"The unborn have every right to defend themselves, as guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the Constitution," said Constance Goldschmirk, executive director of SAN. "When the NRA reached out to us about this issue, it just made sense we join forces in the current political climate where the rights of the unborn are under constant challenge."
With fears of crime and terrorism on the rise, pregnant women have been standing in long lines at FDA kiosks at discount retailers, DMV offices and private clinics specializing in the procedure, seeking extra protection for their unborn children. Ironically, the medical procedure that actually places the miniaturized firearms into the hands of fetuses is hauntingly similar to the very abortion procedure FDA advocates seek to prevent.
"The in utero firearm-discharge incidents are regrettable, but a very small price to pay in order to protect our most valuable natural resource: our unborn children," says National Rifle Association CEO, Wayne LaPierre. "On the whole, the NRA's mantra is being proven true every day: more guns equals more safety."
Not everyone is convinced. Pro Choice advocate, Kathy Rebar, is incredulous. "Arming fetuses?" she says with an obvious air of disbelief. "I mean, they are putting guns into the hands of unborn children! We believe expectant mothers have every right in the world to protect their babies, but why do this with lethal weapons? Why wouldn't the FDA have mandated the use of brass knuckles, pepper spray or telescoping batons, instead? Why was the lethal option the first one FDA advocates went to?"
Surprisingly, few expectant moms who've been injured by fetal misfirings express any regrets. "It's my right to arm my baby!" says Cindy Trifle, of Corpus Christi, Tennessee. "I just wish her little hands could hold a bigger gun!"
"I firmly believe my baby pulled the trigger because he sensed danger," says Meredith Medak of Blood-on-the-Cross, South Carolina.
"Some people say, 'If God wanted your unborn baby to have a gun, He'd a put one in your womb-place to begin with!'" says Taila Meechum of Judas Iscariot Falls, Arkansas. "Well, I tell those big mouth liberal pansies, 'Yeah? God don't need to put a gun in my baby nest. He sent Wayne LaPierre to do that!'"
If the issue of arming the unborn were not contentious enough, civil rights groups are entering the fray with charges of racism. There is a growing number of cases in which non-white babies have been arrested for possession of firearms upon being born.
"There are cases in which hospitals offer to bronze the guns that white babies are born with," says Jamal Shaka, communications director of the Black Frontier movement. "But babies of color are being arrested, sometimes tasered, even before they are placed in their mommas' arms! This is an outrageous double-standard!"
Numbers backing up these allegations are sparse. Much of the data is anecdotal. And still the debate rages . . .
