Gov. Pawlenty's Offensive "Abortion Recovery Month"

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Here we go again. Just when you thought the religious right couldn’t come up with any more outrageous behavior designed to offend mainstream Americans and accomplish nothing of worth, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty proclaims April, again, “Abortion Recovery Month.”

The proclamation, first cited by the Minnesota Independent, “encourages and promotes healing opportunities and raises awareness of the aftermath of abortion experienced by individuals and families,” according to the document signed by the Republican governor and Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie.

According to Politico, the proclamation also recognizes that “many Minnesota organizations offer support and recovery services to those who have had abortions or who have been impacted by abortion" and that “many organizations in Minnesota promote policies that reinforce a culture of life and hope.”

It’s time for the religious right to get honest about what it’s really doing by continuing to campaign against abortion rights. (Politico reports Pawlenty’s third April declaration was done “at the behest of the anti-abortion advocacy group Silent No More.”)

What is the religious right doing by campaigning against abortion? First and foremost, its efforts seem aimed at trying to keep church pews filled by bringing more and more poor people into the world. Second, it will just end up boosting the teen unwed pregnancy rate every time it guilt trips an unwed, pregnant teen into bringing to term a child she does not want and cannot afford to raise. Third, it will effectively subjugate women and girls in the same way women and girls in developing nations are consigned to a life of child-bearing and little else.

So as long as Pawlenty is declaring April Abortion Recovery Month, if he wants to be fair and unbiased on this issue, he should declare May, “Anti-abortion Zealots Recovery Month,” so the rest of us can get a break from their unrelenting proselytizing and tomfoolery.

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