What is up with women’s groups today?
In response to a proposed last-minute Stupak-like agreement (which is apparently dead now), the president of New York’s Chapter of the National Organization for Women had this to say:
Today, women in the United States are fighting for their lives. You must fight too! A woman’s right to have safe and legal abortion is about to be traded away. . . . Every woman in Congress should MAKE HISTORY AND WALK OUT ! . . . If you sit back and allow the passage of the health care bill with “Stupak,” women in America will not vote for another Democrat, myself included. Because there will essentially be no difference between the Democrats and the Republicans.
Where do I even begin? First of all, she knows damn well that “woman in Congress” is not synonymous with “pro-abortion.” We have many pro-life female legislators, and nationally, a 49% plurality of women oppose abortion. Secondly, the health care reform bill has absolutely nothing to do with “a woman’s right to have a safe and legal abortion” (which, incidentally, has nothing to do with the maternal death rate.) The issue is much narrower: whether people should be allowed to purchase abortion coverage using government subsidies. And no difference between Democrats and Republicans other than abortion? I understand that she’s trying to use hyperbole to make a point, but it’s so over-the-top and factually incorrect that I don’t see how any legislator can take NY NOW seriously.
Then, I got an email from the Susan B. Anthony List, which supports pro-life women in Congress. Don’t get me wrong, I generally like the SBA List. I’ve even guest blogged for them. But this statement baffled me (emphasis added):
Without prayer, I am 100 percent sure we will lose. With it, the consciences of wavering members can be lifted up and emboldened. While we are not a religious organization, we cannot succeed without prayer as the wind in our sails.
I think I get what she's saying. An organization might not be created or run expressly by or for religious people, but religious persons in that organization don't stop believing simply because they're doing something secular. Thus, while SBA is not a religious group, that doesn't mean that people who believe prayer to be effective shouldn't or won't ask for it. It'd be like police officers asking for prayer. That wouldn't make the cops into a church organization. Not that she really said any of this very well or anything…
As to the first bit, as a woman in America, I have voted for Democrats in the past and probably will in the future. Of course, the Dem that I voted for was both a woman and pro-life… 🙂
In my humble opinion, asking religious members for prayers is one thing, but saying you won't succeed without prayer is quite another.