By Kathleen Gilbert
WASHINGTON, D.C., January 19, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pro-abortion commentators have unleashed a torrent of attacks following the pro-life community’s criticism of a promotion by Krispy Kreme advertising free “freedom of choice” doughnuts to celebrate Barack Obama’s inauguration.
American Life League (ALL) co-founder Judie Brown called upon the popular bakery to back away from the phrase “freedom of choice,” terminology used almost exclusively by the pro-abortion movement to promote their cause. The phrase is particularly sensitive for pro-lifers, as trepidation mounts that President-elect Barack Obama will succeed in passing the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), legislation designed to dismantle all legal protection for the unborn. Obama has been consistently described as the “most pro-abortion president in history” by pro-life advocates.
“Just an unfortunate choice of words? For the sake of our Wednesday morning doughnut runs, we hope so,” said Brown in a press release. “Celebrating his inauguration with ‘Freedom of Choice’ doughnuts – only two days before the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision to decriminalize abortion – is not only extremely tacky, it’s disrespectful and insensitive and makes a mockery of a national tragedy.”
Pro-life commentators on the Faith and Family Magazine blog said that, while the phrase may not have been intended to refer to abortion, it was an inappropriate choice.
Krispy Kreme has since removed the “freedom of choice” reference from the promotion. In a statement released yesterday Brown said, “We are grateful to Krispy Kreme executives who realized the inappropriate use of the phrase ‘freedom of choice’ and have changed their announcement, available on their web site.”
“The use of the phrase ‘freedom of choice’ by any corporation, particularly when used to coincide with President-elect Obama’s inauguration, is offensive and demeaning to the millions who have suffered either directly or indirectly through abortion.”
Liberal commentators immediately responded with criticism of Brown’s statements.
“Some people will sniff out a conspiracy anywhere,” wrote the Chicago Tribune’s Colin McMahon.
Emily Douglas of RH Reality Check assessed: “A pro-choice, pro-prevention President who doesn’t demonize women who have abortions … AND free donuts on inauguration day … it’s all just too much for the American Life League. … Seeing the words ‘freedom’ ‘of’ and ‘choice’ one next to the other, ALL made the only conclusion they could have made: those are pro-abortion donuts Krispy Kreme plans to give away!”
Jezebel, an online feminist magazine, retorted: “The American Life League has finally discovered the secret, immoral ingredient that makes Krispy Kreme doughnuts so very addictive: fetuses. … Freedom isn’t really free, people, it takes thousands and thousands of aborted, dried up and reconstituted fetuses to make a single box of Krispy Kremes, and the American Life League is determined to stop this abomination!”
The Wonkette DC Gossip noted: “Observe how they use that terrible code word ‘choice,’ which in addition to meaning ‘being able to decide between one thing or another,’ means ‘mandatory forced abortions for every citizen over the age of five.’”
Judie Brown told LifeSiteNews.com, in response to the attacks leveled against her: “It’s really interesting that the liberals came out of the woodwork and just fell apart over this, yelling and screaming over the fact that we intelligently pointed out to Krispy Kreme the offensive use of the term ‘freedom of choice.’
“‘Freedom of choice’ is a phrase created by the pro-abortion movement for the express purpose of having to set aside any discussion of the baby – all of a sudden it becomes the choice of a woman,” said Brown. “These people have just come unglued, and I think it shows how fanatical these people really are.”
Thomas Peters of the popular American Papist blog said that the “cesspool of anti-life hate” uncovered by the affair “really takes your breath away.”
“We can thank these ‘donut wars’ for giving us a devastatingly-revealing view into the mindset of these opponents of life, a sad glimpse into their hatred and incivility, and a better appreciation of their uncanny ability to miss the point, and then mock the people whose message they are missing,” said Peters.