Listen to the ‘Heartbeat’ Radio Feature Here:
Media figures frequently try to slap the label of “hypocrite” on the Conservative party and the pro-life movement. That’s because, they say, while pro-lifers challenge abortion, they aren’t really pro-life because of their position on any issue they deem fitting – and Right now, “coronavirus” is the issue.
Many in the media are accusing President Trump and Conservative leadership of pushing states to reopen at the risk of losing lives to the pandemic. In their response, columnists from the New York Times to the Washington Post recently declared that Conservatives are no longer “pro-life” – and went so far as to say that they belonged to the “party of death.” Other outlets and figures on Twitter expanded on that, calling the entire pro-life movement “pro-death.” With their arguments, the media revealed something else, too: a double-standard on life.
“You’re not really pro-life” is a tired argument wielded against the pro-life movement. Last summer, media retracted comments accusing pro-lifers of remaining silent about the plight of migrant children after pro-life leaders delivered supplies to the border. In May 2019, a writer dared pro-lifers to say that they “personally” helped mothers in need. Responses flooded in from Americans who house single moms, adopt children, counsel women, and support pregnancy centers.
The pro-life movement calls itself pro-life because it acknowledges the inherent dignity and worth of the human person, from the moment of conception. Abortion is the greatest violation of this dignity – of human life today – as it intentionally destroys millions of innocent lives each year. Because of this, the pro-life movement is especially inspired to give voice to the unborn.
The media are right: to be consistent, Conservatives and pro-lifers who challenge abortion should take every precaution to ensure human lives aren’t needlessly risked or treated as disposable during the pandemic.
Likewise, to be consistent, the media should hold Liberals and pro-choicers to the same standards that they do Conservatives and pro-lifers – or drop their current argument.
Imagine the roles reversed: Headlines might accuse Liberals of not being really “pro-choice” because they don’t support choices on any issue from guns to school choice. And if the media believed their argument that “pro-life” should encompass all life, they might pen a piece on how Liberals weren’t really “pro-life” because of the party’s unwavering support of abortion.
This is the media’s double-standard: that while they insist that the born are equal to the unborn to mock the pro-life movement, they will never admit that the unborn are equal to the born.
