For all the liberal hang-wringing and questioning about whether Alito will attempt to overturn Roe or not, the anti-choicers on the other side of the aisle seem pretty confident.
While Mr. Bush made no explicit mention of his nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the Supreme Court, the expectation that the judge would soon win Senate approval and join a majority in overturning Roe was clearly the overarching message of the rally.
As a result, many who turned out in the chilly temperatures and light drizzle said they detected a major shift in spirit and tone this year.
“You can see it everywhere,” said Gus Holzmiller, a Coast Guard comptroller from Virginia Beach, nodding at the throngs around him. “Every time someone says Judge Alito’s name, a roar goes up.”
Helen Sandor, a retired elementary school teacher from Pittsburgh, said: “We’ve made so many strides, waiting to get to the end of Roe v. Wade. Now, it’s like there’s a light through the darkness.”
Promising, yes? And make no mistake about it: This isn’t just about saving the lives of so many zygote-Americans, it’s about criminalizing one of the most common surgical procedures in the country, and terrorizing doctors and activists:
Nellie Gray, the president of March for Life, the group that organized the rally, said reversing Roe was this year’s theme. Speaking to the crowd in fiery tones, Ms. Gray predicted that the United States would hold the equivalent of Nuremburg trials for “feminist abortionists,” calling support for a woman’s right to choose “crimes against humanity.”
“Roe v. Wade has brutalized our country,” she said. “The feminist abortionists, look at the evil they are doing. From that will come an accountability.” Her words were met with strong applause, and more than a few supporters held high signs that compared abortions in the United States to “Hitler’s Holocaust.”
This woman is not a fringe lunatic. She’s the president of the March for Life.
There are few things that get under my skin more than the “You’re just like HITLER!” insult. You see it occassionally at anti-war rallies and a while back PETA launched a disgusting campaign comparing meat-eating to the Holocaust, but it’s most commonly invoked as part of the anti-choice movement. And it’s a vile, reprehensible tactic that should be condemned regardless of who it’s coming from.
The mainstream anti-choice groups do not represent the majority of Americans, even those who self-identify as pro-life. Sane people do not believe abortion to be on par with the Holocaust. Most Americans, even if they think they wouldn’t choose abortion themselves, don’t want to see it illegalized. Most Americans don’t want to see women and doctors sent to jail (and if we’re going to put doctors on trial for performing abortions, there is no way to get around prosecuting the women who have them).
This is the face of the Culture of Life: “Abortion = Holocaust.” “Nuremberg trials for feminist abortionists.” “Evil.” “Crimes against humanity.”
As many as one in three U.S. women will have an abortion in her lifetime. These anti-choice zealots, who claim to speak for every pro-life person, equate them with Hitler would like to see them and their doctors behind bars. Make no mistake, this movement is not about loving life. It’s about punishing anyone who makes choices they don’t agree with.