“Elections have consequences… Stop Republicans criminalizing abortion everywhere!” reads a narrator at end of a new campaign ad by Representative Eric Swalwell. Swalwell is a California Democrat who is best known for his relationship with a Chinese spy.
The commercial features the Andersons, a fictional four-member family that is torn apart when Mary Anderson, the mother, is arrested for illegally having an abortion.
The ad encourages voters to “stop Republicans criminalizing abortion” and opens with Anderson’s baby boy sitting at the dinner table waving his spoon in his hand, looking at his mother, while Anderson makes airplane sounds to the toddler. Anderson’s older daughter says to her father, “You’re strange!” Anderson assures her daughter that “he is strange.” She adds, “But cute,” before giving her husband a kiss on the lips.
Flashing police lights in the background causes chaos. Soon, the door is slammed. Two officers are standing outside the door when Mr. Anderson and Mrs. Anderson open it.
One officer questions, “Mary Anderson?”
Mary responds, “Yes!”
“I have the warrant to arrest you.”
Anderson asks, “Arrest for what?”
The office stated that “Penal code violation 243” was the result. “Unlawful termination of a pregnancy.”
Mary states, “That’s my private business.”
The officer informs her that “that is for the courts” and adds that her medical records were subpoenaed and that the responsible abortionist was in her custody.
The Andersons’ daughter, Mary, has joined her parents at their door sheepishly. Mary’s expression is one of shock, disbelief, and fear. Mary stutters, “No, my God! You c–you can’t just–” She is told by the officer that she will have to undergo a physical exam.
Anderson steps forward and says “No one is touching me, Mrs. Anderson.” The cops immediately draw their guns and wave them at the family.
“Turn around. “Now, put your hands behind your back!” the officer shouts. Anderson’s little girl cries in the background. Mary’s voice is heard as her wrists are twisted by the cuffs.
Before Mrs. Anderson is taken from her home, the officer states that they are just following the law.
After that comes the “elections can have consequences” warning. The camera then cuts back to Mary at the back of her cop car. “Please. Please, don’t do that. “Please,” she pleads, as the screen goes black.
Swalwell’s campaign advertisement is fiction. This isn’t happening in America, not even in post-Roe America. The FBI is attempting to stop pro-life activists from entering the country with weapons to draw them to their arrest for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act). They could face lengthy sentences and heavy fines.
Right-leaning pundits and Republicans have taken to social networking to ridicule the advertisement. They were shocked at the poor acting and doubtful that such arrests would ever come to pass.
They might, however. Parts of the conservative movement insist that pro-lifers don’t want to punish women who have abortions. These conservatives may think they’re winning new converts. But in reality, it betrays the cause for life. This creates major logical inconsistencies that make conservatives appear naive about protecting unborn children.
If abortion is murder, then why would you allow the murderer or the hitman to walk? There will be cases in which the mother shouldn’t be prosecuted. Other cases in which the mother is subject to coercion or other mitigating circumstances should not be prosecuted will also be considered. However, this does not mean that we should avoid punishment. Existing criminal laws provide for defendants who are either not guilty or have limited culpability for their crimes.
Let’s go back to Swalwell’s ad. Although it doesn’t specify when Mary Anderson had her abortion, it is clear that she knew she was violating the law when she and her doctor conspired for her to have an unborn child. Her defense of the allegation was not to deny it. It was her sole defense that she said “that is my private business.” What violent crime, if any, could this be considered a valid defense for?
