24 Apr 2018 Media promotes biased pro-life narrative
If we didn’t know better from firsthand experience, we might be forgiven for believing that the pro-life movement is potentially dangerous.
Some things should be reported – assault is never ok, whether aimed at children, women, peers, or abortion doctors. But the media is so quick to judge on the issue of pro-life activism that some skip the journalistic step of investigation and corroboration. In March, the CBC reported on an incident where a woman alleged a man had come up, asked her name, and then thrown a can of paint in her face, causing damage to one eye. In the story, prominent words were “assault”, “hate crime”, and “security”.
That woman is now being charged for giving a false claim, and outright lying to police. The incident never happened. Yet, in reporting on the false claim, The Record reinforces the anti-pro-life narrative by concluding with words from Lyndsey Butcher, Executive Director of the local abortion clinic. They have never had an altercation with a pro-life advocate, she admits. But she, and the article, conclude with the dire words, “We think it’s sort of only a matter of time.”
Why would she think that if she has no experience to bear it out? And why would news outlets do such a shoddy job of their reporting, and then also refrain from printing a letter to the editor clarifying things for readers? Jonathan vanMaren shares the letter that wasn’t published, and discusses the biased narrative the pro-life movement is up against. It is up to each one of us to shift that narrative in conversations we may have in our daily lives. One-on-one interactions continue to be the best way to change hearts, change minds, and save lives.
