Dear Pro-Life Partners, October 15, 2022

“The Top 10 Worst Things about the Anti-Choice Movement” screams the headline of an article
released by Jane's Army, a radical anti-life organization, dedicated to preserving the legality of killing
unborn babies. Below is part two in a three-part series that addresses myths about the pro-life
movement, perpetrated by both the radical and uninformed. Note that the term “anti-choice” is used
consistently throughout these myths; however, this in itself is a misnomer that perpetuates the lie that
we are one-note activists or tone deaf to the needs of pregnant women. The pro-life movement offers a
variety of different options for a mother experiencing pregnancy. The only choice for the pro-life
community that is off the table would be the choice to terminate an unborn life.

5. “The anti-choice movement claims to be ‘pro-life,’ yet it actively attacks life-affirming programs.
Nearly all elected anti-choice members of Congress and state legislatures vote against programs to
assist pregnant people and mothers, including access to prenatal care, early childhood education,
child care, affordable health care, and other initiative to enhance the lives of children and women.

Admittedly, I am unable to give you statistics on the voting records of all pro-life elected officials, but I
do know that there are close to, if not more than (reports vary) 3,000 pro-life pregnancy centers in the
United States. We have elected officials actively pushing for more programs and assistance for those
that already exist. Programs that offer resources, financial aid, and shelter for moms and babies. And
not just babies in the womb, but babies after they are born. Many of these pregnancy help centers are
located in poor neighborhoods and/or close to abortion clinics (Where the abortion industry wants to
monopolize, we want women to see they have options.) Many are staffed by volunteers and financed
through donations, not government funds. The very things that the myth above accuses pro-life
legislators of voting against are the very things that they fight for. To state that pro-life
people/politicians actively attack life-affirming programs is blatantly false. The objection probably
comes from a failure to back particular programs that they endorse, i.e. those that include abortion as
part of women’s “health care.”

6. “Texas extremist S.B. 8 abortion ban has historical ties to oppressive, racist laws like the Fugitive
Slave Act.”
It should be noted that this myth employs the tactical maneuver of attaching the term “racist” to elicit a
negative emotional response toward the object of protest. As for the claim itself, the Fugitive Slave Act
permitted slave owners to legally search for slaves who escaped to free states and have their
“property” returned to them through the courts. The similarity between this heinous Act and abortion
bans is baseless for 3 reasons:
 1) Abortion bans do not criminalize women nor do we want to hunt them down after an abortion in
a “free” state. Rather, these bans may open the door for abortion doctors to be prosecuted for
committing illegal abortion. (This is the official position of National Right to Life, of which we
are an affiliate.)
2) Furthermore, we do not consider anyone “property” like The Fugitive Slave Act did. The slave
and the unborn child would be the “property” in this scenario, not the woman, so the parallel
does not line up. Abortion bans actually promote the opposite, that unborn children are unique
and separate human beings with rights. Unlike the pro-choice community, we do not view
unborn children as women’s property to be dispensed of at will.
3) Pro-life services exist to save lives and help women; those who face the emotional and financial
difficulties of an unplanned pregnancy and those who seek healing after an abortion. That is why
thousands of organizations exist to help women before, during, and after a pregnancy.

7. “The tie between anti-choice extremism and racism can be seen in the black maternal mortality
crisis. Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white
women because of health care inequity, including the way anti-abortion laws erode access to all
essential reproductive health care for black women.” (Another attempt to link pro-life with “racism.”)

The true part of this statement is that the maternal mortality rate for black women is indeed 3x that of
white women, according to the CDC (55.3 per 100,000 live births in 2020. These 55+ deaths in 2020 were
tragic, yes, but .000553 percent does not constitute a “crisis.”). The assertion that “anti-abortion laws
erode access to all essential reproductive health care for black women,” simply means that anti-
abortion laws erode access to…wait for it…abortion. This reasoning suggests that if black women had
unlimited access to abortion then there would no maternal deaths among black women. However, an
abortion procedure also puts a woman’s life at risk, not to mention the almost 100% mortality rate for
black infants. The point of focus should be on closing the health care inequity gap and developing
quality (true) healthcare in lower socioeconomic communities. This takes us full circle back to the
mission of the 3,000 pregnancy help centers across the United States.

Fellow pro-lifers, we have science, statistics, and common sense on our side, but it is less about being
“right” and more about standing firm in shifting sand and being a light in darkness for the sake of
touching a heart or changing a mind. Let us commit to addressing the lies with truth, the negativity
with compassion, and the anger with patience. It could save a life.
Partnering with You for Life,

Linda Verhulst, MRL-WR