been shocked and sickened by what goes on behind closed doors at Planned Parenthood.

[...]

When will we decide we’ve had enough? How much more appalling evidence do we need from Planned Parenthood before we officially cut ties between the taxpayer and this abortion giant that scavenges baby parts and haggles for the cost of each ‘specimen’? Planned Parenthood must not receive one penny more of hard-earned taxpayer dollars."

Seán O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop's Committee on Pro-Life Activities, echoed the call to defund Planned Parenthood in an August 3rd letter to the U.S. Senate.

"The most recent revelations about Planned Parenthood’s willingness to traffic in fetal tissue from abortions, and to alter abortion methods not for any reason related to women’s health but to obtain more “intact” organs, is the latest demonstration of a callousness toward women and their unborn children that is shocking to many Americans.

The Catholic Church comes to this issue from a perspective rooted in experience. Catholic charitable agencies and pregnancy help centers have helped countless pregnant women find life-affirming alternatives to abortion. Our hospitals and other health facilities are second to none in providing quality health care for women.

We support the legislative proposal to reallocate federal funding, so that women can obtain their health care from providers that do not promote abortion. It is my sincere hope that you will be able to help advance this goal by supporting S. 1881."

Live Action, an anti-abortion group with tactics similar to the Center for Medical Progress, also joined the chorus. In an August 3rd statement, Lila Rose called on lawmakers to defund Planned Parenthood.

"The public outcry against Planned Parenthood continues to grow as we learn about the atrocities within the abortion giant’s facilities. I have to believe that those Senators who voted against defunding Planned Parenthood must have never actually viewed the videos released by Center for Medical Progress, where multiple high-level Planned Parenthood executives have been caught on tape negotiating prices for the bodies of aborted preborn children while they cavalierly talk about “crushing” certain body parts to preserve “five-star” organs for sale. This, just the latest in years of mounting evidence against Planned Parenthood. We call on elected officials to cut close-knit ties with Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry lobby."

Some of the anti-Planned Parenthood rhetoric is downright strange. In a July 31st press release, Alveda King linked Planned Parenthood's alleged sale of fetal tissue to a Satanic Temple fundraiser. King likened reproductive rights to the "three headed demonic force" of racism, "sexual perversion", and "reproductive genocide", thereby demonizing Planned Parenthood as an infernal enemy of people of color. (Hat tip to Right Wing Watch.)

"In a news flash, a devil-worshipping group calling itself the Satanic Temple is raising funds to promote abortion-on-demand to counter legal efforts such as the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act and 20-week abortion bans. A highly publicized ceremonial unveiling of a satanic figure, an event billed as the "largest public satanic ceremony in history," sold $25 and $75 tickets, the proceeds of which will be used to support the reproductive rights legal action fund.

Why connect the two? It's a three headed demonic force.

Again, the pro-life struggle is part of a bigger battle going on in our world - a battle for souls - a battle between good and evil. Many don't understand; in today's culture, people like Cecile Richards call evil, good and good, evil. They are backed by so much money; their lying message is repeated so often, people begin to believe it; creating a ball of confusion."

If these anti-abortion voices had done their research, they would have learned that Planned Parenthood has not been illegally selling fetal tissue, merely donating it to medical research in exchange for transport reimbursement. Furthermore, a few minutes of research would have shown them that several states have investigated Planned Parenthood and found no evidence of illegal activity. Finally, anti-abortion figures ignore Planned Parenthood's positive contributions to public health, such as abortion services, contraception, STD testing, cancer screening, and sex education.

Anti-abortion figures aren't going to countenance that evidence any time soon. Their animosity toward Planned Parenthood cannot be pacified with facts or logical arguments. Their efforts to undermine women's reproductive rights will continue, forcing pro-choice advocates to remain vigilant. Expect more hyperbole and more myths as the video controversy rages on.