Nikki Haley, one of several Republican presidential candidates, recently argued that equality in sports is the most important issue facing women of our time. MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle, however, argued otherwise. What matters most to women, Ruhle claimed, is access to legal abortion to end the lives of their preborn children.
On “The 11th Hour,” Ruhle discussed Haley’s comments with Reed Galen and Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney. The three mocked Haley for arguing that equality in sports could possibly be more important to women than abortion.
Galen: They are living in a time of incredible turmoil and rather than understanding that broadly, she is making light of it, she’s trying to score really cheap political points on it. If she has a daughter, she should be ashamed of herself. She talks about how this is the issue of our time. I mean, what time is she living in? The 1700s, the 1800s? I mean, I’m not sure what time she exists in other than how much longer she has got before the, you know, coffers of her campaign run out.
Maloney: The women’s issue of our time –
Ruhle: That’s what I have written down here. The women’s issue of our time.
Maloney: Yeah.
Ruhle: Not access to abortion care.
Maloney: There you go. I mean, if you are to make a list of the issues affecting the rights of women in America, you might start with the denial of basic reproductive freedom, guaranteed by the Constitution.
So according to these pro-abortion activists, abortion is not only important to women, but it’s the most important issue of all. It’s a massively insulting argument, to tell women that the most vital part of their lives should revolve around the ability to kill their preborn children.
There are serious issues facing women, and many abortion advocates will argue that these problems are why women need abortion. Yet abortion allows these injustices to not only continue, but to thrive.
Health care
A major problem facing women across the country is that of maternity deserts. Across the country, access to maternity care is dwindling; a 2022 March of Dimes report found that 36% of all counties are considered maternity care deserts, and “access to maternity care is diminishing in places where it’s needed most, impacting nearly seven million American women of childbearing age and roughly 500,000 babies.” This is especially an issue in rural communities, and it puts women – and their children — at risk.
This is especially a problem for women of color, who are at a much higher risk of pregnancy- or childbirth-related death. And tragically, these deaths are very often preventable. In addition to higher mortality rates, women of color face higher rates of serious complications as well.
Women need better health care, not abortion — and despite the popular claim from the abortion industry, legalizing abortion does not improve maternal mortality rates.
Discrimination in Education and the Workplace
If a woman wants to further her education or career while parenting, she may face obstacles. Women consistently face discrimination in both spheres if they are pregnant or parenting.
In high school, teenagers who get pregnant face incredible obstacles; statistically speaking, most are unmarried, over half will never graduate, and only a few will finish college. Teen mothers are also at high risk of living in poverty and becoming dependent on welfare. Moving on to college, pregnant women are rarely made to feel welcome. Housing for pregnant or parenting students is a rarity; there are very few prenatal services available on campus, and day care is likewise hard to find. Even small things to implement, like lactation rooms or changing tables in the restrooms, are rarely put into place on college campuses.
It doesn’t get much better once women are in the workforce. Even then, employers would rather pay for a woman to have an abortion than provide resources to help her as she is pregnant and parenting. Pregnancy discrimination in the workplace is a systemic issue.
Yet numerous companies, such as Amazon, Starbucks, CitiGroup, CNN, Comcast-NBC Universal, and Netflix (to name just a few), have publicly announced new policies subsidizing abortion travel for employees in pro-life states — including airfare, hotel costs, restaurants, and child care. Meanwhile, just 35% of employers provide paid maternity leave to employees.
It is less expensive for a company to pay for an abortion than to pay for maternity leave.
Discrimination in Sports
Elite athletes are often made to feel as if they have to choose between their family and career. Numerous female athletes have spoken out about being pressured to abort their children, while an ESPN investigation found that female college athletes were threatened with losing their scholarships if they got pregnant.
Other athletes have openly talked about how they were kicked to the curb for getting pregnant, particularly with Nike. Allyson Felix, one of the greatest female runners of all time, was forced by Nike to take a 70% pay cut when she got pregnant. Other runners agreed and backed up Felix’s discrimination claims. Runner Phoebe Wright — who was sponsored by Nike for six years — previously stated, “Getting pregnant is the kiss of death for a female athlete. There’s no way I’d tell Nike if I were pregnant.”
Abortion does not address any of these issues. On the contrary, abortion merely enables them to continue. Without abortion, these organizations would be forced to address these problems. Instead, they can just pressure women to end the lives of their preborn children.
Even abortionists have admitted that abortion doesn’t solve anything. “In some situations you see it as a Band-Aid solution,” one abortionist said. “Often a woman will come in with so many issues, troubles, and problems with her life, and she needs so much. And all we can offer her is a sensitive, good abortion, quality abortion medically, emotionally, and psychologically. But it’s clear that so many of the women who come here need so much more.”
The most important issue to women is not the ability to end the lives of their preborn children. What women need and care about is the ability to give birth safely, to get an education and provide for their families.
