Crossposted at DemocraticDiva.com
I’m in the middle of reading Katha Pollitt’s Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights, which is, among other things, an excellent examination of the illogical and inconsistent stances of anti-choice activists. Just to pick one example, of many:
Why is it rare to see large groups of people praying the rosary in front of fertility clinics or shouting at the women on the way in? Why don’t fertility specialists have to wear bulletproof vests? Why don’t hospitals deny them admitting privileges the way they do doctors who perform abortions? The difference between a petri dish and the womb isn’t in the embryos, it’s in the woman’s perceived intention. The woman undergoing IVF is fulfilling her traditional motherly role, even if she kills a lot of embryos in the process; the woman undergoing abortion is seen as rejecting it, even if she already has six kids.