How extreme is MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry? Extreme enough that she recognizes no right to speak to a pregnant woman seeking an abortion. That “choice” to abort only has merit if no one disturbs it by counseling against it.
In a column for The Nation, Harris-Perry sulked about the Supreme Court ruling striking down “buffer zones” in Massachusetts. “This decision has, in the end, unleashed something far more insidious than the danger of a few extremists having greater access to kill or maim. The Supreme Court has decided—unanimously—that the First Amendment protects the right of every single American to approach and intimately 'counsel' any pregnant woman,” she complained.
Her article asked “Are women adults?” but apparently “women adults” can’t handle pleas not to abort. She wants the pleaders to have medical degrees, even when the abortion counselors don’t:
There is no requirement that such counselors have medical licenses, counseling degrees or any other professional credentials. There is no requirement that the literature they distribute be accurate.
The Court’s decision erodes the ability of pregnant women to enjoy the rights of autonomy and privacy that are necessary for full citizenship.
She cited Justice Louis Brandeis establishing a "right to left alone" and then compared women seeking abortions to slaves and children:
This comprehensive right helps establish who is inside or outside the circle of full citizenship. People who are presumed not to have autonomy include slaves, prisoners and children. Before Roe v. Wade, pregnant women were similarly limited. Some states forced women to obtain counseling and permission from strangers before allowing them to terminate their pregnancies. The result was an incredible invasion of privacy.
“Full citizenship” in her liking transforms “the right to choose” into the “right to a dissent-free bubble.” In her cartoon, protesters are always horrendous, never patient or kind:
I experienced an early version of these “counseling efforts” when I volunteered as an escort for women seeking abortions. We would hold their hands and shield their faces as they walked the gantlet of ghoulish dead-infant photos, bloody crosses and obscene taunts of “baby murderer.” The experience was terrifying for patients and volunteers.
As usual, the photos are “ghoulish.” The abortion itself is apparently bloodless and pristine.
