Alternate facts & the March for Life

UPDATE: I feel uncomfortable whenever I post something about abortion because the image of pro-life people is that of sweet kindly baby-lovers and to be pro-choice is to be seen as cold, cruel, selfish. That's public perception but when you look at actual cases, you might see things differently.

For instance, read Andrew Sullivan's series on the personal stories of women who had to get late term abortions. Or read about the case of the nine year old Brazilian girl who was pregnant with twins after being raped by her stepfather. Her doctors told her she would die without an abortion but the church did its best to keep her from getting one. When the church failed, it excommunicated her mother and her doctors. And then there is the case of Savita Halappanavar, a Hindu woman living in Ireland who was refused an abortion when she miscarried and she died as a result: Miscarrying woman denied an abortion dies in Ireland.

Pro-life people don't care about the lives of girls and women. I don't think they even care about fetuses, because they won't promote the one thing that really reduces abortion - contraception. I think what's really at stake for them is controlling women's reproductive lives. So, even though it makes me uncomfortable, I will keep posting about this subject. Oh, and for the record, no, I have never had an abortion. Now, here's the original post ....

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The March for Life happened and VP Pence spoke there (see Mike Pence’s March for Life Address Was Mawkish Doublespeak and Why Do Pro-Life Activists Seem Only to Care About Unborn Lives?).

One of the things he said was that "life is winning in America". I just want to point out that this, like so many statements made by the Trump administration and by the pro-life movement, is of questionable veracity .....

- As of 2016, public support for legal abortion is as high as it has been in two decades of polling. Currently, 57% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 39% say it should be illegal in all or most cases. - Pew Research Center

- A large majority of voters support the 44-year-old Supreme Court decision that established women’s abortion rights — and oppose efforts to end federal funding of Planned Parenthood — according to a new poll released Friday. The Quinnipiac University poll — which shows 70 percent of voters agree with the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade — was released on the day anti-abortion demonstrators rally in Washington, and six days before President Donald Trump is slated to name his nominee to fill a vacancy on the high court. - Poll: Voters favor Roe, oppose cutting Planned Parenthood funds

Yes, given Trump is anti-abortion and will appoint an anti-abortion justice to the Supreme Court, it may look as though "life" will win, but that's certainly not a done deal ....

- Why Donald Trump Won't Be Able to Overturn Roe v. Wade

- Trump Probably Can’t Get Roe v. Wade Overturned

- Could Donald Trump overturn 'Roe v. Wade'? Here's what would have to happen

When Pence says life is winning, he really means that the Trump administration will do what they can to punish women who get abortions, by making it more difficult. But public opinion and the law will counter that.