336 RüdigerKunow
movement, during the 2012 presidential election launch a grass-roots
claimdesignedtoward
convincing other Americans that the consequences of abortion are
disastrous for the future of America. It has already terminated the lives
of 55 million future taxpayers, workers, and consumers and left a huge
hole in our economy.... If America is to survive, we can't let our
politicalleadersgetawaywithdishingout"thesame,sameold"political
solutionstogetelected.(Howardn.pag.)The immediate target of the Tea Party has always been "big
government," in this particular case various federal assistance programs
allegedly funding abortion, but there are larger issues involved, nothing
less than the future of the American nation. The "threat to national
survival presented by abortion" (Howard n. pag.) is a recurrent theme
sounded alike by televangelists, Republican politicians, and right-of-
center think tanks, such as the Heritage Founding whose "Solutions
2016" policy paper makes yet another clarion call to put an end to
"sanctioned abortion-on-demand" (The Heritage Foundation n. pag.).
Even though the Heritage Foundation's special resentment is reserved
for publicly funded programs, the connection to the larger body politic
remains clear: "Policymakers should return to a deeper respect for
foundational American principles by respecting the freedom of
conscience of individuals, medical providers, and taxpayers, and
ensuringthebasicrightsoflibertyandlifeforeveryone,includingthose
yet to be born" (The Heritage Foundation n. pag.). Quite obviously,
"freedomofconscience"isherenotgrantedtopregnantwomen.
The nexus of the somatic and the semantic is in such arguments
negotiated in a way that goes far beyond the ethical quandaries of
abortion. Lauren Berlant has argued that "[t]hese issues do not arise as
privateconcerns:theyarekeytodebatesaboutwhat'America'standsfor
... In the process of collapsing the political and the personal into a
world of public intimacy, a nation made for adult citizens has been
replaced by one imagined for fetuses and children" (Queen ofAmerica
1). In the perspective adopted by the pro-life camp, in what it calls "the
Culture of Life" ("About Us" n. pag.), a close, even an intimate
connection is forged between the somatic and the semantic, so much so
thatthefetuscomestobeseenasatextonwhichthefutureofthenation