Last week, we received a press release from the Center for American Progress. It informed us of CAP’s new report titled More Than a Choice: A Progressive Vision for Reproductive Health and Rights. Here’s an excerpt:
More than a Choice: A Progressive Vision for Reproductive Health and Rights, a report released today by the Center for American Progress, presents a new vision of reproductive rights that broadens the current discourse beyond the stagnant abortion debate.
And what does this “new vision” consist of?
Progressives can expand the definition of reproductive rights by equally embracing the rights to have or not have children—with a partner of one’s choosing and in a time and manner that honors one’s conscience and life circumstances—and by placing abortion within its appropriate context as one of a wide range of important reproductive rights issues.
What CAP is basically saying is this: Have sex if you’re married; have sex if you’re unmarried — we’re in no position to say whether one is right and one is wrong. Use birth control; don’t use birth control — we’re in no position to say whether one is right and one is wrong. Give birth to a child; abort a child — we’re in no position to say whether one is right and one is wrong. Reading CAP’s press release brought to mind these words of G. K. Chesterton:
When men have come to the edge of a precipice, it is the lover of life who has the spirit to leap backwards, and only the pessimist who continues to believe in progress.
I couldn’t help but notice something about the babies on the cover of the More Than a Choice report [PDF]. Open the link and notice what the babies are not doing. I’m sure CAP paid a hefty sum for the photo shoot out of which came this cover picture. Isn’t it interesting, then, that they apparently couldn’t even get one picture where the babies were smiling? Not only that, but the baby on the right looks to be on the verge of tears. My theory: Born babies have a sixth sense for detecting shameless propaganda aimed at convincing people there’s nothing wrong with killing unborn babies. Oddly enough, the same thing happened in the July issue of Vogue, which did a puff piece on the new president of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards — she was shown sitting at her desk, with a toddler on her lap, along with four other toddlers — none of whom is smiling.
