<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1656363383832,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017a-8cb2-d416-ad7a-beb7278f0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1656363383832,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017a-8cb2-d416-ad7a-beb7278f0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_56358780", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1041733"} }); ","_id":"00000181-a6f3-df08-a3b3-feff70880000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video Embed“Forced pregnancy is a crime against humanity,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
As many in the comments were quick to agree, yes, rape is a crime. Seeing through Ocasio-Cortez’s ridiculous statement, commenters noted that the killing of innocent unborn children is also a crime.
“Forced pregnancy,” like the equally absurd phrase “pro-forced birth,” is another way to suggest those who desire to protect unborn life have malicious intent. Yet, in the majority of situations leading to abortion, there are ways to avoid pregnancy, as some abortion advocates apparently just discovered. Women who oppose the Dobbs decision have kindled a renewed passion for one time-tested method of preventing pregnancy: abstinence. The word was even trending on Twitter on Saturday.
“Because SCOTUS overturned Roe V. Wade, we cannot take the risk of an unintended pregnancy, therefore, we will not have sex with any man–including our husbands–unless we are trying to become pregnant,” a #SexStrike pledge circulating on Twitter says.
The hilarious attempt to outwit conservatives by adopting conservative ethics aside, other narratives that cast pregnancy in a negative light are far more disturbing. Media headlines grappling with the overturn of Roe v. Wade emphasize the health consequences of pregnancy, leaving many women sincerely frightened that their lives are in danger without abortion.
Those deriding abortion bans falsely claim treatments necessary to save the mother, such as in cases of ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages, will be prohibited. In doing so, they ignore the definition of an abortion: the intentional killing of an innocent human life. Ectopic pregnancies, which occur when an embryo implants outside the uterus where it cannot survive, can truly be fatal to the mother. The goal in treating them is not taking a life. It is to save the life of the mother when there is no way to save the baby. It’s not an abortion, and it’s not prohibited.
Treatment for women who have experienced miscarriages is likewise not in jeopardy, even when treatments use similar techniques as abortions, like a dilation and suction procedure or medication. Treating a pregnancy loss is, again, far different from inducing an abortion. Even in cases in which the pregnancy poses a threat, it does not necessitate abortion. Leading OB/GYNs acknowledge that separating the mother and fetus can be done without intentionally seeking to kill the child.
“Certainly we’re not about forcing women to be pregnant,” Dr. Christina Francis, board member of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said in an NPR interview. “But, you know, once they are pregnant and there’s another human life at stake there, then our job as physicians is to provide excellent care to both of those patients.”
Supposed health threats extend beyond these difficult scenarios to include inconveniences to the mother. Horrifyingly, some categorize “fetal anomalies” — the risk of a baby having a genetic condition — as an emotional health risk to the mother. CNN commentator Ana Navarro-Cardenas cited this reason on-air Friday, using her own brother with special needs as an example.
Another article in Scientific American lists changes to the woman’s body as a potential risk to continuing pregnancy.
“All of an expecting mother’s organs and bodily systems are put to a nine-month endurance test. The work of the heart and lungs increases by 30 to 50 percent (or even more in a twin pregnancy!), the kidneys filter more blood, the immune system adjusts, metabolic demands increase substantially, and there are myriad other changes,” the article says.
Yes, changes occur to the body during pregnancy. That’s part of the deal. But it’s not a justification for taking the life of the child.
Not only are these arguments tragic, they’re flat-out wrong. A review of 11 studies showed higher risks of death among women who received abortions. In the relentless pursuit of abortion, activists are painting pregnancy as a burden, rather than a gift that brings life. It’s wrong, and particularly harmful to women who have endured the pain of losing a pregnancy through no fault of their own.
Katelynn Richardson is a summer 2022 Washington Examiner fellow.
