I Was an Anti-Abortion Crusader. Now I Support Roe v. Wade.

[StevieM]

~snip~

For more than 30 years I worked to overturn Roe v. Wade. As an evangelical minister, I was deeply engaged in the world of the religious right, beginning with my vote for Ronald Reagan for president in 1980. I believed he would appoint Supreme Court justices committed to protecting unborn children, and Antonin Scalia, appointed in 1986, fulfilled my expectations. Later, when President George Bush nominated to the court another strong pro-lifer, Clarence Thomas, I led a vigil at our church to pray for his confirmation.

During those years I also recruited, trained and directed thousands of protesters who blocked the doors to abortion clinics, marched in the streets to denounce “baby killing” and staged sit-ins at the offices of legislators. I was a leader of Operation Rescue, the activist pro-life group; I helped stage the epic 1992 anti-abortion demonstrations in Buffalo. I went to jail and paid exorbitant fines for my advocacy, and was even arrested by the Secret Service for my role in thrusting an aborted fetus at Gov. Bill Clinton during his 1992 presidential campaign. Eventually, I founded a national organization to advance the anti-abortion agenda.

Given my history, you might think I would be thrilled at the perilous threshold at which Roe now stands, following the passage of sweeping new abortion restrictions in such states as Alabama, Georgia and Missouri. I’m not.

Over the last decade, I have changed my view on Roe. I’ve come to believe that overturning Roe would not be “pro-life”; rather, it would be destructive of life. I have witnessed firsthand and now appreciate the full significance of the terrible poverty, social marginalization and baldfaced racism that persists in many of the states whose legislators are now essentially banning abortion. If Roe is overturned, middle- and upper-class white women will still secure access to abortions by traveling to states where abortion is not banned, but members of minorities and poor whites will too often find themselves forced to bear children for whom they cannot adequately care.

Read More: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/30/opinion/abortion-schenck.html?login=email&auth=login-email

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. My first question to him would have been

"Have you ever been pregnant?" I suspect he'd have answered no, and then I'd have asked, "Do you have a uterus?" Then I'd go on to, "Are you a medical doctor?" "Are you in favor of universal access to birth control?" "How about universal coverage of all expenses connected to pregnancy and childbirth?" "How would you guarantee that the fathers of these unwanted pregnancies are held accountable?"

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. He finally saw the light, after so many years of fighting pro-choice women.

It's really too bad his enlightenment didn't come decades ago, when it might have helped.

But at least he's sincere. I hope his voice will be heard throughout the land. He might even help undo the harm his stance has wrought.

[procon]

3. Empty words, given all decades of misery and heartache he's caused.

Where's his activism now? Is he testifying in state and federal hearings in support of women who want the right to their own free and equitable body autonomy? Is he rising in support of keeping abortion safe and accessible for all women without state interference ad public shaming?

Nothing was mentioned in his exculpatory prose, so as far as his excuses go... meh... he's not even close to warranting any forgiveness.

[BigmanPigman]

4. DITTO! Every word!

[demigoddess]

5. I remember an article in a major newspaper back in the 60s. It told of a woman who

went to England to get an abortion. No backlash against her. It was alright if you could afford it. It was only illegal if you couldn't leave the country and do it.

I also have a feeling the pro-life movement isn't because they are pro-life, but because they want a large pool of workers to keep wages low and lots of men to go into the military because they can't get decent jobs any other way. Not pro-life, pro needing a really poor class to keep the wealthy wealthy and safe. And maybe to feel good if they want to start another war.