It didn’t surprise me when GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum said on “Meet the Press” last Sunday that he thought abortion providers should serve jail time. He’s always been an extreme anti-choicer, and his contention that any doctor who performs an abortion should be treated like a criminal is consistent with that belief. What does irk me, however, is that he believes women who get abortions shouldn’t go to jail.
Now, it’s not that I think women should be criminalized for having abortions — I’m as pro-choice as they come, and I believe abortion should be legal, safe, accessible and free. But Santorum’s stance on abortion is inconsistent, reeks of sexism and just isn’t honest about what criminalizing abortion would look like in America.
When asked about his stance, Santorum said he opposed abortion even in cases of rape and incest, and that he “would advocate that any doctor that performs an abortion should be criminally charged for doing so.” He continued by saying, “I’ve never supported criminalizing abortion for mothers, but I do for people who perform them.”
Now hold on a minute. If Santorum believes, as he said, that abortion is “taking a life,” then why is he claiming to let women get off the hook? Shouldn’t they be prosecuted along with the doctors who provide the procedure? After all, it’s ultimately women who make the decision to have an abortion. And if abortion were made illegal in the United States, then the women who obtained them would absolutely be held criminally responsible — it’s disingenuous to suggest otherwise.
But this sentiment — that doctors should go to prison, but women shouldn’t — is actually pretty common among anti-choicers. The idea behind it is that women who get abortions are victims — of doctors, boyfriends or the evil “abortion industry,” and that when women go to get abortions, they don’t actually realize that they’ll be … well, getting an abortion. (The same idea is behind “informed consent” laws, whose supposed aim is to make sure that women really know what an abortion is. Hint: We do. That’s why we’re there.) The idea that a woman could actually be making an informed decision about her reproductive health and future never comes into play. In the minds of Santorum and the anti-choice movement, we’re all just widdle girls who need someone to save us. But truly, we don’t.
The anti-choice line that women shouldn’t be prosecuted is also a politically savvy one. The movement knows that the general public is not going to take too kindly to groups that want to throw more than one-third of American women (yes, that’s how many get abortions) in jail.
And the truth is, notwithstanding this dishonest stance by anti-choice organizations and politicians, many individual anti-choice activists haven’t even thought about the issue. At least, that’s what a video shot at an anti-choice protest in Libertyville, Ill., demonstrated. The cameraman asks demonstrator after demonstrator — all of whom believe abortion should be illegal — what the penalty should be for a woman who has had an abortion. As Anna Quindlen wrote in her 2007 Newsweek article about the video, “you have rarely seen people look more gobsmacked.” The protestors give confused answers, if they answer at all. But they are never willing to say that they think women should go to jail.
If abortion becomes illegal, women will go to jail. There’s always a penalty for breaking the law. After all, we prosecute the buyers of sex and illegal drugs, not just the sellers. So if you want abortion outlawed, then you better be prepared to send a hell of a lot of women to prison. To suggest that won’t happen is insulting and sexist.
Of course, if you’re anti-choice and you’re uncomfortable with the idea of imprisoning vast numbers of American women for wanting to control their lives and plan their families, you might want to start rethinking your entire position.
Now, it’s not that I think women should be criminalized for having abortions — I’m as pro-choice as they come, and I believe abortion should be legal, safe, accessible and free. But Santorum’s stance on abortion is inconsistent, reeks of sexism and just isn’t honest about what criminalizing abortion would look like in America.
When asked about his stance, Santorum said he opposed abortion even in cases of rape and incest, and that he “would advocate that any doctor that performs an abortion should be criminally charged for doing so.” He continued by saying, “I’ve never supported criminalizing abortion for mothers, but I do for people who perform them.”
Now hold on a minute. If Santorum believes, as he said, that abortion is “taking a life,” then why is he claiming to let women get off the hook? Shouldn’t they be prosecuted along with the doctors who provide the procedure? After all, it’s ultimately women who make the decision to have an abortion. And if abortion were made illegal in the United States, then the women who obtained them would absolutely be held criminally responsible — it’s disingenuous to suggest otherwise.
But this sentiment — that doctors should go to prison, but women shouldn’t — is actually pretty common among anti-choicers. The idea behind it is that women who get abortions are victims — of doctors, boyfriends or the evil “abortion industry,” and that when women go to get abortions, they don’t actually realize that they’ll be … well, getting an abortion. (The same idea is behind “informed consent” laws, whose supposed aim is to make sure that women really know what an abortion is. Hint: We do. That’s why we’re there.) The idea that a woman could actually be making an informed decision about her reproductive health and future never comes into play. In the minds of Santorum and the anti-choice movement, we’re all just widdle girls who need someone to save us. But truly, we don’t.
The anti-choice line that women shouldn’t be prosecuted is also a politically savvy one. The movement knows that the general public is not going to take too kindly to groups that want to throw more than one-third of American women (yes, that’s how many get abortions) in jail.
And the truth is, notwithstanding this dishonest stance by anti-choice organizations and politicians, many individual anti-choice activists haven’t even thought about the issue. At least, that’s what a video shot at an anti-choice protest in Libertyville, Ill., demonstrated. The cameraman asks demonstrator after demonstrator — all of whom believe abortion should be illegal — what the penalty should be for a woman who has had an abortion. As Anna Quindlen wrote in her 2007 Newsweek article about the video, “you have rarely seen people look more gobsmacked.” The protestors give confused answers, if they answer at all. But they are never willing to say that they think women should go to jail.
If abortion becomes illegal, women will go to jail. There’s always a penalty for breaking the law. After all, we prosecute the buyers of sex and illegal drugs, not just the sellers. So if you want abortion outlawed, then you better be prepared to send a hell of a lot of women to prison. To suggest that won’t happen is insulting and sexist.
Of course, if you’re anti-choice and you’re uncomfortable with the idea of imprisoning vast numbers of American women for wanting to control their lives and plan their families, you might want to start rethinking your entire position.
