Part of the Democratic strategy on abortion is to paint Republicans as unsympathetic to the plight of pregnant women. Eva Burch, a Democrat in the Arizona state Senate, is keen to do that with her own story.
Last week, Burch spoke on the floor of the state Senate about her fertility journey. Although she has two children, she has also experienced non-viable pregnancy and miscarriage.
Burch explained she was pregnant but that “after numerous ultrasounds and blood draws, we have determined that my pregnancy is once again not progressing and is not viable. I don’t know how many of you have been unfortunate enough to experience a miscarriage before, but I am not interested in going through it unnecessarily. And right now the safest and most appropriate treatment for me and the treatment that I choose is abortion.”
Her pain and passion are the kinds of things used to encourage voters to support abortion. Except Burch isn’t describing an abortion — she’s describing treatment for a miscarriage.
I am also a mother whose own fertility journey took a while. Between my two full-term pregnancies, I experienced a non-viable pregnancy and suffered a miscarriage. My body naturally expelled my pregnancy, and I did not have to undergo a dilation and curettage.
A D&C procedure is standard medical care for a miscarriage and non-viability. It is not an elective abortion whereby the unborn child, with healthy development and growth, is targeted for death just because he or she is inconvenient or unwanted. And it’s very, very important to distinguish between the two.
Miscarriage is a devastating, often unexplained event. Roughly one in four women will experience a miscarriage during their childbearing years. Burch and I are among them. Whether it’s a natural expulsion or a D&C to remove pregnancy tissue, one thing is clear: It’s not an elective abortion to cause the death of another human being.
I feel for Burch and her pregnancy journey, including the sorrow of unwanted loss. But I don’t appreciate this sleight of hand and emotional manipulation. Her goal is to make pro-life Republicans appear as woman-hating monsters intent on pushing women through as much suffering as possible.
Pro-lifers desire to protect life in the womb. They also understand the tragedy of miscarriage. Procedures that treat miscarriage are not the life-ending abortions Burch and other Democrats wish to protect. Attempts to conflate the two are not new. And if any pro-life voters or politicians believe miscarriage care is morally wrong, they are both ignorant and causing harm to the larger pro-life cause.
During an appearance on Democracy Now!, Burch was treated as a hero for her supposed bravery. However, elective abortion is not a courageous choice. There is a reason for the stigma surrounding it. That stigma should remain. The difference between abortion and miscarriage care should be delineated. A D&C is sorrowful but necessary healthcare. Elective abortion is not care at all but a death sentence for the most defenseless among us.
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Regardless of their rage, Democrats are on the wrong side of the abortion debate. The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson does not oppress women nor did it ban abortion in the country. Abortion is still legal in many states, and that will continue into the foreseeable future.
The party of President Joe Biden wants voters to believe it truly cares about others when, the whole time, it’s the Democrats who ignore one of the humans in the abortion equation. Making abortion more palatable is their entire goal.
Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog and a columnist at Arc Digital.