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June 4, 2010

Are They Really Pro-Choice?

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion & Religion, Abortion Candidates, Abortion Discussion, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Information, Abortion Late, Abortion Law, Abortion Medical, Abortion Mifeprex, Abortion Pill, Abortion Rates, Abortion Rights | Tags: , , , |
[49] Comments 

The other day I wrote about how a reporter for Fox News let Governor Mitt Romney off the hook when Romney suggested that he is “pro-life.” I expressed my puzzlement that the reporter did not ask the obvious follow up question which would have flushed out exactly what “pro-life” meant. I argued that it was one thing to say you’re “pro-life,” but it’s another thing to say that, as President, you are going to fight to make abortion illegal in this country again.

Well, this duplicity works on the pro-choice side as well.

First of all, like Mitt Romney (who used to be pro-choice), there are many politicians who have flipped from the pro-life side to the pro-choice side. I’ll never forget years ago, when the Reverend Jesse Jackson indicated his interest in securing the Democratic Party’s nomination for President. Until that point, Jackson had been openly pro-life. But he could read the tea leaves and he knew that the Democratic Party activists, i.e., the ones who would name the nominee, were overwhelmingly pro-choice. So, Jackson simply switched his position. There are others who did the same. Congressman Edward Markey of Massachusetts once got the notion of being a U.S. Senator from that state. Markey, a strong Catholic, had voted pro-life for many years and it served him well in his heavily Catholic district. However, when he started to focus on a statewide seat and looked at the polls, he knew he had to switch to pro-choice. He did, but still didn’t get the nomination. Interestingly, he remained in Congress and voted pro-choice from then on with no damage to his office. Then, there was Senator Edward Kennedy who, in the early days, argued that “life begins at conception.” Ultimately, however, he made the slow switch over to the pro-choice position.

But what does it mean to be pro-choice? Here’s where you have to be careful. There are a number of politicians who say they are pro-choice, but that just means that they would not make abortion illegal in this country. Ultimately, however, his or her constituents might discover that their Member of Congress actually supports parental consent laws, 24 hour waiting periods, informed consent laws and other proposals that restrict access to abortion services. Sorry, folks, I forgot to tell you about that one!

So, when some politician gets up and says they are pro-life or pro-choice, don’t let them off the hook! Ask the follow up questions, just like the reporters do at the White House press conferences. Delve into their feelings about the issue. After all, chances are very high that that politician will never get a chance to vote on the legalization of abortion, but they will be voting on the ancillary issues, on proposals that practically make the right to abortion null and void.

 

June 2, 2010

Paul Hill and Me

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion & Religion, Abortion Discussion, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Medical, Abortion Rights, Abortion Violence | Tags: , , , , , |
[31] Comments 

I met Paul Hill about a week after Doctor David Gunn was killed in Pensacola, Florida.  We were about to take the stage of The Donohue Show and we were munching vegetables in the “green room.”  I introduced myself, not knowing who he was, but we didn’t have time to talk.  Minutes later, he was telling a national television audience that it was “justifiable homicide” to kill a doctor who performed abortions.  Three other pro-choice spokespeople were on the stage with us and I sat next to Paul.

When he started talking, I thought the audience was going to lynch him.  No one had ever heard this kind of talk.  More interestingly, it was coming from a pleasant looking man with a sheepish grin, not your typical rabble-rousing, screaming zealot.  He seemed like an Iowa farm boy who had gotten lost in the Big Apple.  During the commercial breaks, I chatted with him a bit as I was always interested in knowing how “the other side” thinks.

Over the next few months, I would see Paul at various pro-life demonstrations.  As a staff person for the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, I would go to the events to lend support to the clinics that we represented.  If I saw Paul outside, I would simply walk through the hundreds of protestors and go up to him, shake his hand, ask how the kids were.  If we had time, we would sit and chat about his views.  He would ask me lots of questions about how abortions were performed and the women who sought them.

At one point, at a demonstration in Birmingham, Alabama, I asked him if he thought it was okay to kill a doctor, then why hadn’t he done it himself?   “You know, Pat, that’s a good question and a lot of people ask me the same thing,” he said.  “But I feel I can do more as a leader of this movement than a doer.”   He then told me how many of his colleagues in the pro-life movement had been harassing him about his theory, almost calling his bluff.  Indeed, during the same rally, a leader of the anti-abortion group, Operation Rescue, asked me if I would give him any “intelligence” on Hill because they were concerned that he might kill a doctor.  Talk about a bizarre situation.

In March, 1994, NCAP held an open air rally at the site of Doctor Gunn’s murder to commemorate the one year anniversary of that horrible event.  About 100 abortion doctors and staff attended the ceremony.  Paul Hill was the only protestor there.  There were a few security guards circulating around, but they really didn’t offer much protection to us.   Throughout the ceremony, Hill just walked around the edge of the group with a large sign, but he was very quiet.

Later that year, Paul Hill killed Doctor Britton in Pensacola.  I never thought he could pull the trigger, but I was wrong.  He was quickly convicted and sentenced to die.

A few months later, filled with some liquid courage, I called Paul at his jail.  It was just a spur of the moment thing.  The receptionist told me he couldn’t accept calls, so I left a message.   The next morning, I was at my desk in the office when the phone rang and our receptionist buzzed me.  “Pat, it’s Paul Hill.”  I almost lost my lunch.

“Hello, Paul.”

“Hello, Pat, how are you?”

“Well, I guess I’m better than you, Paul.”   I hesitated, then decided to just jump in.  “Paul, why the hell did you kill Doctor Britton?   What did you think you would accomplish?”

“Well, Pat, I thought it was time to send a signal to others to take up the cause.”  I felt like I was having an out of body experience, talking to a guy on death row.

“Okay, Paul, but here’s what I don’t understand.  When we had our open air event in Pensacola and you were walking around, there were about 100 abortion providers there with no protection, we were all sitting ducks.   Why didn’t you just wipe us all out at that point?”

“Well, Pat, don’t think I didn’t think about it but, honestly, I ultimately decided that I didn’t want to disrupt your event.  You always were respectful of my opinions, so….”

I didn’t hear the rest of what he said.  My mind just could not register his words.   Then, I ultimately heard him invite me to his execution.  My head started spinning again, but through my haze I told him that I didn’t support capital punishment so I had to decline his invitation.  A few months later, Paul Hill left this world, leaving his wife and two children behind.

 

June 1, 2010

Mr. Romney and Abortion

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion & Religion, Abortion Candidates, Abortion Discussion, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Information, Abortion Late, Abortion Law, Abortion Medical, Abortion Rights, Vote | Tags: |
[4] Comments 

Yesterday, in the comfort of my air-conditioned basement, I was channel surfing when I suddenly saw the image of Mitt Romney, the erstwhile Republican presidential candidate.  He was being interviewed by Juan Williams from Fox TV.  Romney, of course, has a new book out that he is hawking, the title being something macho like “America Without Apologies.”   Don’t quote me on that.  Of course, this confirms that he is running again for President as it seems to be a prerequisite that you have to write a book before you run for President.

At one point, Williams asked Romney the question:  “Tell me, Mr. Romney, how do you feel about abortion?”

I always laugh at this point because I have no doubt that whenever any politician is asked that question, their blood pressure goes up a little.  No one running for office ever wants to talk about the issue for good reason.  No matter what they say, they’re gonna piss off someone out there in the audience.

After a moment, Romney says “well, Juan, I am pro-life.”

Juan stares at him, nods his head knowingly, I move to the edge of my seat waiting for the follow up question and – nothing.  Williams just asks about the Olympics or something else as equally inane.  What the heck!

“I am pro-life.”

That’s it, Mitt?   No explanation?

For those of you who have been following Romney’s career, you know that he was Governor of (flaming liberal until Scott Brown won now we don’t know what you should call us) Massachusetts and, in that capacity, he was unabashedly pro-choice.   Then, lo and behold, he started thinking about running for President on the Republican ticket and soon learned that there was now way he could get the nomination if he was pro-choice.  So, he “converted.”  Just flat out announced one day:  “Oh, by the way, I am pro-life.”

Now a politician flip flopping on an issue is not unusual, including the abortion issue.  I’m not gonna get into that discussion.  What caused me to drop my Coors light into my tub of Kentucky Fried was the shock of Juan Williams letting him get away with that simple answer.  First of all, what does that mean exactly?   Isn’t everyone “pro-life” in one way or another?   Second, if I were a hard core, anti-abortion Republican and Romney wanted my support I would ask the obvious follow up question:

“Does that mean, Mr. Romney, that you support a constitutional amendment banning abortion and, if so, will you use the Presidency to get such an amendment passed in the Congress and the states?”

It’s an obvious question because so many Republicans in the past have given lip service to the pro-life movement but, for fear of angering the political middle, they really do nothing to help them reach their ultimate goal of making abortion illegal in this country.  Remember George Bush and his wimpy support for the “culture of life?”   What the hell did that mean?  Even Ronald Reagan, the darling of conservatives, ticked off the pro-life movement with his very lukewarm support of the Hatch Constitutional Amendment banning abortion.  Oh, sure, they all give a speech to the troops when they hold their annual “March for Life” in Washington, D.C. but that is just tossing them a bone.  Still, the troops suck it up, they are oh so thrilled that the President would address them (not in person but from the White House) before they marched onto the Supreme Court.  It is just so easy to pull the wool over people’s eyes.  It happens all the time on a lot of different issues.

So, Mitt, what exactly are ya gonna do to make abortion illegal in this country if you get into the White House?  Or, are ya gonna do anything?

 

May 26, 2010

Shut up, Doctor Carhart!

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Advocates, Abortion Candidates, Abortion Discussion, Abortion Doctor, Abortion Doctor Murder, Abortion Heroes, Abortion Information, Abortion Late, Abortion Law, Abortion Medical, Abortion Mifeprex, Abortion Pill, Abortion Rates, Abortion Rights, Abortion RU486, Abortion Violence | Tags: , , , |
[15] Comments 

One of my dearest friends in the world is Doctor Leroy Carhart.  Doctor Carhart is a physician who performs abortions in the tiny hamlet of Bellevue, Nebraska.   He has been doing abortions for decades – and, I should add, he has been doing late term abortions over those years.  In the last ten years or so, he became an outspoken advocate for abortion rights and, in fact, years ago he challenged the “Partial Birth Abortion Act,” a case that ultimately made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In addition to working in Nebraska, for years Doctor Carhart had been traveling to Wichita, Kansas where he helped out Doctor George Tiller, a specialist in very late term abortions.  As we all know by now, Doctor Tiller was murdered almost one year ago and soon thereafter, his clinic – his beautiful clinic – was shut down.

But Lee Carhart came to the rescue.   Within hours of the murder, he was proudly announcing to the media that he would take over the late term abortion doctor mantle in order to help all of those women who normally would have gone to Doctor Tiller.  He was all over the media, he started giving more speeches, and he pumped up his website.  For good reason, he was applauded for his courage and his loyalty to his dear, departed friend.

A few weeks after Doctor Tiller’s murder, I caught up with Lee at a memorial service in Washington, D.C.  He shared some wonderful thoughts with the crowd and afterwards I was escorted to a private room to see him.  It had been years, so we had a good hug, a few tears were shed and then I looked him directly in the eye and said “Lee, shut the hell up.”

He was incredulous.  For years, working through the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, I encouraged him (and his colleagues) to speak openly about what he did, to no longer hide in the shadows anymore.   My argument was that if abortion doctors were open about what they did and talked honestly about their work, then it would prevent the anti-abortion movement from filling in the information gap with their own distorted interpretation of things.  So, Lee started talking – and talking and talking.  Ultimately, he became one of our leading spokesmen.

But now I was telling him to shut up.

“Lee,” I said as I put my hands on his shoulders, “you now have a lot of patients that are relying on you.  You need to be here for them.  But when you go on television, you’re making yourself a target for some nut ball out there who might get the notion of taking out the next George Tiller.”

He was a little stunned at first and, as he often does, he started mumbling about how he understood what I was saying but….

“But what?” I screamed.  “You’ve got an obligation to thousands of women and to George Tiller.  You need to be there every day for your patients.   You cannot go around making speeches everywhere, walking through crowds.  You’re gonna get yourself shot, Lee, and I don’t want to have to come to another memorial service.”

He listened but I don’t think he heard me.

And yesterday I saw an announcement that he will be speaking at the national conference for the National Organization for Women in Boston in a few weeks.

Oh well…..Go get ’em, Lee.

 

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