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Missouri Governor Matt Blunt has put an anti-choice group in charge of convening a task force in his name to investigate the "impact of abortion on women." Of course, every member of the task force is anti-choice. I'm sure this will be an "objective overview of the impact of abortion."The forced-pregnancy movement uses tactics like this -- bullshit committees stacked with anti-choicers and testimony from biased "experts" -- to introduce inaccurate or slanted information about abortion into the public record, which can be used to prop up anti-choice legislation and legal decisions. So trust me, these task forces are a big deal. As Sarah Blustain and Reva Siegel have noted, this is exactly what happened in South Dakota. The 2005 task force on abortion was a major factor in the state's abortion ban (which voters overturned last year). State lawmakers used the biased "findings" (over which the only two pro-choice members of the task force quit in protest) to form the basis of the legislation that not only criminalized abortion, but used the "daddy knows best" language that's the hallmark of the anti-choice movement. So don't you just love how the Associated Press says "Gov. Matt Blunt, an abortion opponent, has launched the state on a scientific quest to determine how abortions affect women," then goes on to use this quote:
“I certainly would begin with the presumption that abortion has a negative impact on Missouri children, Missouri women, Missouri men, because it’s harmful to society,” Blunt said.Sure sounds like a "scientific quest" to me. Stay tuned for the task force's completely biased findings, and the terrible legislation that is likely to result.--Ann Friedman
