A new poll shows what really interests 'pro-lifers': controlling women

Jill Filipovic
Thu 22 Aug 2019 06.00 EDT

According to self-identified “pro-life” advocates, the fundamental divide between those who want to outlaw abortion and those who want to keep it legal comes down to one question: when does life begin? Anti-abortion advocacy pushes the view that life begins at conception; the name of their movement carefully centers the conceit that opposition to abortion rights is simply about wanting to save human lives.

A new poll* shows that’s a lie. The “pro-life” movement is fundamentally about misogyny.

A Supermajority/PerryUndem survey released this week divides respondents by their position on abortion, and then tracks their answers to 10 questions on gender equality more generally. On every question, anti-abortion voters were significantly more hostile to gender equity than pro-choice voters.

Do men make better political leaders than women? More than half of anti-abortion voters agreed. Do you want there to be equal numbers of men and women in positions of power in America? Fewer than half of abortion opponents said yes – compared with 80% of pro-choicers, who said they want women to share in power equally.

Anti-abortion voters don’t like the #MeToo movement. They don’t think the lack of women in positions of power impacts women’s equality. They don’t think access to birth control impacts women’s equality. They don’t think the way women are treated in society is an important issue in the 2020 election.

The man who shot nine people to death last weekend in Dayton, Ohio, seethed at female classmates and threatened them with violence.

The man who massacred 49 people in an Orlando nightclub in 2016 beat his wife while she was pregnant, she told authorities.

The man who killed 26 people in a church in Sutherland Springs, Tex., in 2017 had been convicted of domestic violence. His ex-wife said he once told her that he could bury her body where no one would ever find it.

The motivations of men who commit mass shootings are often muddled, complex or unknown. But one common thread that connects many of them — other than access to powerful firearms — is a history of hating women, assaulting wives, girlfriends and female family members, or sharing misogynistic views online, researchers say.

WASHINGTON – Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg has raised more money in North Carolina than any other Democratic candidate, outpacing his rivals in fundraising even while he lags in national polls.

The mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has raised $157,402 for his campaign from North Carolina contributors, putting him significantly above the totals in the state for Democratic heavy-weights like former vice president Joe Biden and well-known U.S. senators.

The standings come from a Policy Watch analysis of Federal Election Commission data of campaign contributions through the end of June. They include itemized contributions – all donations that exceed $200 as well as some smaller donations detailed by the campaign.

Buttigieg, 37, has branded himself as the millennial candidate in a crowded field. He has energized LGBTQ support with his surprisingly strong run as a young, gay, married man. He is also a veteran of the war in Afghanistan and a former Rhodes scholar.

About: Equal parts songwriter, producer, and performer, Quilla is known for her ethereal vocals, mesmerizing skills on the vocal looper, and carefully woven live electronic sets. Originally from Montreal, Canada, she currently resides in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA.

Her first indie pop album Beautiful Hybrid (Ritual Fire Records, 2014) was met with critical acclaim and was featured on the iTunes US ‘Ahead of the Curve’ section. A series of limited-edition Beautiful Hybrid Remix Project vinyls were released by Visionquest Music and garnered interest in the international techno community.

Empathy sometimes gets a bad rap as soft skill which is too fluffy to matter in business. But in reality it can be the pathway to hard results. Empathy is important to success and it can help you at work. Here’s how

First, it’s important to know empathy is a capability we all have—perhaps to greater or lesser degrees—that allows us to put ourselves in the place of another person and experience their feelings. We all crave connectedness and it seems our brains are hard-wired to mirror others’ experiences. Research shows children as young as two demonstrate understanding that others have different perspectives than their own. Even babies prefer to hear sounds from other babies rather than older voices—evidence of our human desire for affinity and alignment.

Benefits of Empathy

There are important benefits of empathy.

Identity: Empathy affects our own identity. We tend to understand ourselves through the people we spend time with and we derive our sense of self from the types of people with whom we have the closest relationships.

Cooperation: Empathy also facilitates cooperation which is critical for teams to function effectively. In a new study, when empathy was introduced into decision making, it increased cooperation and even caused people to be more empathetic. Empathy fostered more empathy.