In sifting through a never-ending deluge of pro-life articles, blogs, and propaganda, I am particularly rankled by a particular sort of rhetoric. My pro-life counterparts have an uncanny ability to transform seemingly positive words, such as "life" or "family," into creepy code words for what I term "breeding mentality." That is, when used as pro-life doublespeak, these words refer to the disturbing, but not uncommon, notion that women (and men) exist for the sole purpose of reproduction and child-rearing. Hash-tagged too are the misogyny, homophobia, and rejection of science typically associated with the "culture of life" movement. If you don't believe me, just check out Life Site News, Focus on the Family, or Right to Life.
Take, for example, the so-called "Heartbeat Bill," which was passed this week by the Ohio House of Reps. Under this law, abortions could not be performed after the first detection of a fetal heartbeat - at about 6 weeks post conception. Thus, if ratified, this sweet-sounding bill will essentially override Roe v. Wade and spell an end to abortion rights in that state. For other such examples, see the Protect Life Act and the unratified Sanctity of Life Act.
Well, at last someone has made a cinematic portrayal of the abject terror the pro-life movement at times elicits from me. "The Life Zone," a pro-life horror film which premiered June 6 at the Hoboken Film Festival, is essentially a low-budget M. Night Shyamalan flick meets the Left Behind series. Plus a good dose of Catholic-style afterlife torment.
So, I probably won't be lining up in costume for the midnight showing of this one. But I think that in attempting to make its point artistically, the "The Life Zone" hits a little too close to home. For many women, the loss of reproductive rights would mean being trapped in a horrifying (virtual) Purgatory, forced to bear and raise an unwanted child. Pro-life activists: it may be that while you hide behind your Virgin Marys and Precious Moments dolls, your doublespeak is masking the fact that you place the rights of a fetus before those of a woman, and that you would willingly force a woman to carry a pregnancy to term. Those are some real family values.
Nice video.thanks for sharing.
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