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Pro-Lifers Waving the Free Speech Card Again

February 9, 2008 · Filed Under Reproductive Rights ·  

pro life Anti-abortion activists, as we know all too well by now, will stop at nothing to get their way and make sure they have the opportunity to brainwash and force their religion-driven opinions on as many people as they can. This is yet another demonstration of pure absurdity!

A South Dakota anti-abortion group, Citizens for Life led by Allen Carlson, filed a law suit against Rapid City School District because they refused to let Citizens for Life use their auditorium to host an anti-abortion event with guest speaker Joe Scheidler, director of the Pro-Life Action League. Carlson and Citizens for Life are claiming that they have been repeatedly refused the space because of their “message” and is suing under discrimination and violation of free speech.

Suing for violation of free speech is laughable since that is the first card all anti-abortion protesters, groups and activists pull out and wave in the faces of those who may disagree with their harsh tactics of protesting and shoving pictures of aborted fetuses in the faces of people walking anywhere near them. Whenever someone says something to them about what they are doing, they reach into their coat pockets and start waving the first amendment around while screaming “No, I’m practicing free speech, I can say whatever I want and there’s no law that says I can’t hold my five foot poster of aborted fetuses and the words ‘Abortion is Murder’ strewn all over it while your young child is walking with you.” To claim that they are being discriminated against when most of South Dakota, as we had seen with the abortion ban and flocks of pro-life protesters, is surely not the state in which you can easily get away with pulling the discrimination card.

The real reason why Citizens for Life were repeatedly denied the middle school auditorium space for their events and speakers is because the school district does not allow their facilities to be used for any sort of event with a political message. That, in my opinion, is admirable of the school district, since the two hottest topics and what we kill each other the most over are indeed politics and religion.

Another thing that bothers me each and every single time I read a news story like this one are the names of the people who run these groups; in this case, Allen Carlson and Joe Scheidler. I wonder how many times the two of them have been pregnant.

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For a Better Understanding

January 23, 2008 · Filed Under Reproductive Rights ·  

I came across a fantastic documentary last night while poking around online a bit. Via Jezebel, I read about a broadcast that aired on Frontline in 1983.

The documentary won the 1983 National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy Award for Outstanding Background/Analysis of a Single Current Story. Even today, 25 years after the date it had originally aired, is a fantastic source of education when it comes to what an abortion is, how it’s performed, what women feel before, during, and after they get an abortion, how the abortion provider feels, the counseling that the women who are seeking abortions receive before the procedure, and what others are doing to try to stop women from seeking abortions all together.

In the video, the “doctor” who is basically running a halfway house for pregnant women, seems a bit creepy to me.

“Yes, you’re pregnant and I don’t want you to get an abortion, so come live with me along with several other women I’ve recruited through my intimidating tactics! And did I mention that my wife is also fully skilled in talking women out of having control over their own reproductive systems? Oh yes, and on Saturdays we all make signs about how the decision you were going to make is “murder” and go hold up signs–that young children also helped us make–and pray outside of the clinic that you were going to go get your abortion performed at. But don’t worry, you made the right decision because it coincides with our religious background!”

Click on the picture below to watch the full documentary!


abortion documentary

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Medical Accuracy is So Last Year

January 12, 2008 · Filed Under Reproductive Rights ·  

Uninformed religious fanatics are a dime a dozen lately, especially in politics, as we can easily see from the lineup of Republican presidential hopefuls. However, Indiana is also doubting the intelligence of women seeking abortions, as was demonstrated Thursday.

Life begins at conception, and a fetus could feel pain during an abortion.

Oh wow, that’s a factual statement if I ever heard one!

In a legislation by Sen. Patricia L. Miller, (R-Indianapolis) Senate Bill 146, states that doctors would have to deliver the above statement to any woman seeking an abortion. This legislation was introduced for the second time since it died in the Senate last year, and was debated again on Thursday.

Miller said the bill is necessary to make sure women considering an abortion have all the facts they need to make an informed decision.

I agree with Miller–A woman considering an abortion should have all the facts and she should make an informed decision. However, a woman is entitled to facts based on medical accuracy, not religious propaganda. And the woman, by seeking an abortion has already made an informed (and very difficult) decision before even stepping into a health care facility.

Sue Swayze, with Indiana Right to Life, said she hopes the legislation passes this year.

“We think that it’s important to provide this information, especially in writing,” Swayze said. “An abortion is an emotional issue, and we sometimes may not always remember everything we hear.”

Yes, it is best to give “emotional women” something to read, especially when it contains myths of what religious extremists believe–and nothing else. What about the atheist women seeking abortions? Well, according to the belief system of religious and pro-life extremists, they’re doomed and in need of counseling and prayer anyway. Sigh.

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