The Worst Sin Of All? Hypocrisy.

Zack Drake at Internal Monologue is conflicted about the contempt fhe feels for ‘pro-lifers’ who get abortions:

When pro-lifers get abortions

It is really a sign of my own moral weakness that when I read these stories I feel contempt rather than compassion. These people are obviously suffering a great deal. But their self-centeredness and moral exceptionalism is really quite exasperating. Here are a few doozies, as told by care providers in facilities that do abortions:

“I’ve had several cases over the years in which the anti-abortion patient had rationalized in one way or another that her case was the only exception, but the one that really made an impression was the college senior who was the president of her campus Right-to-Life organization, meaning that she had worked very hard in that organization for several years. As I was completing her procedure, I asked what she planned to do about her high office in the RTL organization. Her response was a wide-eyed, ‘You’re not going to tell them, are you!?’ When assured that I was not, she breathed a sigh of relief, explaining how important that position was to her and how she wouldn’t want this to interfere with it.” (Physician, Texas)

“In 1990, in the Boston area, Operation Rescue and other groups were regularly blockading the clinics, and many of us went every Saturday morning for months to help women and staff get in. As a result, we knew many of the ‘antis’ by face. One morning, a woman who had been a regular ‘sidewalk counselor’ went into the clinic with a young woman who looked like she was 16-17, and obviously her daughter. When the mother came out about an hour later, I had to go up and ask her if her daughter’s situation had caused her to change her mind. ‘I don’t expect you to understand my daughter’s situation!’ she angrily replied. The following Saturday, she was back, pleading with women entering the clinic not to ‘murder their babies.'” (Clinic escort, Massachusetts)

Of course, these are just anecdotes, but the author cites some statistical evidence that there must be a good deal of this kind of thinking going on:

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I wouldn’t call the feeling of contempt for such arrant hypocrisy a moral weakness myself: on the contrary, I’d say it’s a sign of moral strength to recognise that hypocrisy for what it is and call it out. If more of us did it there’s be a lot less IOKIYAR about.