In the name of ending the “stigma” about abortion, the president of Planned Parenthood says aborting her baby “wasn’t a difficult decision.” In a story written for Elle, Cecile Richards says abortion isn’t an issue that should be stigmatized, and sometimes it’s what’s “right” for people.
Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards lists abortion as #WhatWomenNeed for Valentines Day.
“I had an abortion. It was the right decision for me and my husband, and it wasn’t a difficult decision. Before becoming president of Planned Parenthood eight years ago, I hadn’t really talked about it beyond family and close friends. But I’m here to say, when politicians argue and shout about abortion, they’re talking about me—and millions of other women around the country.”
Richards joins the chorus of pro-abortion voices who are straying from calling abortion a difficult but needed choice to boldly praising the act of killing. But Richards says abortion should never have been an “issue” in the first place.
“If a woman says that she’s relieved after having an abortion, she may be judged for being heartless or unfeeling. If she says that she feels regret, anti-abortion activists use this to push for laws that restrict access to abortion or laws that assume women are incapable of making their own decisions without the interference of others.
“So instead, we just don’t talk about it. That’s how abortion came to be discussed as an “issue” instead of an experience.”
That’s not true, however, because abortion is an issue because it compromises the rights of one in the name of rights of another. It’s an issue because it devalues life. It’s an issue because it kills what was living before the act. Richards, predictably, uses euphemisms to shroud the truth. In playing the sympathy for women’s need for health care card, she writes:
“At Planned Parenthood, we see the impact of abortion stigma firsthand, in the women who delay getting reproductive health care because they fear they’ll be labeled and judged.”
What she’s saying is “women who delay getting an abortion.” That’s the only thing she’s talking about, but Richards’ salary depends on using terms such as “reproductive health care” and “women’s health” in place of “we want more abortion.”
She also speaks falsely when she asks the question:
“How can something that one third of women in the United States experience be the focus of intense public debate for decades, with hardly any real firsthand experiences at the center of the discussion?”
Here, what she means is “firsthand experiences that agree with me so the money can keep flowing.” In fact, there are many, many stories of women who have had abortions and profoundly regret them. A myriad of firsthand experiences join the discussion, but Richards has her fingers in her ears, singing “la, la, la” to block them out unless they agree with the benefit of abortion.
Lately, the abortion industry is moving toward the celebratory end of the pendulum. Increasingly, it’s calling for celebrations of abortion rather than declaring it as difficult. In the past few weeks we’ve seen writer Sady Doyle pronounce abortion as “great.” We’ve seen a mom write a tender letter to the baby she’s planning to kill. Richards is at the helm of the ship that proclaims the societal good of killing its young.
And why shouldn’t she be? She makes over $500,000 a year in pay and benefits keeping the largest US abortion operation afloat.
