Wednesday, August 17, 2005

"The Defeat and Decline of the Pro-Choice Movement in the Foreseeable Future"?

Wendy McElroy, the pro-choice editor of ifeminists.com, has an interesting article today at FoxNews.com on the NARAL smear-ad of John Roberts. Here are some excerpts:

On the surface, this incident is remarkable enough but its underlying message is even more significant. I think it signals the defeat and decline of the pro-choice movement in the foreseeable future.

Senators will continue to debate; legislative battles will be waged on the state level; protesters will still scream at each other in the streets. But the very fact that NARAL -- America's leading advocate for abortion rights -- thought blatant dishonesty was the strongest card to play reveals a shocking depth of intellectual bankruptcy that is too common in the overall movement....

As a pro-choice advocate, I am ashamed of NARAL, an organization with which I never associated. I am ashamed of the anti-Roberts ad that typifies much of pro-choice rhetoric: a scorched-earth policy in which goodwill and truth are the first two items incinerated....

...The pro-choice side must acknowledge the legitimate arguments pro-life advocates have brought to the debate. For example, although I argue for legalized abortion, from listening to pro-life positions I now have profound moral doubts about abortion and strenuously encourage alternate solutions, like adoption.

She also has some good words about how pro-lifers need to be more vocal in condemning violence against abortion clinics.