Turns out a co-sponsor of the just passed Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act in the U.S. House is a hypocrite. According to text messages obtained by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) asked his mistress to get an abortion earlier this year when they thought she was pregnant (she wasn’t).

Predictably, pro-choice liberals argue this disappointing revelation means pro-lifers as a group are both hypocritical and anti-woman. But they’re wrong. In fact, Murphy’s lie is a good example of why the abortion industry is anti-woman. Further, it’s an important reminder of why ending abortion is ultimately up to everyday pro-lifers, not politicians like Tim Murphy. 

Abortion is Anti-Woman

In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, liberal author Jill Filipovic sings a tired tune: that pro-life equals anti-woman. She seems to think Murphy proves this point by opposing abortion until it’s personally beneficial.

“For people like this, opposition to abortion appears to be not so much about fetal life, as about controlling women,” she writes. 

But it’s not opposition to abortion that controls women. It’s abortion itself. Filipovic claims men are unsettled by “the female power and progress facilitated by abortion rights.” Really? Are men so afraid of female coworkers that they oppose abortion simply to keep more women away on maternity leave? Hardly.

Sleazy men like Murphy who use ladies only for sex don’t see abortion as empowerment. They see abortion as escape. A way to avoid commitment. A way to skirt the shared responsibility of parenthood. Which, after all, is the natural consequence of heterosexual intimacy. 

That’s why, hello, Hugh Hefner “the feminist” was so dedicated to “abortion rights.” Abortion is just the most drastic form of birth control. It’s the final guarantee that a man like Murphy can partake in an unmarried romp without any lasting evidence.

A major part of a woman’s natural bodily function is to create, nourish and birth new human beings. While not every woman has children, this ability unique to our sex is something to celebrate. But sex-crazed sexists like Hefner, Murphy and the entire prostitution and porn industries see this as a problem to fix for the purpose of cheap, meaningless intercourse. Sadly, many women buy that same lie.  

When Pro-Lifers are Hypocrites

But there’s one point that Filipovic is, in a way, right about. 

“Feminists sometimes joke about the one abortion exception pro-lifers honor: ‘rape, incest and me,'” she writes. “I have interviewed abortion clinic workers with stories about pro-life protesters who find themselves unexpectedly pregnant and needing the clinic’s help.”

Unfortunately, this is too often true. Trials show us just how sturdy our principles are. Sometimes they’re not nearly as sturdy as we hoped. The people who prove to be hypocrites aren’t just adulterous creeps like Murphy, but formerly pro-life women who find themselves in seemingly impossible situations.

It’s worth noting that for every pro-life woman who turns to Planned Parenthood, there is a story of a pro-life woman whose principles proved tougher than her circumstances. But what about those pro-life women who do end up at abortion clinics? Amid our frustration that their convictions aren’t stronger, we must ask ourselves what is driving them there.

Is it shame over an out-of-wedlock pregnancy? Fear of not being able to provide for another child? A way to avoid others’ judgment? Next, pro-lifers have to ask what we are doing to help them overcome those feelings for the sake of their unborn child, not to mention their own mental and spiritual health. Do they feel supported? Do they feel loved? Do they see evidence that the pro-life community, and specifically the church, will be there for their baby?

If they don’t, and if their principles are on shaky ground to begin with, it could mean the difference of life or death.

Why Ending Abortion is Up to Us, Not Politicians

This is exactly why everyday pro-lifers, not politicians, must lead the charge to end abortion. Our politicians should do whatever they can to pass laws necessary to protect the unborn. But they won’t be the ones holding the hand of the scared, pregnant teen. They won’t be the ones buying diapers and baby formula for the single mom. They won’t be the ones extending grace and guidance to the adulteress who became pregnant and is now afraid to give her child life. 

And they won’t be the ones holding themselves accountable when it turns out their principles aren’t sturdy at all. (Murphy already announced he won’t be running again — and good riddance. Let an honest pro-lifer take his place).

There are thousands of crisis pregnancy centers around the nation dedicated to offering the life-affirming healthcare, resources and long-haul aid mothers and babies need. These centers need our support. So do the people who are on the front lines. By changing one mother’s heart at a time, they are saving one child’s life at a time. And in so doing, they’re personally rescuing people from an abortion industry that preys on women, and gives men like Murphy a pass to prey on women as well.