Are Anti-Abortion Protesters in a Cult?
Recently, a body was found outside of a local sauna that I enjoy visiting in the Atlanta area. A young woman came to America from South Korea to join a religious organization that ended up beating, starving, and killing her. While it’s incredibly disturbing that this happened in my community, it’s even scarier to think that this is happening in communities of seemingly normal people all over the country. How do I know? I volunteer at the only independent abortion clinic in South Carolina and talk to deranged religious zealots on a more or less weekly basis.
Roe v. Wade being overturned has emboldened them as well. The lack of the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office allowing their abhorrent behavior and harassment of patients doesn’t help either. However, this isn’t a phenomenon unique to our area. Across the country, anti-abortion extremists behave in the same way, some worse than others. While these are topics that I will touch on later, what is the root of this behavior? Why do these people feel the need to harass people for simply going to the doctor’s office? Why do lawmakers and zealots feel the need to shame those who choose to undergo one of the safest medical procedures on the planet?
In the BITE Model, from renowned cult expert and former cult member, Steven Hassan, four types of control make up cults: behavior, information, thought, and emotional. All of this is showcased by our anti-abortion extremists.
First and foremost, behavior control is one of the most blatant and prevalent. “Fornication” is probably one of the most frequent topics that we hear about. Why do the anti-abortion extremists feel the need to tell us about their formerly fornicating ways and disappointing sex lives? Honestly, we don’t know and we wish that they wouldn’t. However, the biggest behavior control with our protesters is easily sexual- birth control is outlawed and couples are encouraged to wait until marriage and have as many children as possible. The demands are extreme- especially for the women, many of whom show signs of abuse and are expected to have as many children as possible. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with desiring or having a large family or with someone who enjoys homemaking, they take it to another level and women are perpetually pregnant.
Few, if any, work or leave home often, except to assist their husbands with their “ministry” grifts. If they do work, the income generally goes to their spouse to do with as he pleases. There are some spouses who accompany their husbands and more or less work as a team. However, this is rarely common.
They are also repetitive. You can rarely have any sort of rational conversation with anti-abortion protesters. While some clinic defenders will argue, it’s rarely worth it for conversations to go past a very surface level. Why? There is no interest in trying to understand any other point of view besides the one that the anti-abortion extremists know. Instead of citing credible news or scientific resources, the Bible, ultra right-wing influencers, and anti-abortion think tanks are credited. However, they rarely credit any source at all because “Jesus told them that abortion is bad” and “the Bible says that it’s wrong”.
This leads us to information control, where they deliberately distort information or withhold it. Education is not encouraged among anti-abortion protesters and there is a large distrust of science, the government, and authority figures. All of the bills against public education in Republican-leaning states and propaganda against vaccines aren’t an accident. While someone who is educated can usually tell if a source is valid, they blindly follow whatever is put in front of them. It does not matter what their education is- ranging from high school dropouts to an Emergency Room doctor. They will either believe it or go along because there is some personal gain that goes with belonging to this group.
Any attempts to seek unsanctioned information are minimized or discouraged. Not in the Bible? To them, you don’t need it. However, it’s unlikely that they would even have time to investigate.
Why? They are kept too busy. Between a plethora of children and possibly working (if their ministry grifts are unsuccessful), they are expected to engage in street preaching, harass patients at abortion clinics, go to conferences, tithe, donate towards any needs on top of tithing, and doing “whatever Jesus tells them to do”. While many protesters are paid and many groups are well-funded, this doesn’t apply to all protesters. Many spend their retirement proselytizing at abortion clinics and every other possible opportunity. Why? To prove that they are worthy in the eyes of God.
This makes it easier for these groups to utilize thought control. No critical thought is allowed and complex concepts are reduced to simple quips. All thinking is black and white. For example, “abortion is bad”. Many think that this is simply for elective abortions and many will lie. However, when you dig deeper, you realize that this isn’t how they think. Even in cases of rape, incest, medical circumstances, and ectopic pregnancies (which aren’t viable), their line of thought is that “it’s a baby and you’re killing it”. There is no embrace of science, criticism, or critical thinking. There is no belief that anyone else is entitled to their beliefs either. Instead, they accept and internalize their fundamental Biblical doctrine as absolute truth and you should too. In fact, they don’t see climbing ladders to spy on patients, assaulting clinic volunteers, patients, and staff, property damage, recording patients, trying to intimidate them and blatant harassment as harassment. Instead, they see it as “helping” or “spreading the good news”. They aren’t cult members, religious extremists, or fundamentalists. They give themselves fancy names like “Sidewalk Counselors” or more blue-collar, down-to-earth names like “street preachers”.
Another aspect of cults is Emotional Control. No problems caused by the antis’ or their leaders are their fault. There is no sense of personal responsibility. If their wife or daughter needs an abortion, it’s automatically justified or an exception. Jessa Duggar is a famous example of this. While it was okay for her to have a miscarriage for her abortion care, it was also okay for our former lead anti’s wife to have one as part of her miscarriage care. However, do you know who they think that it isn’t okay for? My friend who almost died during her miscarriage, as well as many women in other states who experienced the same thing and did not receive proper treatment due to the laws that anti-abortion extremists push.
All thoughts and feelings are controlled too. Many anti-abortion extremists frankly talk about how they deserve to burn in hell. Why? We have yet to know. However, this fearmongering and lack of critical thinking isn’t the only characteristic of cults that are seen in anti-abortion extremists.
While there isn’t one main social movement figurehead, there are many groups that rule in an authoritarian manner. Some are charismatic, others put me to sleep when I have to listen to them. However, the indoctrination program doesn’t need to be exciting to be effective.
The main practice of a cult is to totally strip individuality and put doctrine over a person. Cults focus on a lack of individuality and freedom. Instead of individual acts, the focus is on group experiences and infallibly following the leader. People constantly make excuses and claims that can’t be proven. They can never back up basic questions with credible sources either. For example, some antis become belligerent or start singing if you question their nonsense. However, the most common line is “It’s in the Bible”.
Cults are dependent on the group to be able to function. Any thoughts of leaving are the ultimate betrayal. Threats against pro-choice activists, clinic volunteers and staff, and others are proof that they will do anything to please God- even if it involves hurting someone else. Cults occur when a group becomes destructive and violence at our clinic and incidents like the assassination of George Tiller easily qualify as violent.
Anyone can fall victim to a cult. Among the anti-abortion protesters that I have encountered, one is a retired mechanical engineer, and two others are currently working in the medical field- one as a paramedic and the other as an Emergency Room doctor. Despite their training and education, they choose to forego their logic and reason to appease the Forced Birth movement. Among their ranks are politicians, Supreme Court Justices, law enforcement officers at various levels of government, and people in a variety of positions of influence and power. However, this does not excuse the behavior. This simply explains it.
SOURCES USED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1hbxwCl74E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kibhoe3dBbc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLGGlHggSJs&t=2s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEyFl2FyZJI https://youtu.be/WLoVHyuYVBY?si=86pjzaxkKgHA2v95
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NWIfiV1_XQ.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvBkZXsXO50.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FghSUttp6Lc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElOhRf0ffXU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kibhoe3dBbch
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