Addressing the sexist issue in the abortion debate

For nearly 50 years, since Roe v. Wade made abortion a national legal right, the Left has made a cottage industry out of attacking men. Every pro-life law is allegedly the result of sexist men trying to keep women down. But sexism in the abortion debate isn’t coming from those who protect unborn life; it’s coming straight from the mouths of those who want to cancel the opinions of millions of pro-life American women.

According to the abortion industry and its supporters, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett is not a legitimate woman despite reaching the top of her profession andraising seven children. Kristi Noem, the pro-life mother of three and Governor of South Dakota, is not a real woman. Nobel Peace Prize winner Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who after winning the honor in 1979 said abortion makes “the poorest of nations,” is not a real woman.

This sexism reached a recent peak after last week’s release of a draft Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott have faced withering national criticism for their pro-life principles and policies. But you know who didn’t get national attention? Noem, who while DeSantis and Abbott deflected questions about a post-Roe v. Wade future, unabashedly said she would call for a special session to push for a complete ban on abortion in her state.

The Left, and especially the abortion industry, likes to claim representation of all women. But they don’t represent Noem, Live Action founder Lila Rose, and Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser, and millions of everyday women, including mothers like me who prefer the challenges of loving our children over the emptiness of ending their lives.

In the eyes of the Left, “equality for all” means “equality for those who support our position.” We who vote for pro-life officeholders and raise large families aren’t given a microphone; we get the silent treatment. But, again, this isn’t new. Just ask Sarah Palin, the second-ever female nominee for U.S. vice president. Her 2008 nomination should have resulted in cheers from feminists … but she was instead attacked for being a pro-life conservative. Michele Bachmann was a successful congresswoman who ran for president in 2012, but she wasn’t the “right” type of woman. Instead of celebrating her professional accomplishments in addition to fostering 23 children, she received the silent treatment: the Left’s tactical strategy to devalue pro-life women.

Women who choose life, even under difficult circumstances, are not victims. The greatest woman in history, the teenager who bore Jesus Christ despite poverty, persecution, and the knowledge that he would die in front of her, is our example. My third child has cerebral palsy and spent over four months in the NICU. This called for radical love and sacrifice from our family, but I would not trade her life for the emptiness of not having her at all.

The reason for canceling conservative, pro-life, Christian women is obvious: we’re hard to argue with. It’s easier to say that men don’t understand the “need” for abortion than to debate women like me, Noem, and Dannenfelser. Rather than face those who recognize the difficulties of child-bearing and child-rearing while also affirming that the sacrifices are worth it, the abortion industry wants to pretend that I don’t exist, that women like me only support the abandonment of desperate mothers.

Again, the facts tell the full tale. Women are the foundation of America’s 3,000 pregnancy resource centers’ staff and volunteers — pro-life advocates who are the answer to the false claim that pro-lifers only care about children until they are born. Indeed, while Planned Parenthood rarely offers adoption, these pregnancy centers offer free ultrasounds and diapers in addition to often providing adoption, housing, and childcare services. The Catholic Church is the largest charitable institution in the world, standing up for unborn and born life every day by helping families from the womb through the end of life with hospitals, schools, shelters, food, and countless other services.

Like all pro-life women listed above, I believe that the selfless example of millions who help women choose life will overcome the abortion industry, and create a society where every life is valued and respected. Pro-life centers outnumber abortion centers; pro-life women bear and raise more children than our pro-death counterparts; and now we have a Supreme Court which is ready to return the abortion debate to the states, creating pro-life fortresses in states like South Dakota, Florida, and Texas.

Since its inception, the pro-life movement has fought to end the suffering caused by abortion. We who make up its foundation will continue to elect officials like Noem, who is our voice in public office. And we will continue to offer women considering abortion a better choice: Life for their babies and a life free of regret for themselves.

Originally published at LifeNews.com.