Does Horton Hears a Who Promote a Pro-Life Sentiment?
If you think the movie Horton Hears a Who was written to convey an anti-abortion message, you’re wrong. As a matter of fact, if you’re caught using the “a person is a person, no matter how small” phrase to support the pro-life movement, you might just be sued.
Read the following excerpt from LifeSiteNews.com:
“An Ottawa pro-life poster
advertising Pro-Life Sunday has gained extensive media attention over the use of
a quote from a Dr. Seuss book. The poster, depicted in a Jan. 28 Ottawa Citizen
article (see link), showed a tiny six- to eight-week-old embryo under the Seuss
quote: "A person's a person, no matter how small." The Citizen says that Audrey
Geisel, widow of Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, is upset that
the quote is being used and her lawyer is demanding that it be removed.
Action Life, an Ottawa pro-life group designed the poster for the Archdiocese of
Ottawa. Carroll Rees, a spokesperson for Action Life, told the Citizen "We
didn't think it was a problem, as long as it was being used for teaching
purposes - and we're a non-profit organization, we're not selling posters, and
we gave credit to him."
Audrey Geisel, the widow of Theodore Geisel (author of the Dr. Seuss books), was present at the movie premier for Horton Hears a Who. The following is an excerpt from an article written by Kim Masters on the NPR (National Public Radio) website:
“ZoBell, an attorney, has represented the interests of Dr. Seuss, or Theodor Geisel, for some 40 years. After the show, ZoBell saw the demonstrators handing out anti-abortion flyers designed to resemble movie tickets. Geisel's widow, Audrey Geisel, was there — and ZoBell says none of this sat well with her.
‘She doesn't like people to hijack Dr. Seuss characters or material to front their own points of view,’ ZoBell said.”
If you need further proof of what the Dr. Seuss Foundation stands for, just take a look at where Audrey Geisel spends the millions of dollars generated by Dr. Seuss products each year.
According to a report entitled “The Faces of Philanthropy,” from THE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION 2001 ANNUAL REPORT, “Audrey Geisel brings a special passion to her work, preserving and expanding the legacy of Ted ‘Dr. Seuss’ Geisel. Her story is constantly changing as the energy of her philanthropy touches almost every corner of the community. The beneficiaries of Audrey Geisel’s kindness and generosity are many. Among them: the Boys and Girls Clubs, the Birch Aquarium, Human Rights Watch, Planned Parenthood, the San Diego Center for Children, San Diego Hospice and Mama’s Kitchen. Her spirit of giving is prolific.”
If you go to just about any website where there is commentary about the movie, you’ll notice very quickly that the pro-lifers are being called “fanatics,” “crazy,” and much worse. Many bloggers say that the people who are using the “person is a person, no matter how small” phrase from the movie to promote life instead of abortion are “making a huge leap between a children’s movie and their religious pro-life agenda” because, after all, they state, “it is a person’s right to do what they want with any part of their body.” They also do not seem capable of making a link between the need to protect the unseen Who’s and the unborn child. Or, perhaps they just don’t care.
For those who prefer to see the silver lining and talk about how unborn children are little people, too, just do not be deceived into thinking that the people who are behind the creation of this film agree with you because they do not.
NOTE: Despite the fact that the movie was not intended to be “pro-life,” I would encourage you to make the analogy between the little Who’s and unborn children. We have always done this with our little ones when reading the book. As long as we live in a free country and are allowed to raise our children at home, we can still tell our children that the Lord has created our inmost being and knit us in our mothers’ wombs (Psalm 139:13). AND, whether or not the Dr. Seuss empire agrees, we can also tell them that we need to protect those little unborn babies just like Horton protected the little people of Who-ville!
If you would like to use this in your homeschool newsletter or other publication, you are more than welcome to do so. Please just print the essay in its entirety and include the following information for attribution:
Sonya Haskins, author of The Homeschooler's Book of Lists
Original Essay: Horton Hears a Who and Defeats the Pouch-Schooling Villain