13.8.09

The pro-lifers are at it again

Pro-life activists are demanding that "health care reform must be abortion free," and the most conservative among them are outraged that the proposal includes funding for preventative birth control and sex education.

Apparently, if we don't tell our children about sex, they will stay pure, untainted virgins forever. And, birth control…well that’s just wrong. I mean, who are we to “play God”?

Once a year, pro-lifers descend upon our nation’s capital to “make their voices heard.” They carry signs with pictures of dead babies, which if you know anything about human development, depict babies that are developed well beyond the point at which you can legally have an abortion. They cause delays on Metro, jamming their signs into closing train doors and screaming their viewpoints in commuters’ faces. They litter the ground and vandalize the buildings with “life” stickers. They are by far the most obnoxious and forceful group of protesters I have encountered in D.C.

I find it quite ironic that so many supposed pro-lifers are against abortion but for the death penalty. (70% of republicans consider themselves “pro-life,” and 80% of republicans are for the death penalty.)

Also ironic is the fact that republicans claim to be against “Big Government” yet they are more than happy to let the government all up in my uterus

In case you haven’t figured it out by now, I am pro-choice. This does not mean that I support abortion—I support a woman’s right to decide what she does with her own body.

That’s the beauty of pro-choice—there’s room for everyone. If you believe that abortion is murder, then you may chose not to have an abortion or to force your knocked-up teen to have her baby and give it up for adoption.

However, if you are a scared, pregnant woman who is not ready to care for a baby or a rape victim that was inseminated by your aggressor, well you can chose to terminate the pregnancy.
See that, pro-choice offers a win-win situation.

20 comments:

  1. You are fucking awesome, MJ...great post...isn't this country based on Freedom of CHOICE??? Kudos to you, girl...awesome post...

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  2. I generally stay away from these type discussions but I think you had a great post on this, you rock.

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  3. I couldn't agree with you more. I once had a pro-lifer (a catholic school 17 year old in my philosophy class in college) tell me that she would "totally be able to carry a child if it was the product of a rape." I asked her what she would do if the person that raped her was her father...she had no comment after that. I don't think abortion should be used as a form of birth control, like one of the girls I went to high school did, but I think every woman has the right to choose for herself.

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  4. I'm pro-choice, too. Couldn't agree with you more.

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  5. There is something about the anti-choice movement that reeks of treating women and teen girls as chattel.

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  6. They are by far the most annoying protestors, even here in the South. One year, I came out of the college union to see this HUGE sign facing the entrance/exit. There was very little text but a HUGE picture of a fetus in a trashcan. I had just had lunch, so forgive me if seeing your picture simultaneously made me want to hurl/tear it down. So I got on the phone with the President of the System (I worked for the office) and told him that this was a just a tasteless way of shocking people. Apparently, I was one of like a hundred people to call/e-mail about this and within the hour they were forced to take the sign down.

    It's just tasteless at some level, the tactics they employ.

    I also went to a Catholic School that had a special group for people who wanted to go to Government buildings and protest. Needless to say, I was one of the FEW pro-choice students there and I was one of the few who openly debated about it.

    I agree that for people who are so concerned about government involvement in our healthcare, they sure are ready to slap some regulations on our uterus!

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  7. I'm with you 100%. Great post!

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  8. Wonderful post!

    Even though I personally don't know if I could go through with an abortion... I'm totally 100% in favor of that being the woman's choice and not something to be imposed on her by society!

    And it is ridiculous the way pro-lifers are in favor of the death penalty (which I actually oppose)... I mean, isn't death just that? death? If they consider a few cells to be sacred life to not be destroyed, then how come they can accept the death of a fully formed person who's lived a certain number of years?

    contradictory is what it is... :s

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  9. Totally agree with everything you said...loved this post!!

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  10. As a conservative Christian, who happens to be a Dem, against abortion and for a healthcare plan, let me comment on the "irony" of the abortion/death penalty. From my point of view, not speaking for anyone else out there: Babies are innocent. Criminals are not.

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  11. Oh, and I can't stand all the exaggeration and misinformation and viral gossipping going on out there. Grrr. I've send this link to many of my (conservative) friends:
    http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/

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  12. god i cannot deal with people who are think pro life is good.. i mean, u dont KNOW peoples situations... maybe that is their best choice. YAH u shoulda fixed it before it became a problem, but sometimes shit happens and u cant. i just dont see how it is even remotely anyone else's choice besides the woman at hand and hers alone.
    and it is ironic to be pro life and for the death penalty.

    can we say hypocrite!?

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  13. Awesome post, my first read here too. With you all the way on this one !!

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  14. with you all the way on this one lady

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  15. Kudo's and applause to you! Incredible post! Frickin' Hippocrates! Do any one of them have a plan to take care of the children? No! Anyone who would tell/force a woman to have a child that's a product of rape or incest is a sick individual. I have to stop here. I am Pro-Choice and proud of that. I am also a Christian and I vote in every election. In this Country, we are supposed to be able to do what's best for ourselves. I am tired of Government and people I don't know wanting to stick their noses into things which are not their business! (Ok, stopping now, LOL!)

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  16. Novelista Barista - as I said in my comment just above yours:
    Babies are innocent, Criminals are not.

    As for people's situations, there's the whole 2 wrongs don't make a right thing. But you have to assume that the fetus is your "life." (I don't say "baby") So, when my mom was wasting away from a degenerative brain disorder and got annoying and cantankerous and extremely difficult and hard to manage? I never thought about "terminating" her.

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  17. I've been meaning to get back into this conversation for a few days now--sorry for the delay!

    Blackbelt -- I love politifact.com! Your point is certainly valid. I am not necessarily against the death penalty. Violent criminals who rape/murder/molest do not deserve to live, as far as I'm concerned, but the racism that has become institutionalized in our justice system puts the death penalty in a gray area for me. I don't want to see innocent people die at the hands of our judicial system. I also don't want to see people using abortion as birth control, but I do believe in a women's right to abortion.

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  18. M.J. - I TOTALLY agree with you about racism in the death penalty. I agree with it in CONCEPT.

    So glad you like politifact! I LOVE it and it really seems to be un-partisan.

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  19. I agree with you M.J. Women should have the right to choose what happens with their bodies.
    Oh and blackbelt-How can people like you protest abortions but then also protest measures like birth control that prevent pregnancy from happening in the first place?

    Tina

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  20. I should also point out that bringing an unwanted child into an already overcrowded planet and forcing a woman to have a child against her will are morally wrong. Plus-If women don't have access to abortions done by legitimate health professionals, they will perform abortions on themselves or hire crooks to do it. This often results in severe trauma or death for the mother.

    Tina

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