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January 19, 2006

Taking on anti-choicers for being anti-choice

Amanda at Pandagon is blogging for choice.

I was overjoyed to see that Chris Mooney has come over to the dark side of folks who are refusing to pretend that anti-choice is about babies or puppies or anything like that and instead taking a good, hard look at how the anti-choice movement is primarily run by sex-phobic ideologues who have it in their heads that child-bearing is woman’s punishment for having a sexuality. He’s reviewing a book called How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved America, which I’ve wishlisted, since it sounds really good. From Chris’s post:

Conservative Christians are cultural traditionalists who are trying to impose a larger moral vision upon society. They’re also complete absolutists in their thinking. This leads them to oppose contraception out of the fear that it promotes promiscuity even though wider availability of contraception would nevertheless also decrease the number of abortions (Plan B emergency contraception being a perfect example).

In short, the anti-abortionists aren’t necessarily who you think they are: They are far more radical, and way out of touch with mainstream American culture, which has long since accepted the notion of women regulating their own fertility.

The important thing to remember about the anti-choice movement is not only are they anti-sex, they are specifically anti-woman. (And generally anti-gay, though that’s a whole ‘nother post.) Like Chris says here, it’s about having a very narrow view of what’s moral–specifically, adherence to strict gender roles is “morality”–and it’s motivated by a belief that they are entitled to force their views on others through the law.

Read the full post at Pandagon.


Posted by at January 19, 2006 10:25 AM

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Comments

My view on this is that it is not about anti-sex. It is anti-empowerment for women. How many leading figures in this debate on the side of stifling rights for women, are women? I counted on one hand, and still have fingers free to include. It is about retaining controlling power and having free reign to the money coffers that continue to roll in.
Swigert gets caught in seedy hotels with prostitutes, Baker sexually abuses members of his congregation. Priests and ministers get indicted, almost daily, for pedephile assaults. Is this what the anti-sex message is that they wish to promote? The Catholic church, by it's own admission has doled out over a billion dollars of settlement money to quash criminal indictments. Should make a devout church goer happy when they place their envelopes of money in the collection basket at Sunday mass. Father Does legal fees! AS an aside, I must include men who are youth leaders, and teachers, as well as gym coaches who also preach the same mantra, and end up in court with charges of sexual abuse.
Do not missinterpret this as a universal indictment on all such proffessional individuals, or all people of faith. I just feel the most vocifirous rantings come from the most guilty of the above nentioned crimes. A covering of their tracts, if you will.
The other point is that, though they may be free of any sex crimes, their overriding concern is to retain the control and power they have achieved in their positions. Over their congregation, and their dominance over women in their proper role as they perceive that to be.
In all fairness, I have known many priests and nuns, and persons of faith, who have nothing but the will to promote well being for society. That I disagree with their methods is immaterial. We share the same common goal. My message here is to exort them to reclaim the principals and idealogys that have been hi-jacked by those hypocrites that are causing great harm to the women of our society, for their personal benefit, and advancement of power. Perhaps we can finally find some common ground on how we can best eliminate the need for abortion, and find a way to address the inherrent rights of women, that do not keep us at each others' throats


Posted by: robert at January 20, 2006 3:06 AM

This is perfectly correct.

It's also correct to point the finger at groups like Promise Keepers (hilarious take on them which shows their deep rooted misogyny here) and the Bible in general. A darker view of the religious right's domination in Washington, DC can be found in Jesus, Plus Nothing, by Jeff Sharlett. He doesn't focus on the misogyny as a focus of the article, but its an important article nonetheless for understanding these same people.

I'm sorry it turns out to be true, since it won't play well in the sticks, but the Bible is deeply sexist, and that the newly empowered "religious right" is strongly linked to these anti-choice groups.

I'm not sure it's technically correct to say the Bible is anti-woman[1], but it is for the subjugation of women, which is only marginally better.

[1] Anti-Nazis want Nazis destroyed. Christian Conservatives want women who aren't allowed to say no.


Posted by: JoshNarins at January 20, 2006 9:20 AM