The Washington Post goofed in a caption for a picture accompanying Sarah Kaplan's Wednesday article. Kaplan spotlighted the people who waited for hours in cold and wet conditions outside the Supreme Court in order to witness the oral arguments in the latest abortion case. The journalist correctly reported that Aimee Murphy of Life Matters Journal [pictured at right at the 2016 March for Life, taken from her Facebook page] is a "'pro-life feminist,' a label she proudly wore on the pink sweatshirt beneath her raincoat." However, the caption for the photo of Murphy and colleague Lisa Twigg claimed that the two "work for the abortion rights publication Life Matters Journal." [see screen capture below]
Midway through her write-up, Kaplan noted that Murphy, "executive director of the Life Matters Journal, also wants the court to uphold the Texas regulation [that requires abortionists to have hospital admitting privileges, among other standards]." The journalist then devoted four paragraphs to the pro-lifer's background:
...[Murphy] was not trying to change minds with prayer. Instead, she hoped her presence would do that job. Murphy is a "pro-life feminist," a label she proudly wore on the pink sweatshirt beneath her raincoat. She grew up in California, socially progressive, politically liberal. She was the kind of young woman who would quickly call out behavior she saw as sexist, and she was, "of course, pro-choice," she said.
But then she had a pregnancy scare at age 16, and her boyfriend told her he'd consider killing himself, her and their unborn child if she refused to get an abortion.
"It became so clear that non-violence had to be the way," she said. Murphy eventually found out that she was not in fact pregnant, but the experience changed her. She was still liberal, she said, still a feminist. But now she was pro-life.
"There's a lot of division here, and we want to represent an alternative," she said. "Fight the ideology that women need to kill their children to be successful."
The pro-lifer gave more details about her former boyfriend's threat of murder-suicide in an article on Feminists for Life's website:
I told my parents what was going on. I took several home pregnancy tests (none to the satisfaction of my mother) and eventually went to get a check-up with a doctor. I wasn’t pregnant. It was a relief, but it simultaneously put a weight on my heart: I had desired abortion a mere four days ago. This wrenched me and I wept… but as a 16-year-old, I was grateful for the new chance that I was given without having to inflict any violence. My story would not end in pain and suffering, a broken body, or a broken heart. The threat of violence helped me to recognize the value of every human life and the importance of those voices that spoke out for the dignity of both woman and child.
Murphy and Twigg's apperance in the picture that Kaplan took could have fooled the caption writer, as Murphy has bright blue-green hair with a strand of pink hair in the front. Twigg's hair is shorter, with a stand of blonde hair towards the back. However, both are wearing sweatjackets that bear the slogan, "This is what a PRO-LIFE FEMINIST looks like."
