Talk Turkey Josie Luetke
On March 20, 2017, famed white supremacist Richard Spencer declared, “We should recognize that the pro-life movement – this is not the alt-right, this has nothing in common with identitarians … Pro-lifers want to be radically dysgenic, egalitarian, multi-racial human rights thumpers – and they’re not us.”
In response, I commented on my Facebook wall, “Well, thanks! I never expected to be so sincerely complimented by Richard Spencer of all people. I will gladly identify as a ‘multi-racial human rights thumper’ in the future. It’s really regrettable that much of the pro-choice movement and society at large do not see us in the same light.”
Fast forward exactly one year later: Former Rebel Media reporter and pro-lifer Faith Goldy’s slated talk on “Ethnocide: Multiculturalism and European-Canadian Identity” at Wilfrid Laurier University was prompting many of my pro-life friends to come out of the woodwork as sympathizers of white nationalism. So, as it turns out, before others can see the pro-life movement as “radically dysgenic, egalitarian, multi-racial human rights thumpers,” we ourselves need to see the movement that way.
Out of respect for viewpoint diversity, I generally shy away from applying the “pro-life” label too exclusively. If you think abortion is morally wrong and should be illegal, then you can call yourself pro-life – you don’t need to hold that position plus position x, or minus position y. That said, I think there are some stances on other moral issues that are either more or less consistent with the pro-life position.
White nationalism/supremacy is one position I would contend is inconsistent with the pro-life one and though, yes, white nationalism and supremacy are distinct concepts, in my experience the two go hand in hand.
For instance, one pro-life friend of mine who wants Canada to only accept European immigrants defended his position by claiming (I’m paraphrasing here): “People in developing countries are too dumb to figure out how to feed themselves.” The white supremacy is obvious: underprivileged people of colour are less intelligent and therefore, supposedly, ought not to receive the same opportunities that white Europeans do.
This immediately brought to mind the story of the Montoyas, a Costa Rican family whose application for permanent residency in Canada was turned down because 13-year-old Nico Montoya has down syndrome. Citizenship and Immigration Canada contended that Nico would be too much of a burden on the state. Pro-lifers were angered by this news. This was discrimination against the disabled.
But why did we all care? It’s not like Nico was in danger of being aborted. The reason is because at the heart of the pro-life position is the belief that all human beings are equal because we’re all equally human. We argue that discriminating against a fetus because of their age is just as nonsensical as discriminating against another human being because of their gender, their disability, or their race. These are uncontrollable characteristics about ourselves, which vary from person to person, and ought not be thought of as morally relevant.
White nationalists/supremacists also seem to believe that race determines behaviour and if there are exceptions to the rule, those exceptions do not matter. I am reminded of the argument I occasionally hear from so-called pro-choicers that children conceived in rape are bound to be like their rapist fathers. I should not need to remind anyone that the racial or criminal background of one’s parents does not predestine one to any particular future. Pro-lifers believe in the power of an individual to transcend their circumstances, be it a mother facing a crisis pregnancy or a child being born into a tough situation. The pro-life outlook is ultimately an incredibly hopeful and positive one.
Furthermore, we never abandon the individual. We advocate for human rights for each and every human being, not for a vague notion of communitarian welfare. We do not compromise the rights of the fetus for any group interests or utilitarian calculation and yet there remain pro-lifers willing to deny individual people of colour the opportunity to build a life in Canada because of fears about upsetting our present way of life. Sound familiar?
I am not saying being a white nationalist is the same as being for abortion, but I do think there are similarities between the fundamental assumptions of white nationalists and pro-choicers, and so I find white nationalism within the pro-life movement deeply concerning. I feel odd asking for this, but this one time, let Richard Spencer be right about us (and by “us,” I do not mean white people).
