In the wake of Sarah Palin’s abrupt resignation last month, rumors abounded about the former Republican vice presidential nominee’s future. One of the most plausible was that Palin could be the new face of the pro-life movement.
An active member of Feminists for Life (a conservative, pro-life organization that touts itself as “feminist”), a mother of five (including an infant prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome and daughter, Bristol, whose infamous teen pregnancy Palin welcomed), as well as an outspoken suppressor of women’s reproductive rights — Palin seemed poised to transition into activism within a conservative pro-life organization.
But Palin’s graceful transition from governor of Alaska to pro-life activist was overshadowed by the movement’s endorsement of spitfire anti-abortion activist Lila Rose.
Rose, an undergrad at UCLA, is best known for her undercover stings at abortion-providing clinics.
In December of 2008, Rose made national news with her undercover video surveillance of an Indiana Planned Parenthood clinic. In short, Rose posed as a 13-year-old girl who got pregnant with a fictional 31-year-old boyfriend. In Indiana, sex with anyone under 14 is statutory rape regardless of consent, so when the Planned Parenthood health care workers and counselors failed to report the relationship to police, Rose exposed the video.
Although Planned Parenthood fired the associated employees and retrained workers, there is much to be said as to why organizations like Planned Parenthood would choose loyalty to doctor-patient confidentiality over their legal obligation to report illicit relationships.
Megan Carpenter at feminist blog Jezebel.com summed up Planned Parenthood’s situation best in her December article on Rose.
“Fines will be paid, medical providers who were trying to do what they thought best for their patients will be slapped on the wrist and Lila Rose will be the anti-abortion movement’s latest heroine,” Carpenter wrote.
“And somewhere, a [real] 13-year-old will stick a wire hanger up her vagina, or swallow some pills hoping to force a miscarriage, or will leave a newborn in the rest room trash at a school dance rather than have her boyfriend sent to jail by getting health care. Woo. Team America.”
In the months after she became Fox News’ anti-abortion darling for her Planned Parenthood exposes, Rose was invited to become the face of two conservative pro-life organizations, Project Rescue and The Leadership Organization.
What is most interesting about Rose’s and Palin’s associations with these pro-life organizations is that, although these women get face time and token spots on television programs and publicity from political appearances, the overwhelming majority of people actually making the policy decisions for these organizations are male.
“Most of the leaders of the new anti-abortion movement are men,” asserts Frances Kissling in a recent Salon.com article. “They include evangelical thinkers and pastors like Joel Hunter, David Gushee and Jim Wallis and Catholics like Chris Korzen and Douglas Kmiec.”
So what is Rose’s function? For the cause she has dedicated herself to, she is nothing more than a sideshow meant to attract sympathy for the movement, while men make the
real decisions.
Rose’s work gives the movement the rosy “Pro-Life” title, while the contributions of her male leaders show what the movement is really about: anti-choice.
Popular jargon leads us toward “sanctity of life” when we talk about abortion, but actual political decisions show the debate is much less about fetuses and “life” and much more about women’s worth and purpose.
Currently, Ohio lawmakers are discussing new legislation that would mandate women seeking abortions to have written consent from the biological father of the fetus.
Legislation like this supports the notion that women are incapable of making their own decisions. Furthermore, these ideas reinforce the tired conception of women as mere vessels to be controlled by society and men (i.e. once a woman gets pregnant she is no longer herself, but she is a carrying case for a man’s child).
While it is nice to think the abortion debate is about babies and families and life and love, what it is really about is control of the female body.
Can America accept that a woman can be trusted to know what is right for her body, her future and her life?
The quagmire status of the abortion debate in our country is proof that America is far from ready to say “Yes.” And until we can, women will bear the brunt of reproductive rights policies.
Lingwall is a plan II honors junior
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