This spring, Live Action writer Sarah Terzo wrote about seven early feminist leaders. In an era when women lacked legal equality, these individuals fought for the right to vote and against domestic violence. Many were also committed abolitionists who stood out for opposing slavery. From those early years of struggle, the feminist movement has come a long way.
Amy Schumer. Photo by CarlaVanWagoner / Shutterstock.com
Down.
In place of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the list of high profile feminists now includes figures like comedian Amy Schumer. And it’s not just the names and faces that have changed —the values have, too.
Whereas Anthony and Stanton described abortion as “evil” and an “outrage,” Schumer believes it’s something to laugh at. As she jokes in her stand up routine, “There’s nothing more awkward than going to the first birthday party of a little girl when you told her mom to get rid of her — because the kid can tell.”
Of course, the “proudly feminist” Schumer isn’t alone in telling a woman to abort her daughter. As recent news stories have demonstrated, preborn girls are often the victims of gendercide.
Ms. Schumer has also found a way to work sexual assault into her routine, as well. A recent sketch on her television show won praise from Amanda Marcotte for being “the right way to joke about rape.” Done as a parody of Friday Night Lights, it was celebrated by critic Jaime Weinman for “implying that sports are inherently part of rape culture.” Weinman, who’s described Schumer as a “cultural heroine,” seems to think that the sketch was an act of “radical” courage. As he puts it, “Sexists may be an easy target, but few comedians would take on anything as sacred as football.”
While it might come as a surprise to Weinman, Amy Schumer isn’t the first to suggest that sports are somehow to blame for rape. However, if she really wants to take on “rape culture,” then there’s a much better target to go after: her friends in the abortion industry. They have a proven history of helping sexual predators, and they don’t seem eager to stop.
If you’re a rapist, fathering a child is a problem. Thanks to paternity tests, a son or daughter has a strong potential to incriminate you. Further, it can prompt unwanted questions when your victim becomes visibly pregnant, especially if she’s underage. Gary Cross understood that, which is why he brought his 13-year-old stepdaughter to Planned Parenthood for a late term abortion.
Thankfully for Cross, Planned Parenthood staff weren’t too eager to find out how a 13-year-old child got pregnant. Timothy Smith, John Blanks, Jr., and Adam Gault also benefited from the abortion industry’s no-questions-asked approach. So did these 50 other sexual predators.
Not that it necessarily helps when a victim’s abuse does become known. Denise Fairbanks asserted in a lawsuit that she specifically told Planned Parenthood staff she had been brought in by her incestuous father; they proceeded to perform an abortion and turn her back over to her abuser.
Former Planned Parenthood clinic director Amy Woodruff wasn’t concerned about such matters either. In 2011, she was caught offering to set up involuntary abortions for underage prostitutes who “can’t speak English” and “won’t know what’s going on.” She explained that, “If they’re 14 and under, just send them right there if they need an abortion, OK?”
Sometimes rapists get help from abortion providers without even knowing it. One of alleged Arizona serial rapist Tyler Kost’s victims went to Planned Parenthood for an abortion in 2013. According to her, clinic staff felt that reporting the crime would involve too much paperwork. Following Kost’s arrest, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office stated that an investigation could have started months earlier if Planned Parenthood had bothered to file a report.
Despite all of this, the abortion industry isn’t too keen on cleaning up its act. When Texas state representative Molly White proposed a bill demanding that abortion clinics offer a private room equipped with information about support services and telephone to contact law enforcement, she was attacked by NARAL Pro-choice Texas for pushing legislation “that is not needed.”
Sexual violence is a heinous crime that and pro-lifers are serious about stopping. One way to join that effort is to sign Live Action’s petition asking Congress to hold Planned Parenthood to account and end its half billion dollar subsidy. You can also get behind common sense measures to protect victims from cover-up abortions. Because while Amy Schumer is busy looking for “the right way to joke about rape,” we’re focused on fighting it.
