Like many of her family members, Missy Robertson of Duck Dynasty has not been afraid to use her platform of fame to talk about her faith and other controversial issues. Her blog and social media accounts are filled with Bible verses and other gospel-centered encouragements.
Last week Robertson took center-stage at the Mom’s March for American in Omaha. Her speech largely focused on the issue of abortion and women’s rights. She said,
“Let me make an announcement here today. I, Missy Robertson, am a TRUE FEMINIST. I am a woman in every sense of the word. I am not ashamed of my body. I am not ashamed that it can make and carry babies. I am not ashamed of being a mom. I am not ashamed of being a help-mate to my husband. I stand for WOMEN’S rights because there just so happens to be this thing called a WOMAN! And I’m not ashamed to say that I was created by God Almighty to be a woman!”
For many, the word “feminist” has negative connotations and more recently just suggests a pro-abortion stance. However, the early feminist movement, the one Robertson is likely associating with, was known for its pursuit of women’s suffrage, education reform, and better working and living conditions for women.
Unlike today’s feminist movement, the early feminists actually worked to end abortion. To them, the newfound rights of the woman were assaulted by the mere idea of abortion—stripping another human of its rights.
So when did feminism become an ideology that rejected the rights of the unborn? How could a movement drift so drastically in the last hundred years? Robertson’s speech goes on to describe the way our culture has managed to strip the unborn of their own humanity, leaving them as just a “cluster of cells,” and cells don’t need rights, right?
“Our culture convinced us that a life growing inside a woman’s belly is not yet human, yet DNA technology proved that an untruth. In a culture that discards life for the sake of convenience, we tell OUR children that life is infinitely precious, for the reality is that we are all made in the image of the Almighty God… Those who advocate pro-choice have taken a gift from God, which is the freedom to choose, to justify the taking of the ultimate gift, which is life.”
She then finishes by saying, “Despite this, God still offers grace and newness to those who have made wrong choices. God is pro-choice, and He always chooses life.”
God is pro-choice, in the same way that the pro-life movement is actually more pro-choice than the pro-choice movement itself. We are “pro-choice” in that we want women to have more choices than abortion—the only choice the abortion industry truly gives women. We want women to have information and resources that will empower them to choose life for their children.
