GOP Presidential Candidate Carly Fiorina was host of an anti-abortion forum at the Greater Des Moines botanical garden last week in Des Moines, Iowa.
At the same time a group of preschoolers was touring the facility on a field trip.
In what was a desperate attempt at a Trump-like way of making headlines, Fiorina ushered the preschool children over to her makeshift stage and forced them to “sit with her — in front of a huge banner bearing the image of an unborn fetus — while she talked about harvesting organs from aborted babies,” according to an article from the Guardian.
We believe her actions were incredibly disrespectful to the parents of these children.
The parents had no idea their kids were going to meet Fiorina that day, let alone be used as political props with their pictures taken in that environment and be plastered all over the internet.
While it may be unlikely a predator would use this particular information to bring any sort of harm to these kids, the safety of children should never be taken lightly.
Fiorina did not ask for the permission of the children’s parents before using the children for her political grandstanding. This completely undermined these parents by not asking for their permission.
Despite polling in second place in late September, Fiorina now polls at 1 percent nationally and in Iowa, according to CNN/ORC and FOX News.
Her candidacy is quickly becoming irrelevant, and this demonstration shows why.
It would be a stretch to say that Fiorina should be criminally charged with several counts of kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child.
But her actions last week pushed the envelope, perhaps out of desperation, to get herself back in the spotlight.
Perhaps she believes ethics are beneath her, as long as it’s in the name of fighting abortion.
In the second GOP debate, she referenced the Center for American Progress anti-Planned Parenthood videos, which have been proven to be edited in a highly misleading way.
She even fundraised off an anti-abortion video which claims to depict a fetus after an abortion, but actually shows a miscarriage.
In another article from the Guardian, the U.S. medical establishment labeled Fiorina “dishonest and ‘totally irresponsible.’”
To Fiorina, truth, integrity and the preservation of a parent’s control over what happens to their child can be damned if it’s in the name of saving fetuses.
It’s the same rhetoric any candidate would use to push an agenda.
The Editorial Board believes using children to reach a certain political end is wrong in any environment, be it by presidential candidates in staged events and Christmas videos or by parents making their kids participate at protests and demonstrations.
We respect the rights of parents to raise their children how they see fit, which is what makes Fiorina’s actions so despicable.
But we do not condone the use of children in any political context until they are old enough to consent to doing so and understand the implications of their actions.
