Dear Pro-Life Partners, March 15, 2022

For those of you who don’t know, I am a woman. A tired woman. Not because I am
juggling a career and family, homeschooling a passel of kids, planning a wedding, or
caring for an elderly parent. I am tired of my womanhood being weaponized to justify
violent action against another innocent human being. Abortion proponents aghast that
a woman’s rights are being violated create a smokescreen to cloud the real issues. A
child’s right to life and a woman’s right to reproduce, although they often intersect, are
two separate issues. Dr. P.S. Haskell likens abortion to slavery because unborn children
are being relegated to property, “owned” by mothers who can dispose of the
defenseless without regard for their welfare (World, 1/29/22).
The Rev. Amelia Fulbright seems comfortable with that
hierarchy. She stated in an interview, “I believe so deeply in
the dignity of every person, that our bodies are so sacred. I
just feel like I have no choice but to speak.” That sounds great
until you realize that what she is speaking out about is that
she supports abortion because she believes women’s bodies
are sacred and the pro-life movement is oppressive. She later
revealed that she holds to the Jewish teaching that until a
child’s first breath, the mother’s life takes precedence (Life
News, 11/15/21). This teaching actually has more than one
interpretation, but even taken literally, defining a mother’s
precedence as the right to kill her child is a stretch.
Is a women’s body sacred? Absolutely. Do women have the right to liberty, autonomy, and privacy? Of course.
Is this right outlined in the Constitution? Sure. Does this have anything to do with whether or not they have
the right to choose whether their unborn child lives? Of course not. The problem that we often run into when
“special” or minority groups are seeking equal rights is that they don’t stop at equal rights, but start to expect
special rights. Which other groups are demanding the right to take the life of another with no consequence?

A speaker for the Rally for Abortion Justice last October, feminist Kenya Martin, didn’t feel the need to justify
her views with religion. She stated, “It’s okay to have abortions after some --- sex simply because you don’t
want to be pregnant.” So...abortion equals birth control. Another speaker, Anna, went before a judge as a
pregnant teenager to get permission to get an abortion without her parents’ knowledge. She stated, “Do you
know what I wanted to say to the judge? ‘I am not a baby-making machine, and I should be able to decide if
and when I become pregnant’ “ (LifeNews, 11/2/21). Well...you kinda can.
I’m sorry, ladies, that carrying a child may be scary, burdensome, painful or inconvenient. I’m sorry that
wanted intimacy may produce an unwanted pregnancy. But as women, let’s practice what we preach. We are
strong and capable. Let’s demonstrate it by refusing to cave into the lie that we need to eliminate hardships in
order to be successful or realize our dreams. Rep. Donald Bryer of Virginaia perpetuated this lie when he
wrote, “Abortion access is the key to economic freedom (for women)” (LifeNews, 1/31/22). He goes o to cite
“financial security”, “economic consequences”, “wages”, and “career opportunities” as justification for legal,
unrestricted abortions. This train of thought demeans women and dismisses children. Bryer’s next campaign
slogan could be, “Lucre over Life!”

A different group of feminists has it right. An amicus brief filed in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health
Organization case by “240 Women Scholars and Professionals and Pro-Life Feminists Organizations” states,
“FCLNY [Feminists Choosing Life of New York] believes that there is no causal connection between women’s
equality and the ‘right to abortion’ set forth in Roe vs. Wade, and that the judicially-created right to abortion
has oppressed rather than empower (sic) women” (LifeSite News, 8/10/21). In short, FCLNY believes that it is
grotesque to suggest abortion is a prerequisite to equality. Amen.
Partnering with You for Life,

Linda Verhulst, MRL-WR *Feel free to copy and distribute.