Last week, PJ Media contributor and Fox News guest Denise McAllister sent out a powerful tweet denouncing the abortion movement. Little did she know, days later she would be in hiding, scared for her life. When she went public about receiving death and rape threats, pro-abortion Twitter users championed the threats against her.
“At the root of [abortion] hysteria is women’s unhinged desire for irresponsible sex. Sex is their god. Abortion is their sacrament,” McAllister tweeted. “It’s abhorrent as women have flung themselves from the heights of being the world’s civilizing force to the muck and mire of dehumanizing depravity.”
At the root of #abortion hysteria is women’s unhinged desire for irresponsible sex. Sex is their god. Abortion is their sacrament. It’s abhorrent as women have flung themselves from the heights of being the world’s civilizing force to the muck and mire of dehumanizing depravity.
— Denise McAllister (@McAllisterDen) September 6, 2018
As if to prove McAllister’s point about depravity, abortion activists jumped on her case, calling her everything from crazy to misogynist to a supporter of “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
But the real danger came from elsewhere. McAllister told PJ Media that she received death and rape threats, over multiple forms of private communication.
“They are threats outside of Twitter, stating they know where I live,” McAllister said. “Threats of rape and strangling. I spoke to the police. I am on home watch.”
“My children are very frightened,” she added.
On Sunday, she went public about the threats. “I am facing legit death & rape threats because I have dared to call out women who are hysterical about abortion and to challenge them to be responsible and not to elevate sex to the point that they’re willing to kill human life to avoid their responsibilities. How sick is that?” McAllister tweeted.
https://twitter.com/McAllisterDen/status/1038823682402136066
Some people responded with sympathy … to the person making the death and rape threats!
“People don’t react well to your extremism,” a user named Monika D. responded.
People don't react well to your extremism.
— Monika D (@MonikaD330) September 9, 2018
These threats weren’t just “bad reactions” to her tweet, however. “These threats aren’t lame Twitter threats,” McAllister explained. “Anyone who says we’re not in a culture war is deluded. It’s important for us to have each other’s backs.”
https://twitter.com/McAllisterDen/status/1039156161986080768
On Monday, she announced she would withdraw from social media for safety reasons.
“Due to threats against my life, my family is asking that I stay off social media until the situation is resolved. I don’t want to, but I need to respect their wishes at this time. I hope to return soon. Keep up the good fight, my friends,” McAllister tweeted.
https://twitter.com/McAllisterDen/status/1039157869537644545
While the death and rape threats directed toward this pro-life woman are not public, various responses on social media underscore her point about a “culture war” and the “depravity” of the abortion movement. Various Twitter users attacked her as “misogynistic” or “unhinged.” These weren’t random accounts either, but people with the coveted blue check mark.
“Sweet Mary this is really something. What’s the word I’m looking for? Unhinged. That’s the word. This is really unhinged,” Emily Willingham, a blogger with 11,000 followers, declared.
https://twitter.com/ejwillingham/status/1038119817033596928
“Uh, what? who ordered the crazy word salad with a side of toxic internalized misogyny?” tweeted Sheri Lynch, an author and radio personality with 19,000 followers.
uh, what? who ordered the crazy word salad with a side of toxic internalized misogyny?
— Sheri Lynch (@sherilynch) September 9, 2018
AlterNet reporter Matthew Chapman took McAllister’s tweet as evidence that pro-life activists don’t care about protecting life… “I love it when these people just straight-up admit their goal is controlling women, not ‘protecting life’. We all know it, it’s just refreshing when they say it,” he tweeted.
I love it when these people just straight-up admit their goal is controlling women, not "protecting life".
We all know it, it's just refreshing when they say it. https://t.co/D4CetRKK3I
— Matthew Chapman (@fawfulfan) September 7, 2018
Science fiction and horror author Nick Mamatas suggested McAllister’s tweet was a solicitation for sex.
“This is the oddest, yet hottest, request for dudes to slide into one’s DMs ever tweeted,” Mamatas tweeted.
This is the oddest, yet hottest, request for dudes to slide into one's DMs ever tweeted. https://t.co/AkbCw22nor
— Nick No War Mamatas 🤼♂️🏴 (@NMamatas) September 7, 2018
Never mind that Denise McAllister is actually a rape survivor. She has shared her story multiple times. How dare people like Mamatas say such things, especially in the days of the #MeToo movement?
But it actually got even worse.
One woman suggested the rape and death threats were “karma.”
Perhaps during this time you should rethink that wide brush you’ve used to denigrate disrespect and prejudge so many women with. You can make your point without prejudice. Karma always has a way of putting light on darkness.
— Vik (@vjvnam) September 11, 2018
A “pro-choice” activist with 6,500 followers tweeted, “May God have mercy on your soul. I sure would not.”
https://twitter.com/Christyw277/status/1039482661067284481
Andre Brock, a self-described “writer at large” in Washington state, took it upon himself to tweet, “Too bad your mother didn’t have an abortion.”
Too bad your mother didn't have an abortion.
— Andre Brock (@andreibrock) September 9, 2018
When Denise McAllister announced she would be withdrawing from social media due to death threats, some responded with glee. “Proud atheist” Mary Godfree responded, “Good. Go away. Get some psychiatric help.”
https://twitter.com/MaryGodfree/status/1039470809532780544
“Progressive liberal atheist” Kristin responded to the news of death threats by telling Denise McAllister her soul is in jeopardy, despite not believing McAllister has a soul.
“In case you aren’t aware, your ‘soul’ is in jeopardy for judging others as all ‘sins’ are created equal in your ideology. You might refer to your Bible for clarification on judgement of others,” Kristin tweeted, referencing Matthew 7.
https://twitter.com/Kristinheart64/status/1039095337590444034
This is an egregious twisting of scripture — Jesus explicitly tells His disciples to use discernment and to train others to “obey all that I have taught you” (Matthew 28:18-20) and that emphatically includes keeping the 10 Commandments — but the real tragedy is that Kristin thought it would be an appropriate response to attack a woman who received rape and death threats.
How does anyone think this is an acceptable response? Denise McAllister had a tentative answer.
“I think the hatred for pro-life women is that they expect us to act in solidarity. When we don’t, they attack,” McAllister told PJ Media. “I also think it goes deeper. Women have the legitimacy to criticize other women in a way men don’t. When we speak honestly like I have, they hate it because they know what I’m saying is true.”
“That’s especially true in my own case because I’ve been in the exact position as many women who want abortions,” she added. “I know how I got to that point. The choices I made. I know the fear of an unplanned pregnancy. I also know the irresponsible choices I made to get myself into that situation. I own it.”
Abortion may involve some perverse form of empowerment for women, but power comes with responsibility. “I want women to own their responsibilities for their freedoms,” McAllister explained. “One of those responsibilities is when you choose to have sex, even with birth control, you have the responsibility to be prepared for the possibility of pregnancy.”
“You can’t just end another human life because you didn’t want to be responsible—all because you put a higher value on having sex than on human life,” she said.
Abortion activists push the killing of babies as empowering to women. Tragically, this is often the exact opposite of the case, as studies have shown women are pressured into abortion by others.
Even if women were empowered by the practice, the entire point of pushing abortion is to separate sex from child-bearing. This involves shirking the responsibility of acknowledging a key part of sex — reproduction. The pleasure in sex — in the right circumstances — is good, but activists value this pleasure so highly as to dismiss the consequences of sex, even to the point of justifying killing unborn babies.
Denise McAllister had a point in comparing this to worship. She had struck at the heart of the radical feminist narrative, and the angry responses only further illustrated her point. If people are willing to justify killing unborn babies in their glorification of sex, it seems they are also willing to justify rape and death threats against a pro-life rape survivor.
The rest of us should denounce this as utterly despicable, and say a prayer for Denise McAllister.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member