In her keynote speech on the war on women portion of Netroots Nation, Darcy Burner, asked women who have had an abortion to stand (if they were willing). Burner then asked people willing to stand with these women and say no to the right's tactics of hate and shame.



The moment comes later in the video but the whole speech about power structures is a vital must for people to know.

Sadly, the right decided to completely take the speech out of context by portraying it as some celebration of abortion. It's like the believe pro-choice means an advocacy of having all pregnancies terminated. Anti-choice right winger Melissa Clouthier wrote:



It was difficult to estimate the number of women as they were sprinkled through out the audience. They stood alone while Burner admonished the attendees to hold their applause. Then Burner asked the others seated in the audience to stand and give these women a standing ovation. The audience complied enthusiastically. I sat during this spectacle. Burner said,”If you are a woman in this room, and statistically this is true of about 1/3 of the women in this room, if you’re a woman in this room who has had an abortion and is willing to come out about it, please stand up.” She continued, “Now, if you are willing to stand with every woman who is willing to come out about having had an abortion, please stand up.” Nearly everyone stood. Burner said,”This is how we change the stories in people’s past. We need to make it okay for women to come out about the choices they make.” The left will say that they’re not pro-abortion, they’re pro-choice or they’re pro-women. It was clear, though, that abortion itself was elevated as something good and something to be celebrated.

Only someone with close mind could have sat in the convention hall and interpreted the speech in that manner. I was there and I stood proudly with the women who were not afraid to identify in public that they had an abortion. They should not be afraid to be public about their choice. There is no reason for another person to spew vitriol against woman who has a medical procedure decided between themselves and a doctor.

Real pro-lifers would support women's reproductive health, provide support for children already born, & say no to hatred. I stand in solidarity with the one in three women who will exercise their right to control their body.

The attacks from the right-wing will continue against Darcy. Let's show them we have her back. Please consider donating to her campaign... we desperately need her voice in Congress.

Update: First thanks for getting this on the rec list. Great to see the community supporting Darcy but let's get those donor numbers up if we can! Second, TeacherKen also has a diary up on supporting the campaign. Great minds think alike right?

TeacherKen notes:

For some reason the Democratic party, both within the state and for the DCCC, has chosen to back another candidate, one who can self-fund, but is not progressive. The data from Survey USA is that Darcy is leading the Dems, and performs best against the Republican. The state party is trying to crush Darcy. I have heard from a high-ranking Democrat in the state that the party leadership is angry at Darcy. Too often in districts that Democrats should be able to win the party mechanism backs candidates who are far from being strongest on Democratic values and issues. Remember that Washington has voting by mail, and the ballots will be going out relatively soon, for primaries officially take place in August. Darcy needs support to ensure she can get her message out.

The party should be following Darcy's example instead of trying to hurt her campaign. Show the party and show the right-wing that we stand with Darcy!