I Want My Abortion Doughnut!
On January 20th 2009, America watched as Barack Obama took the oath of office and became the 44th President of the United States. Many watching wondered what the election of a pro-choice president means for the state of reproductive rights in the United States and abroad. Also, what will the response be from pro-life groups that have gotten used to a president who gleefully strips women of their reproductive rights?
That question has been answered. One of those groups, the Virginia-based American Life League (ALL), has decided to lead the fight against — get ready for it — pro-abortion doughnuts.
The ALL, which bills itself as a “grassroots Catholic pro-life education organization in the United States [that is] committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of conception to natural death,” recently called for a boycott against the new leaders of the pro-choice movement, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Yes, you read that correctly. Krispy Kreme.
On January 14, the popular doughnut chain issued the following statement:
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD) is honoring American’s sense of pride and freedom of choice on Inauguration Day, by offering a free doughnut of choice to every customer on this historic day, Jan. 20. By doing so, participating Krispy Kreme stores nationwide are making an oath to tasty goodies — just another reminder of how oh-so-sweet “free” can be.
Apparently, using the phrase “freedom of choice” while celebrating the historic election of Barack Obama is a problem for the ALL, which insisted that Krispy Kreme’s marketing is a “tacit endorsement of abortion rights on demand.” Their disingenuous attempt to connect this press-release to such a controversial issue is reprehensible as well as silly. It indicates that they’re willing to go to any length — no matter how ridiculous — to tie their pet issue into anything that gets them media exposure.
It’s unclear what the response the ALL hopes to get from the public with this stunt. A September 2008 NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll showed that the vast majority of Americans are for some form of abortion rights with 49% saying that abortion should be legal most or all of the time. According to this poll, only 10% of Americans support making abortion illegal with no exceptions. In light of these numbers, it’s hard to imagine the average American will be impressed by attempts to bully doughnut shops into submission.
While it may be tempting to ignore such petty maneuvers, it’s important to be cognizant of their effects. Due to the amount of negative attention the ALL’s boycott received, Krispy Kreme issued a press-release promising that “The Inauguration Day promotion was not about any social or political issue.” It’s unfortunate that the ALL was even able to provoke a response. It tells us that will they attempt to scour the country of any real — or imaginary — pro-choice rhetoric. If they can cause enough outrage through misrepresentation and outright lies, they might be successful.
Reproductive freedom is a very important to the childfree community. Access to abortion and birth control are necessary to ensure that we can make the choice to opt out of parenthood. President Obama is already working toward these goals by restoring funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which “helps governments formulate policies and strategies to reduce poverty and support sustainable development.” President Obama has also signed an executive order rescinding the “global gag rule” which prohibited funds from going to organizations that perform or promote abortions. However, this progress won’t last if groups like the ALL can successfully demonize everything down to doughnut shop marketing campaigns as “pro-abortion.”
Luckily, public response seems to be that the ALL have gone too far. Twirlit.com beat the organization at their own game of misrepresentation by declaring that “The American Life League Hates Doughnuts.” Some folks online have wondered if the ALL really meant to submit their opinion piece to The Onion. Others commenting on Salon.com have declared them certifiable.
Hopefully, American citizens will continue to laugh at groups like the American Life League while fighting the serious fight for reproductive rights. All while eating a few tasty abortion doughnuts. With sprinkles.
Copyright A. Sowell. Published 1 February 2009 in Features.
Reader comments
Commenting is closed for this article.