Bloggers ask for 2 million or woman gets abortion

Did someone say .... HOAX???

From the terrifying abortion countdown clock ("oh my god, cut the blue wire! No the red!") to the story which sounds remarkably like an e-mail forward I've gotten ("I'm the Prince of Nigeria and I would love to wire you money!") this screams HOAX. This reminds me of the Yale student who claimed she induced abortions for art -- of course, eventually we learned this was a brilliant way to shine the light on anti-choice logic (or lack thereof).

The blog's description

Despite using protection, my girlfriend has fallen pregnant. We're both only 19 and at the start of our university lives. The cost of raising a child in this world is just too expensive, but we don't want to abort. Adoption is NOT an option. If we can't raise TWO MILLION US DOLLARS by JUNE 30, 2008 - We have no choice but to ABORT our BABY. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Can you HELP?

Now this could get really, REALLY interesting because it has the potential to show the true colors of anti-choicers.

The hoaxer makes a valid point:

The cost of living is prohibitive, rental properties are too expensive and the cost of raising a baby is just insane, even with the government's baby bonus. We want to try and raise the child together but can’t afford to move out of home and away from our families. We come from pretty traditional ethnic families who sure as hell won't let us stay at home and raise a child.

Hmmmm, what to do?

A real pro-lifer would give some cash, no? I mean, they're willing to tirelessly lobby our legislatures and our courts. They'll picket clinics, patients and even the construction companies who BUILD clinics. They organize Marches for Life in Washington DC and travel the country with gruesome billboards comparing abortion to the Holocaust and slavery -- I mean, wouldn't this be way easier?

They could possibly eliminate abortion if they eliminated factors like poverty. If every pro-lifer pitched in, how many abortions could they stop?* Studies show that one of the main reasons women choose abortion is they can't afford to care for a child.

But I really, sincerely doubt that this couple will make 2 million. In fact, right now they're sitting at just 55 cents. With just over a month to go.

How can this be???

Because anti-choicers are less about saving the innocent unborn and more about finger pointing. Gruesome displays and pickets and restricting women's rights are TONS more fun than opening up your pocketbook and doing something concrete to fix the problem of unplanned pregnancy.

What I predict will happen...

-- Lots of finger pointing--
-- "YOU got into this mess. YOU have to take responsibility."
-- "Abortion is murder. You won't be able to live with yourself if you murder your baby."
-- Somehow this will get blamed on feminists.

Therein lies the brilliance of this hoax. It will essentially reveal that the true "pro-life" goal --- not to help people but to shame them and deny them options. A project like this, where the fetus is essentially in 'pro-life' hands (or pocketbooks), may just make their tiny heads explode.

But just to be clear, this IS clearly some sort of hoax. If you do want to carry a pregnancy to term, you do it-- you find government aid and try and make it work. If you don't want to surrender your life to struggle and aren't invested in bringing a child into the world, you adopt or abort.

And if you want to make 2 million dollars, you create an elaborate hoax that plays heavily on people's emotions.

* Some might argue "What are pro-choicers doing to reduce the abortion rate, why are you putting it all on 'pro-life' people?"

Funny you should ask. Pro-choice people are progressives who fight for universal healthcare, better minimum wage, paid maternity leave, affordable childcare and they are also the same people that fight for accurate sex education and available contraception.

So yeah, we're doing 80 BILLION times more than any anti-choicer EVER did to reduce abortions.