Denying the truth about abortion

The extent of the denial is breathtaking. Last week House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi — who has a perfect pro-abortion voting record, including a vote in favor of partial-birth abortion — told Roll Call’s Melinda Henneberger that abortion on demand is something she “doesn’t believe in.” She also claims that Roe v. Wade did not legalize abortion on demand. Perhaps on the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision today, she should take a moment to refresh her failing memory.

What she will discover is that Roe does not limit abortion at any point in pregnancy. It, together with its companion decision Doe v. Bolton, allows states to limit abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy, provided they enact an exception for the life and health of the mother. By law, “health” is interpreted to include a woman’s psychological distress over the thought of having a baby! That’s a loophole big enough to render the underlying limit meaningless. In fact, the U.S. if one of only eight countries in the world — including China and North Korea — to allow abortion after five months, more than halfway through pregnancy.

Mrs. Pelosi’s denial extends to the issue of Planned Parenthood’s trade in the body parts of unborn babies. Asked if she has seen videos documenting the practice released last summer and fall by the Center for Medical Progress, Pelosi said she has not, but knows they were “doctored,” a claim not even Planned Parenthood’s own forensic investigators make. She’s not the only one refusing to watch the videos. Susan B. Anthony list invited more than 2,000 staffers for so-called pro-choice U.S. congressmen and senators to a screening of the videos on Capitol Hill in September, 2015; only three attended. Their bosses haven’t watched the videos either, and it’s easy to understand why — it’s because they can’t defend the horror they depict. It’s easier to keep their heads in the sand.

Hillary Clinton, Planned Parenthood’s endorsed choice for president, can’t bring herself to watch the videos in which her supporters discuss “less crunchy” ways of dismembering unborn babies, either. She does allow that she might support limits on abortion “at the very end of the third trimester,” unless a woman’s “health” is at risk. Perhaps she doesn’t remember that the “very end” of the third trimester is just a week or two before a baby is born, a point at which survival outside the womb is assured. Her position is one in favor of abortion on demand up to the point of birth and now, as she explained at a campaign rally hosted by Planned Parenthood last week, at taxpayer’s expense. Long gone are the days of the Clinton manta “safe, legal, and rare.”

Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi may not support placing any limits on abortion, but the American people do. Polls consistently show that two-thirds or more of the American people support a ban on abortion after 20 weeks, more than halfway through pregnancy, the point at which an unborn baby can demonstrably feel pain. Women, especially, support this humane, reasonable limit.

Supporters of abortion don’t dare look too closely at the realities of the culture of death they have helped create, with the support of Planned Parenthood and the rest of the abortion industry. Like the public health officials in Pennsylvania who, under pro-choice Republican Governor Tom Ridge, decided to let the state’s abortion facilities including Dr. Kermit Gosnell’s ‘house of horrors’ go uninspected for decades, they look away because they are afraid of what they might see — and its implications. Twain was right: denial is more than an river in Egypt. These days, it’s the only option available to the pro-abortion movement.

Marjorie Dannenfelser is the president of the national pro-life organization Susan B. Anthony List, which is dedicated to electing candidates and advancing legislation to reduce and ultimately end abortion. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.