Bill O'Reilly is an anti-abortion zealot who actually believes that his zealotry is saving "babies" from being "murdered." In addition to attacking those who support reproductive rights legislation and abortion providers, he has attacked women who have abortions as being too stupid, childlike, and selfish to know what's best for them which, in O'Reilly's world, is bearing a child regardless of circumstances which, in many cases, involve the life, health of the mother and the fetus. O'Reilly's hatred of women who exercise their bodily autonomy was evident in a recent Talking Points segment during which he lamented that when it comes to late term abortions, "women have all the rights." While O'Reilly speaks in general terms about how abortion is murder, implicit in his argument is that women who have abortions are murderers - an argument that underscores the belief, among those who are pro-choice, that anti-abortion zealots not only don't trust women, they hate them.
Half of Thursday's Talking Points memo, "Protecting America's Children, Why Won't Liberals Join In," was devoted to Bill's attempt to prove that Colorado needs Jessica's Law (and have the last word on it). In typical O'Reilly fashion, he cited cases that, he felt, illustrated his position; but, in typical O'Reilly fashion, his audience had to take Bill's biased word for it. While Bill has found a Republican to defend his position, at no point has he spoken to any of the legal or child welfare folks who don't support Jessica's Law. Rather, he sent out Jesse Watters to harangue the CO House Speaker whose homosexuality, according to O'Reilly, might be connected to a desire to protect pedophiles. Bill used the Talking Points to suggest that the editor of the Denver Post, who condemned Bill's attacks on the Speaker, was also hiding something.
Bill then segued into another favorite talking point; i.e. that late term abortion is "barbaric" practice that is being promoted by (Bill's favorite scapegoats) "the left." As he did during his years long attack on the assassinated Dr. Tiller, he claimed that late term abortion is being pushed "for any reason under the banner of protecting women's health." (Women's health, how silly!!!!) The core of this line of thinking is that you can't trust women to make up their own minds about their bodies and that allowing late term abortions will allow these slutty slut women to get away with terminating a pregnancy because they are having a bad hair day.
Like so many in the anti-abortion movement, who love to flaunt their bloody fetus photos in front of women going into Planned Parenthood, Bill got into grisly hyperbole. He claimed that "some late term babies are actually birthed, their spines snapped." While this is an allegation in a criminal case against a Philadelphia abortion doctor (big cause celebre in pro-life circles), there are no other documented cases. (But that's the kind of thing that will happen when abortion goes underground, I guarantee!). After citing the Philadelphia case, Bill claimed that Americans "support this." (No, Bill, they support safe and legal abortions under good medical supervision). Bill, not a doctor, continued: "Other babies have *holes drilled into their skulls inside the womb. So it's simply hard to believe that any American would support that, but some on the left do."
Catholic school alumnus Bill surmised that "many secular progressives do not want to make judgments on behavior. They don't believe in evil. They don't believe in right and wrong, everything is a gray area." (So thank God for Bill O'Reilly who tells us what to believe in stark black and white!) He then exposed his misogyny: "As for late term abortions, it is the mother who has all the rights. The babies, simply disposable. Many secular progressive do not believe in God and make up all kinds of excuses why viable babies can be murdered... very, very disturbing."
Women have reproductive rights - oh, the HORROR! Bill knows that us lil gals are just too silly to know what's best for us so thank God that he's looking out for us. If Bill didn't hate women, he might acknowledge that there are reasons for late term abortions which are not easy procedures. Bill loves us gals so much that he wants us to bear a child that will be severely medically compromised just so we can watch it die. If we have a pregnancy that could damage our health, but not kill us right away, Bill says suck it up ladies and offer it up for the poor souls in Purgatory. And if chemotherapy could hurt the fetus? Fagetabout an abortion.! One wonders how Bill would react if his daughter's doctor said that bearing a child would destroy her body. No big deal, right Bill?
*Favorite hysterical medical misinformation used by the anti-abortion right especially during debate about abortion bans or abortion rights expansion. There is no drilling, a small incision is made. Bill is lying, again.
Look, I’m not a woman, but I can tell you I’d never have a vasectomy!!! Every Sperm Is Sacred!!! Men!!! Don’t get your tubes, er, vasa, ah, vasa differential cut, you won’t corner so well … Tide goes in, tide goes out … that sorta thing … Pope knows best …