Pro-life supporters have always been opposed to legislation like Roe v. Wade and organizations like Planned Parenthood, but now, emboldened by a Republican-dominated House of Representatives, these supporters have become much more bold in proclaiming their agenda.
Across the country they've made ultrasound presentations and presented fetal heartbeats during legislative sessions and paid for larger-than-life billboards that announce abortion as the top threat to African Americans.
They're picketing against new Planned Parenthood clinics and supporting legislation requiring additional counseling and a 72-hour wait before a woman is allowed an abortion.
On a national level, they pushed and applauded a vote by the House of Representatives to cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood that would go toward contraceptives and cancer screenings. Federal law already prevents the organization from using federal dollars for abortion services.
And as a follow-up to the decision, the anti-abortion advocacy group, Susan B. Anthony List, has even produced television and radio ads featuring six Republican representatives who voted in favor of the funding cut.
Opponents and pro-choice advocates are decrying such steps, calling a recent demonstration "a circus" at the Ohio Legislature after two women were modestly given ultrasounds in front of the legislators so the babies' heartbeats could be played over the sound system.
And the giant ads in New York, which featured a 6-year-old black girl and the phrase, "The most dangerous place for African Americans is in the womb," was pulled down after a slew of criticism, including concern from the girl's own mother, who had no idea her daughter's modeling photo would be used in such a controversial ad. The mother says she is still waiting for an apology from the advertising company.
Pro-choice advocates see the tactics as attacks on a woman's freedom of choice and damaging not only to women but also to the health of the country.
Planned Parenthood officials say that by providing birth control, cancer screening and family planning counseling to lower-income women, they help prevent thousands of unplanned, unwanted pregnancies and save the government hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
However, many question Planned Parenthood's motives, arguing that they're far more involved in promoting a political agenda than in helping women. Writing for the Daily Beast, Kirsten Powers reports that while Planned Parenthood claims the money it gets to provide contraceptives helps reduce unwanted pregnancies, a study released in January listed the reasons women get abortions and none included lack of access to contraceptives. Those results are the same as 10 years ago.
The Guttmacher Institute, which was founded by Planned Parenthood, created the study. The study found that just 8 percent of women who undergo abortions have never used a method of birth control.
email: sisraelsen@desnews.com