{"id":216840,"date":"2020-01-19T15:22:29","date_gmt":"2020-01-19T21:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=216840"},"modified":"2020-01-20T22:30:32","modified_gmt":"2020-01-21T04:30:32","slug":"pro-lifers-human-rights-religion-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/pro-lifers-human-rights-religion-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro-lifers are motivated by the idea of human rights for all, not by religion or hatred of women"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Last year, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar <\/span>claimed<\/span><\/a> that pro-life advocates are “religious fundamentalists,” who want to “impose their beliefs\u201d on society. Delivering her remarks on the House floor, Omar parroted a series of myths about the pro-life movement\u2019s so-called anti-science, anti-woman, religious zealotry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

MYTH #1:\u00a0<\/strong>The pro-life movement is anti-science, and simply means to control women.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“The recent efforts like those in Alabama and Georgia are only the latest in a long history of attempts <\/span>to criminalize women for simply existing and to punish us<\/i><\/b> when we don’t conform to their attempts to control us,” Omar said. (emphasis added).<\/span><\/p>\n

THE TRUTH:<\/strong> While there are many religious individuals and organizations working to end abortion in the United States and around the world, the pro-life movement includes many secular\u00a0groups<\/a> fighting to end abortion. The pro-life movement seeks to extend basic human rights to all people, including preborn children in the womb.<\/p>\n

Moreover, science <\/span>proves<\/span><\/a> that life begins at fertilization, and not at some arbitrary point during pregnancy.<\/span><\/p>\n

The pro-life movement is also not interested in controlling women. Rather, thousands of pro-life pregnancy centers across the United States, run by both religious and non-religious organizations, show that pro-lifers care deeply about women. These centers are staffed mostly by volunteers and they survive on donations. They provide women with maternity clothes, baby gear, baby clothes, diapers, help with insurance, and assistance with daycare. Some provide parenting classes, and others provide housing.<\/span><\/p>\n

And despite the pro-abortion movement\u2019s emphasis on choice, women are often pressured into abortion by boyfriends, family, and husbands. According to a <\/span>study<\/span><\/a> by the <\/span>Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons<\/span><\/i>, alm<\/span>ost three-quarters of women with a history of abortion reported feeling pressured to abort.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n