At CPAC on Saturday, a panel of experts addressed a growing problem in the United States: The debate over the right to life. “A Matter of Life and Death: How Government is Deciding Whether you Live or Die” featured several policy experts and pro-life advocates who described a crisis that goes far beyond abortion but also affects people with disabilities and “right to die” legislation.
Gov. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., has taken the bull by the horns in terms of protecting life in his state. Still in the middle of the legislative session, he’s currently working to ensure that language in their budget bill appropriates funding where it should be, and not to places like Planned Parenthood. “We wanted a clear line between organizations which are providing abortions, and state tax dollars. It’s important we not take for granted our right to life,” he said.
Allie Stuckey, a host on Conservative Review TV, talked about abortion with an unusual analogy: “The Godfather Part II.”
Remember that scene where Kay tells Michael their marriage is like an abortion, something that’s “unholy and evil?” Stuckey pointed out how sad it is that from the time the film was released in 1974 to now, abortion has gone from evil and unholy to something the Left now calls “reproductive freedom,” “women’s rights,” and “privacy.” She commented on the travesty that abortion is no longer viewed as a shameful thing, but now it’s glorified as a choice.
Stuckey explained the work of people like Peter Singer, a bioethicist who is very honest about the ethical implications of abortion. He believes the baby inside the womb does not meet the standard of personhood: rationality, autonomy, and the ability to be self-conscious — and that if that is our standard of human worthiness to live, than logically we have to apply that to everyone inside and outside the womb.
Julie Hocker, a fellow at the American Conservative Union, agreed. “There is a yardstick that shows who is valuable and we shouldn’t be fooled that there is not. It’s subjective and it’s meant to separate people who are protected and who are not. When it comes to end-of-life issues, we are being lied to every single day. This issue of physician-assisted suicide is sold to you as compassion. Physician-assisted suicide laws don’t contain rights for patients, but cover for doctors.”
Hocker described Oregon’s “Death with Dignity Act,” which has been in place since 1997. She said though this law was billed as an act of compassion for people suffering from illness, according to the data the state has (which is voluntary), it looks like the people who have taken advantage of this “right” are suffering from depression, loneliness, and loss of purpose. But they erode the value of life and dignity every person has, whether suffering from illness or disability. “These laws are coming to your states and they destroy human dignity,” she said.
Nicole Russell is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist in Washington, D.C., who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota. She was the 2010 recipient of the American Spectator’s Young Journalist Award.
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