The Benedictines have a long tradition of  independent thought.  In this simple quote, Sister Joan Chittister, O.S.B. sums up the hypocrisy in the ‘pro-life’ movement:

“I do not believe that just because you’re opposed to abortion, that that makes you pro-life. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. And why would I think that you don’t? Because you don’t want any tax money to go there. That’s not pro-life. That’s pro-birth. We need a much broader conversation on what the morality of pro-life is.”

Republican lawmakers and anti-choice extremists continue to introduce and pass misogynist laws restricting a woman’s reproductive rights. At the same time, Republicans works to shut down wo.men’s health clinics, especially Planned Parenthood. You don’t hear of these Right Wing anti-choice extremists adopting children from unplanned pregnancies. But you do hear of them cutting government programs like school lunches for children, cutting government financial and heath care aid to families who are homeless and/or in need, and blocking free college education. No, the goal of these hypocrites  is control – control over women’s bodies and women’s futures. (the quote comes from Daily Kos)

(Sister Joan Chittister is a lecturer, an advocate for women’s reproductive rights and author of 50 books. . She has a Ph.D. from Penn State University and is a research associate at Cambridge University. Other subjects of her writing includes women in the church and society, human rights, peace and justice, religious life and spirituality. She has appeared in the media on numerous shows including Meet the Press, 60 Minutes, Bill Moyers, BBC, NPR, and Oprah Winfrey.  Joan Chittister’s website address is Joan Chittister.org.)