Credit where it's due

Kirsten Powers, Fox News analyst and self-described liberal feminist, has posted a very thoughtful and informative article today about the use of ultrasound devices at pregnancy crisis centers.

She correctly observes that those who proclaim to be feminists should not be afraid of these efforts. If one is truly acting in the best interest of the woman struggling with a decision about what to do with her baby, one would want to provide her with all of the best available information so that her choice is an informed one.

In Ms. Powers's words:

As a life-long feminist, I find this approach by so-called women's rights groups perplexing and more than a little insulting to women.

What really seems to enrage NARAL and Planned Parenthood is when crisis pregnancy centers use ultra-sound devices, or other methods, to show women pictures of their fetuses. To say that this is a "scare tactic" would be like saying it is a "scare tactic" to show a man a picture of clogged arteries to try to get him to understand his health situation. Yes, it may scare him in a certain direction — or not — but it's an informed decision.

If a woman is seven weeks pregnant and someone shows her this picture, what is wrong with that? How is that "scary"?

Women are not delicate little flowers who can't handle information, despite what NARAL Pro Choice and Planned Parenthood tell us. They should have the option of having all the information presented to them before an abortion so they understand what they are doing.

I don't think they should be forced to look at an ultrasound, but one should be offered....

Please read the whole thing. It's not too often you'll see me linking to pro-choicers (favorably) on this site, but in this case, Ms. Powers is providing a reasonable voice to a very important issue, and it needs to be promoted.