Abortion

Abortion

Fear.

The great motivator.

A few days ago, I received an “alert” from a national pro-choice organization asking me to send them money to help protect some abortion clinics in New Mexico.  It seems that the powerful, anti-abortion group known as Operation Rescue is holding a series of protests against abortion providers in that area and this pro-choice group was concerned that this would “incite violence.”

Okay, I will admit that anything could happen.  Yes, someone could go nuts, start shooting, run into the abortion facility, accost a woman seeking an abortion.  Shit happens and you can’t control everyone out there.   And I certainly appreciate the desire of this pro-choice group to protect the clinics but let’s get real here.  (I always feel like I’m saying “let’s get real” in these blogs).

First of all, what can this abortion rights group do to stop this possible “violence?”   If I contributed one million dollars to them right now, just sat down and wrote a check and couriered it over to them, what would they do with it to protect the clinics?  I guess they could buy some bullet proof vests for the workers, but the would-be murderers now know to aim at the head.  They could pay for some more rent-a-cops, but will that really help?   I mean, c’mon folks, what do you need money for?

Second, this abortion rights group is giving Operation Rescue a lot more credit than they deserve.  In its hey-day, Operation Rescue was a force to be reckoned with.  They got thousands of protestors to surround Doctor George Tiller’s clinic in the early 1990’s.  They could get hundreds of people at a moment’s notice to block access to abortion clinics.  They were all over the national news and they literally struck fear in the hearts of abortion clinic workers and owners.

Then, the Congress passed a federal law protecting the clinics, the bullets started flying giving Operation Rescue and other anti- abortion groups a bad name, OR started broadening their agenda to include things like opposition to gay rights.  As a result, their movement, and particularly the organization, started dying.  I do believe that Operation Rescue is still headed by Mr. Flip Benham, who is based in Charlotte, North Carolina and, yes, he still causes problems for one clinic down there every Saturday.  But Operation Rescue is nothing like it used to be.    I mean, it’s a joke.

So, I imagine that Flip put out his press release recently, saying that they’re going to New Mexico to do something exciting but I will tell you that they will not get a lot of people to attend the event and they’ll just gather around the clinic, sing songs and pray most of the time.  And, I would add, they have a constitutional right to do just that.

Meanwhile, however, the pro-choice groups, no doubt hurting for money because we have a pro-choice President and everyone believes abortion is safe for the future, are using the specter of “violence” to fatten up their coffers.

Just frighten people and they’ll respond.  George Bush taught us that lesson well.