Doonesbury Pulled From Newspapers For Abortion Focus

 Newspapers in several states including Oregon, Florida and Texas refused to print Doonsebury comic strips after the series focused on the topic of abortion for a week.

Obvious references to Rush Limbaugh’s “slut” comment and the two sponsors of the abortion sonogram bill (which would require women to examine their baby before termination) Sen. Dan Patrick and Rep. Sid Miller, appeared prominently.

In the comic, legislator “Sid Patrick” asks a young woman if her parents “know she’s a slut” after she mentions using contraceptives. 

Garry Trudeau’s Doonsebury has been running since the 70s and never strayed from political topics, specifically poking fun at Republicans like Ronald Reagan and George Bush and Democrats such as Bill Clinton.

In 1976 the strip was criticized for portraying premarital sex and was removed from several papers for the day. The biggest surprise to me is the reaction from The Oregonian, a publication I grew up with.

It also originates in what I always viewed as one of the most liberal and progressive towns in America. This is one of the rare times that I’m ashamed of my state. Oregonian editors wrote in a letter to readers:

“In next week’s strip, ‘Doonesbury’ author Garry Trudeau, in our judgment, went over the line of good taste and humor in penning a series on abortion using graphic language and images inappropriate for a comics page.”

I simply cannot see the harm in these pro-choice visual commentaries. If the majority was opposed to abortion, it’d probably be illegal in nearly all 50 states, no?
If a child did happen to ask their parents what the hell it was about, I would hope they’d take the time to explain that there are very bad men out there who promote overpopulation and fascist control of the opposite sex.