Dawn Laguens, the Executive Vice President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund wrote an article for medium recently entitled, “The Patriarchy is Wobbling.”
In the article authored for Medium, Laguens attacks Trump for taking measures to redirect funding away from international abortions. Laguens incorrectly calls it “the most sweeping global gag rule ever.” She cites the administrations recent actions rolling out the new “Protect Life Rule,” with the Office of Management and Budget. The rule mandates that Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers would not be eligible to receive taxpayer dollars through Title X funds, unless they completely separate their abortion business from other taxpayer funded services. Laguens claims that the Trump administration is seeking to “block multiple young, undocumented women in their care from accessing safe, legal abortion.” The truth is that there is no such thing as a safe abortion. An article from Save the Storks with this very title points out:
Society tells women that abortion is “no big deal,” saying things like, “It’s basically the same as getting your wisdom teeth taken out.” If it is the same as any other outpatient surgery, then why is there an 81% increased risk of mental trauma after abortion?
Why would women like Laguens sugarcoat the reality of abortion? Why would Laguens go to such great lengths to attack the current administration for taking steps to ensure the safety of women? Laguens twists the facts to serve her own agenda, and that of the nation’s largest abortion provider Planned Parenthood. Laguens’ main focus is to ensure that Planned Parenthood commits enough abortions to make as large a profit off of vulnerable women as possible. She is really the one blocking women from safe, healthy healthcare options.
Laguens writes that “the anti-woman, anti-autonomy agenda of the Trump-Pence administration is crystal clear.” Really, nothing could be further from the truth. Planned Parenthood is assuredly no friend of women.
Not all that Laguens says is untrue, but her claims about the Trump administration’s “patriarchal” attitudes towards women based off of policies being instated to actually benefit women could not be further from the truth. Being pro life is not “anti-woman” as Laguens claims. Pro-life is pro-woman, says Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life. “We know that a message many people hear in our country is that in order to be ‘pro-woman,’ you have to be pro-choice. I would offer that nothing could be further from the truth,” she told Cosmopolitan.com. “I see that as rhetoric and I see that as false. Life is empowering for women. A woman’s capacity to have children is an incredible thing, not something to be ashamed of. It doesn’t mean that I am defined by that, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to pretend it’s not part of me. It’s an incredible gift.”
I’ve said it many times, and I will continue to keep saying it. Every life has value because every person endowed by their Creator with life is created in the image of God. Being pro-life means that every life deserves to be respected regardless of circumstances because human life is created with an inherent sanctity and dignity. Being pro-life is more than just pro-birth; it’s pro-woman, pro-adoption, pro-child, and pro-family.
