A statement by U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, has ignited the pro-life critique that sex without responsibility is a problem, indicative of how legal abortions are used to exploit women. Buttigieg’s claim during an online fundraising event that men are freer in a country where access to abortion care is intact was quickly refuted by pro-life advocates.
Ashley McGuire, senior fellow with The Catholic Association, said that Buttigieg is validating what pro-life groups have always known about abortion. It gives men the freedom to exploit women, leading to a domination disguised as freedom.
Similarly, Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee, called Buttigieg’s comments “creepy and disgusting,” arguing that men should accept the responsibility that comes with creating a new life rather than pushing women into abortions to evade responsibility.
Emily Davis, Vice President of Communications for the Charlotte Lozier Institute, a pro-life organization, shared her personal experience of how she had been pressured to have an abortion, emphasizing the experience of many women who suffer coercion into unwanted abortions.