I have really been disconcerted lately regarding this topic. I think it has been building up in me for quite some time, but after all the teabaggin' weirdness, the crazies have come out to play and they don't seem to be taking their toys home anytime soon. I really wish they would.
I wanna know why the anti-abortion extremists employ such horrible and pathetic tactics in their attempts to convert us "sinners". Abortion is serious and, regardless of your feelings on the subject matter, it deserves serious attention. It does not deserve a fucking circus, complete with a bunch of clowns and one very worn-out elephant.
Bastards. Keep your religion out of my government.
Contrary to what you may think, I wasn't always pro-choice. When I was younger (late teens and early 20s), I had the distinction of being both pro-life and homophobic. I know! Clearly, people mature and grow-up. That was a long time ago.
When I was 22, I had a roommate, Kimberley, who was very involved with the Democratic Party in Michigan. Her dad was in a union, and it was my first experience with learning why folks in the AFL-CIO are predominantly Democratic. Kimberley volunteered for Paul Tsongas during the primaries (we were both disappointed that he lost to Bill Clinton), and got me a little involved in the process, for the first time ever. She was the only one who would talk politics with me, because my family was comprised of Republicans and my other friends mostly didn't care.
Kimberley challenged me on my beliefs.
We would have marathon debates on the pro-life/pro-choice issue. I used to hate it, every time she would bring up abortion, because I was raised Catholic. Even though I wasn't practicing at the time, I could not disengage my own beliefs from that of other womens'. It made no sense to me. "It's murder!", I would say. "I'm sorry, I just can't agree with you."
And I didn't, for the entire 6 months that we were roomies.
But a few months later, I was talking one day with my now ex-husband in the car, about abortion. We both agreed that it was, indeed, "wrong". But during the course of that conversation, the lightbulb finally appeared above my head. It's not for me to say what other women do with their bodies! I literally stopped the car, got out, and did a happy dance on the side of the road. I called Kimberley to tell her, "I FINALLY GOT IT! I UNDERSTAND NOW!"
I have been pro-choice ever since.
My compassion for women going through an abortion (or those who have in the past) has not changed. My empathy for women who feel cornered has not changed. My love for the baby has not changed, and I'm sure that it hasn't for other women, either. Abortion is a difficult process, no matter how one experiences it. There are times when it's absolutely necessary, and times when it's scary not to have the baby. But I understand exactly what these women are going through, because I have been there myself.
My political evolution has been long and fruitful but, back then, I don't remember hearing about these pro-life people using such disgusting and hateful rhetoric. I'm sure they were in the news, but I never paid attention back then. I certainly do now. And I am effing pissed at their blatant disregard for women and for, ya know, anyone who's already alive.
Also, why the hell are all the anti-abortionists male these days? That is very telling to me. If men had to care for the baby in question, then I doubt that any men would be anti-abortionists in earnest. And if you (conservative, Republican) dudes feel guilty because your girlfriend/wife/mistress/etc. had an abortion at some point, I completely understand that. But don't make the rest of the US pay for your transgressions.
Example 1: Neil Horsley.
In memekiller's excellent diary series on Mr. Horsley, the mule fucker, a few things stood out to me, other than the patently obvious: the guy has had teh gay sex and thinks it's "gross", but is also scarily anti-abortion. Not only would he kill his own son, but his attempts to create the Nuremburg Files and punish the doctors who perform abortions is absolutely insane. And I don't mean that in the good way.
The Nuremberg Files started as a project of the ACLA, but it was Horsley who put the information onto the World Wide Web. The site distributes personal information about over 200 abortion providers, including names, family members, addresses, photos and in some cases criminal and civil suit records.
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Horsley has stated that his intention in creating the site was to gather and disseminate information and that he had no intention to cause any harm to the people listed on the site. He believes that in the future abortion will become illegal, and when it does Horsley does not want doctors to escape punishment because of lack of evidence, as happened with some Nazi war criminals. The full title of the site is "The Nuremberg Files: Visualize Abortionists on Trial."
Someone please tell me: why is this guy not locked up in a mental institution? I mean that 100% truthfully: Neil Horsley is one sick fuck, and I believe that he never intended in harming these abortion doctors about as much as I believe that the Earth is flat. He is down with killing his own son, fer chrissakes!
Example 2: Randall Terry.
In Lunchbox83's diary today, he/she profiled how Randall got busted at Notre Dame for his disgusting shit. Said shit included strollers with dolls covered in fake blood and a plane pulling a giant picture of an aborted fetus.
Blogger Kaitlynn Riely at Notre Dame said:
At around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, I heard the droning noise of a small plane and looked out my window to see one flying low over campus. It carried a banner behind it featuring a picture of an aborted fetus and words, in bold white letters, that described it as a 10 week abortion. The plane circled the boundaries of campus for at least two-and-a-half hours.
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It is this group's goal to force everyone who comes to Notre Dame for commencement to see graphic images of aborted fetuses. Campus rules prohibit on-campus protests by non-student groups, but they'll be in the air and around the campus as students take final exams and as parents arrive to take part in the ceremony.
Will the banners change any minds? Doubtful. Will they decrease the number of abortions? Probably not. And the money spent on the banners and the planes and trucks and gas could have been used to fund a crisis pregnancy center or make some other positive contribution.
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No one had to take out a graphic image to prove their point.
No kidding, Kaitlynn. I completely fail to understand why these men feel that it's necessary to engage in these hideous tactics, that literally sicken people. Mr. Terry, have you no mother, sisters, daughters, or any other women in your life? Why is your God sacred, but a woman's right to choose is not? I know that this is like talking to a brick wall here but, really, what the FUCK is your problem? Why needlessly discomfit students of Notre Dame just because you freaking hate Obama?
Get a real life, man. Your seething hatred is showing. I'm really, really sick of men like this. So, luckily, we have a woman, too.
Example 3: Lila Rose.
Ms. Rose is something of a minx. Lila is apparently a student at UCLA who tricked Planned Parenthood (and also video/audio-taped them) into believing that she was a 15-year-old pregnant girl. She went into P.P. for "counseling", and came away with some break-out YouTube videos. Classy, for sure. Planned Parenthood was clearly trying to help the young Lila, but they definitely went against their rules in that regard. From Salon:
There's no question the Planned Parenthood worker was going against official protocol. I called up Kathy Kneer, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, who said, "It is our absolute policy that we do not counsel patients in that fashion. We regularly train our staff on how to comply and how to report suspected child abuse." She added: "She controlled the situation and that was her goal and intent. Ideally, our staff would have handled it differently." Since then, they've retrained their staff on reporting guidelines.
Oh Lila, dear Lila, do you not understand that you are being entrapped by men here, to do their dirty work for them? Are you not upset that, say, the abortion rate is as high as it is presently? Wouldn't you like to see it lowered, like the rest of us? I'm sure you would. So maybe you could enter into a dialogue with pro-choice activists, whom you clearly do not understand. Because, make no mistake, you know someone who's had an abortion. Hidden or not, you just do - the stats say so. Quit playing the role of Devil and encompass the role of Angel, alright?
Y'all are doing nothing to move the discussion of abortion into the forefront, except marginalizing it by treating it as some kind of circus act. Stop it. If the three of you really hold sacred that abortion is some kind of "sin", then prove it without your woefully misguided thoughts about Christianity. If you can do that, then we're golden. If you can't, then shut. the. fuck. up.
This diary is long enough, but I really had to get this rant out. Thanks for listening/reading/completely ignoring me. :)
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UPDATE: Oh, Jeebus. The debate in the comments got intense, and I ended up making this bone-headed beauty:
I'm sorry to say this, G2geek, but (41+ / 0-)
I could not disagree more.
To any woman who's ever been pregnant, it is, indeed, a baby and not a blob. That's why it's so difficult for women to separate how they feel about the matter: what do I do (logistically) and what do I do (emotionally)? They are completely, almost 100% in conflict with each other.
Also, to women who have had/are going through/may potentially have abortions, it is, in fact, a "tragedy". It's an extremely intense and painful procedure, rendering the woman in question out of commission for a long period of time, at least sexually. This isn't an appendectomy; it's not a procedure that not all women consider to be "optional", and the fact that you're killing a fetus is NEVER lost on this woman. NEVER!
It's not GOOD, but it's sometimes NECESSARY! And, as long as we live in a patriarchal society, it'll always be necessary, unfortunately.
It was a moment of weakness, you guys were totally right that I was out of line (assuming that I know what all women feel/think), and if I get ONE MORE comment about this comment, I AM GOING TO BEAT MYSELF ABOUT THE HEAD AND NECK! Please stop, I say as I whimper.