Rick Perry. Photo by Gage Skidmore.
A woman who makes corsets for fetishists and those who practice bondage has come up with a novel way of making money for Planned Parenthood. Michelle Sinched, who lives in Houston, Texas, wanted to protest the legislation banning late term abortions and setting up safety guidelines for abortion clinics. So she’s making and selling voodoo dolls of Governor Rick Perry.
You can’t make this stuff up.
The voodoo dolls, which come with pins, range in price from $25-$30. The $25 version sports a t-shirt with a coat hanger on it. The more expensive version is attired in a tuxedo. Each voodoo doll holds a placard which buyers can decorate with pro-abortion sayings (such as mockeries of pro-life slogans). You can buy a pair of both dolls for $50.
Sinched, who calls herself “The Sinch Witch”, came up with the idea shortly before the bill was signed into law by Perry, whom she has nicknamed “Governor Goodhair.”
According to Sinched:
“I was inspired to make them because I wanted to figure out something I could make that would send a message and raise money for Planned Parenthood. What’s better than sticking pins in Gov. Goodhair or burning him at your own doll sized stake? I would probably best describe myself as pro choice and pro life. No one ever wants to face the abortion choice but it happens. I believe no one has the right to make that choice but the woman it affects. I was once a client of PP and I have felt a great deal of gratitude for them being available when I had no insurance and could not afford birth control or annual well woman check ups.”
Defenders of Planned Parenthood commonly make the argument that women will have nowhere to go for medical care and birth control if Planned Parenthood facilities close. However, there are six community medical centers offering free or low cost family planning and women’s health services in Brazos Valley, Texas, alone.
I asked members of the pro-life Facebook community “Pro-Life Pagans’ for comments. One member, Alexandra, who identifies herself as a witch of the Gibralter family tradition, has this to say about Sinched’s actions:
“Her beliefs aside, I find it ironic that she claims she is both pro choice and pro life, but is selling voodoo dolls where people can do harm with intent. How is that being pro life?”
She also spoke out in support of the very bill that Sinched is protesting:
“[Sinched] also focuses on women (totally ignores men who are also involved in making babies), but then seems to have issues with Texas demanding that abortion clinics have to be up to surgical standards. With the millions they make off the back of abortions and money from private donations as well as the government you would think the least these clinics could do is to ensure there is a sterile environment as abortion is a surgical procedure. Why is abortion considered anything less than surgery where the highest cleanliness should be involved? Planned Parenthood is using this as a red herring.”
Alexandra also mentions that if Sinched considers herself a Wiccan (a pagan belief system that differs from Alexandra’s but which is popular among those who identify as witches), she is going against the tradition of Wiccan teachings:
“…she should also be following the Wiccan Rede of do no harm. Abortion kills. And that is not very Wiccan-like or following the benevolent beliefs of Wicca.”
