National Review’s resident pro-life expert Alexandra DeSanctis recently did something many view as impossible these days: She participated in a civil debate over a controversial topic on a college campus.
My colleague debated feminist attorney Jill Filipovic on the resolution “Legal Access to Abortion Is Necessary for the Freedom and Equality of Women” at the University of Notre Dame, DeSanctis’s alma mater.
Though both women have said they wish the topic of abortion were not even up for debate — albeit for wildly different reasons — the pair partook in a civil exchange of ideas.
DeSanctis’s remarks begin 43 minutes in and conclude a few minutes past the one-hour mark. Below are some highlights.
DeSanctis forcefully called out the big pro-abortion lie:
For those of you who follow the abortion debate, you know that some form of tonight’s resolution is, by far, the most common defense of abortion. I cover this issue all the time, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard an abortion supporter say, “I think it’s just great to kill unborn children.” No. What do they say instead?
“Women need this.”
I think that’s a devastating lie. Women need so much more than abortion could ever hope to offer. Abortion is like trying to put a tiny little Band-Aid on a gaping wound.
Still, DeSanctis worked to find a common ground with Filipovic, who is also a CNN opinion writer and freelance journalist. In doing so, she refutes the oft-repeated lie that it is the pro-abortion side that cares about women:
It might surprise you to hear it, but I agree with some of what Jill said in her opening remarks. I agree with her that countless women find themselves in difficult circumstances that can make it seem like abortion is a solution.
It is an undeniable reality that women get pregnant and men don’t. That means that women face unique obstacles as a result of pregnancy and childbearing. I agree with that entirely. That reality is important. And I agree with Jill that women should be able to control their own bodies and decide when to have children.
But DeSanctis paints a clear picture of what abortion is and is not — adeptly noting where the two perspectives diverge:
But Jill and I disagree about what abortion is. If “controlling your body” means you have the right to end the life of a human being developing inside you, that’s where we have to draw the line. If “deciding when to have children” means you can kill a child you’ve already conceived because it’s not the right time for you, that’s where we have to draw the line.
Where Jill and I disagree is when she claims that, because women face the unique obstacles of pregnancy and childbearing, that means we need abortion. Women who face obstacles to their freedom and equality need all sorts of things, many of which Jill and I would probably agree on — but none of those things are found in the ability to kill our own children. No real freedom or equality or control of our own decisions can be underpinned by an act of violence.
Abortion supporters would have women believe that abortion is a means to an end, that in order to be a good feminist and a high-achieving woman who steers her own ship, you must be able to terminate unwanted pregnancies. But DeSanctis pushed back during the debate, arguing how deeply anti-feminist and disingenuous that argument is:
Think about how deeply anti-feminist that is, to tell women that they can only be free and equal relative to men if they participate in violence. If you’re a woman in the corporate world, they say, you’ll never have any hope of climbing the ladder and reaching the corner office unless you have the right to control your own body, by which they mean committing an act of violence. If you’re a woman with two kids and expensive bills, you’ll never be a good mother unless you can control your reproduction and do away with your third child. If you’re a pregnant mother whose husband or partner or family won’t support her, you have no hope of surviving unless you commit an act of violence.
DeSanctis says what every pro-lifer knows, and every abortion cheerleader would prefer to ignore:
Abortion is an easy way out for a society and a culture that is deeply anti-woman. These women need real solutions. If there are women out there who feel like they can’t pay their bills or care for their children or succeed in the workplace or participate in relationships on equal footing without resorting to an act of violence, they need assistance and support and, frankly, love. They need a community that supports women. They need a partner who loves them. They need people who walk with them. They do not need abortion.