What Is NOW Afraid Of?

In my post of January 24 (“Facing Our Frank Larys”) I dealt with the fear of losing, and how it can keep us from winning. Leaders in the pro-choice movement seem to be playing with that fear regarding Focus on the Family’s pro-life television ad featuring Tim Tebow and his mother, set to air during the Super Bowl.

When she was pregnant with Tim, Pam Tebow ignored medical advice to abort him. The family has long since shared the blessings of choosing life, and that's what they will do on Super Bowl Sunday. Several pro-choice organizations, including the National Organization for Women (NOW) have called on CBS to cancel the ad, condemning it as inappropriate and divisive.

Erin Matson, NOW Action Vice President, posted this message on NOW’s "Say it, Sister!" blog on January 26: "Make no mistake about this ad: it's offensive to women.... Standing alone, it sends the message that all women who give birth are heroes; it sends a message that abortion is always a mistake; and it is insulting to the one in three women in this country who have abortions."

I wish everyone who feels this way would sincerely take this question to heart: What are you afraid of? Why do you fear the Tebows’ story being told? What would lead you to make these kinds of statements?

"It sends the message that all women who give birth are heroes." If the definition of hero does not include self-sacrifice and a willingness to suffer so another person can live, we must have different dictionaries.

"It sends a message that abortion is always a mistake." Wearing different colored socks is a mistake. Abortion is a tragedy, for the children whose lives are lost and the women whose lives are forever scarred. Always.

"It is insulting to the one in three women in this country who have abortions." Denying women information about the choice of life is an insult--no, it is a grave injustice to them and their unborn children.

Fortunately, not all pro-choice proponents share NOW’s fear of the ad. Several women identifying themselves as pro-choice or feminists responded to the post with pointed criticism, expressing disgust that NOW would try to suppress Mrs. Tebow from sharing the choice she made. (If you are truly “pro-choice,” they argue, you want people well informed about all their choices.) The thoughtfulness expressed in these posts offers hope that one day all in the pro-choice movement will join the cause of life.

In the meantime, we give thanks for the progress being made, and pray for the success of the Tebows’ testimony.