In a legislative report dated January 27, state Senator Ed Emery, a Republican from western Missouri, wrote that the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court opinion legalizing abortion has had effects “surpassing the barbarism even of slavery.”
It prompted the Missouri Democratic Party to respond.
“Comparing healthcare to slavery is not only disingenuous and irresponsible, it fundamentally ignores the systemic horrors that have and continue to plague African Americans today,” the Missouri Democratic Party said in a statement.
“It’s a shame that Senator Emery, who has the honor of serving on the Committee on Education, would so blatantly diminish the cruelty and gruesomeness that was America’s original sin. It was not so long ago that discrimination was completely legal, and downplaying the lasting effects of slavery like this only reopens the wounds for generations still fighting for equality. Senator Emery should immediately apologize and recant these statements immediately.”
Instead, Emery doubled down.
“Slavery was about dehumanizing an entire people group to make life more convenient for those responsible for creating that group,” the legislator emailed to KCUR. “Abortion is about dehumanizing an entire people group – the pre-born for the convenience of those responsible for creating that group – parents.”
Nimrod Chapel Jr., the president of the Missouri NAACP State Conference, told KCUR that Emery’s remarks were “ludicrous” and “disconcerting.”
“Any comparison of slavery to anything else is inappropriate,” Chapel told KCUR, “and really shows a complete lack of understanding of the issues faced by generations today as a result of that legal system.”
