"Anti-Abortion Film Is Pro-Profit" is the headline the New York Times put on a front-page news article about the movie "October Baby." The article summary on the Times Web site says the movie "deals with a young woman who identifies herself as an 'abortion survivor' and is paid to speak about her experiences." The article goes on to say that the movie, "was inspired by the story of Gianna Jessen, who says she was delivered alive at a California clinic after a late-term saline-injection abortion. As a paid speaker at anti-abortion events she tells of her struggles and medical conditions." A Times correction further clarifies, "The film is a work of fiction inspired by Gianna Jessen, who identifies herself as an 'abortion survivor' and is a paid speaker at anti-abortion events. The woman in the film, Hannah, is not paid to speak about her experiences."
The Times article goes on to say, "the abortion rights organization Naral Pro-Choice America contends that the film is tied to an extreme anti-abortion message. A spokesman, Ted Miller, added that his group was 'concerned that some proceeds from this film could be going to organizations that may intentionally mislead women about their health-care options.'"
The Times doesn't mention whether Mr. Miller is paid for his speaking in favor of abortion rights.
In fact, the former president of Naral Pro-Choice America, Kate Michelman, is identified as exactly that on her web page at the Harry Walker Agency, a firm that specializes in paid speeches.
And the former president of Planned Parenthood, Faye Wattleton, is also available for paid speaking engagements via Speak Inc.
Not to mention that the Times itself, when it isn't losing money, is supposed to be making a profit for its shareholders by selling, rather than giving away for free, that newspaper that includes the editorials and columns in favor of abortion rights.
If you are waiting for a front-page Times article about how "Pro-Choice Is Pro-Profit," you may have to wait for a long time.
It's hard to tell, actually, which is stronger in the Times in-house ideology — the pro-choice view on abortion, or the aversion to capitalism, i.e., getting paid or making a profit. In any event, it's hard to escape the conclusion that there is a kind of double standard operating, in which an anti-abortion speaker's paid work is considered front-page news, but when the head of a New York abortion-rights group pleads guilty to stealing $75,000 from the organization to fund her designer clothes and Hamptons rental, the Times basically ignores it or at least downplays it.