A Lovely Example of Anti-Abortion Extremism

May 2, 2008 · Filed Under Reproductive Rights ·

anti-abortion While reading some kick ass feminist news over at Feministing, a picture on their Flickr widget caught my attention.

The picture to your left is yet another lovely example of anti-abortion extremism. This picture was taken at the 2004 March for Women’s Lives in Washington, DC. By holding a sign that says something so incredibly hateful and ignorant you are doing nothing but putting more hate back into the world around you. By holding a sign that says “You killed the next president” first of all is grouping all women who walk in the March for Women’s Lives as women who have had an abortion, which is not true at all; it also goes to show you that anti-abortion extremists do not care what they have to say to you to make you think like they do.

When you look at this technically, a woman who has had an abortion less than 35 years ago certainly did not kill the next president, which was mentioned in the comments for this picture on Flickr. In all likelihood women probably just aborted fetuses that would have grown up to be the kind of people that pro-lifers hate anyway–You know, liberal, homosexual, atheists; the list can go on. Logically speaking in response to this sign, a woman may have also killed the next Hitler or the next Charles Manson; but no, pro-lifers can’t see it from that standpoint, they see it as “You killed an innocent baaaaaaaaaabyyyyyy!” and then whatever happens after that “innocent baby” is born is the mother’s problem…And welfare’s problem, because we can’t forget about welfare, another thing that pro-life people complain about.

Another point that must be brought up is that anti-abortion extremists must stop comparing abortion to the Holocaust. It is demeaning and frankly holds no weight at all in a debate. Are women having unwanted children and then sending them off to torture chambers and gassing them to death by the hundreds? Uhh, no. Aborting a cluster of cells is by no means comparable to millions of men, women and children being starved, overworked, tortured and gassed to death, sorry.

Tags: anti-abortion extremism, anti-choice, Holocaust

Anti-Choice Oklahoma

April 28, 2008 · Filed Under Reproductive Rights ·

The Oklahoma House has recently voted 80-12 in support of the Freedom of Conscious Act, also known as SB 1878.

The Freedom of Conscious Act is basically an act that takes all of the previously brought up anti-choice laws and combines them into one. This bill allows health care workers to refuse to participate in actions that they feel are contrary to their religious beliefs and moral convictions. It also states that employers would not be able to “discriminate” against health care workers who exercise this right to refuse.

It may just be me, but if you are not able to you know, do your job, because of your religious beliefs and moral convictions, shouldn’t you find another line of work? Makes perfect, logical sense to me.

Under this bill, women are also required to have an ultrasound prior to getting an abortion. It also requires that wherever abortions are provided, there are large signs stating it is “against the law for anyone, regardless of his or her relationship to you, to force you to have an abortion.”

What this bill is doing is simply using more scare tactics against women when they seek an abortion. It talks down to women saying that it is “against the law for anyone, regardless or his or her relationship to you, to force you to have an abortion” and saying that that is simply the only reason why a woman would choose to have an abortion in the first place. By forcing a woman to get an ultrasound done before getting an abortion, you are using emotional trauma in order to get the upper hand against women seeking abortions. If they feel bad, then maybe they will go through with the pregnancy, right? That’s the “logic” behind this bill. However, people are simply not understanding that women do not walk into abortion clinics with smiles on their faces. They are not waking up in the morning and saying to themselves “Wow, what a beautiful day to get an abortion.” These women have already thought about their options, they have weighed them and have made a decision that the government is simply doing their damnedest to tell them they have no right to make.

This bill also regulates the use of Mifepristone, or RU-486, medications used in performing chemical abortions. This is perhaps the most ridiculous point on this bill.

Why does the use of these medications need to be regulated? The bottom line is that your doctor should be the only person aiding in how you get your abortion performed; not the government. When the government starts regulating the use of a medication they begin to strip away the rights of women when it comes to reproductive health and they are putting more women in harm’s way by regulating the use of these medications by making them resort to other options in order to obtain an abortion. By regulating these medications a woman who is desperate for an abortion is not going to say “Oh shit, I guess I’ll just wait 9 months and have the baby since that is the only logical way out of this.” No, they are going to go to other measures in order to abort the fetus that they do not want. End of story.

~~With this bill receiving the vote, it is now on its way to the Senate for consideration.~~ This bill has already went to Senate and passed. This is a shame for all women, especially those in Oklahoma. This is a violation of women’s rights and I simply cannot express the amount of dissapointment I feel right now.

Tags: anti-choice, Freedom of Conscious Act, Oklahoma, SB 1878

The Frightening Truth About Crisis Pregnancy Centers

April 15, 2008 · Filed Under Reproductive Rights ·

Sadly, very few women know what the term “crisis pregnancy center” really means and that is exactly what crisis pregnancy centers prey upon.

There is a personal story from Allyson Kirk published on AlterNet of a woman who got caught in the trap of these centers, thinking it was a regular reproductive rights clinic, as these centers have tried their best to look like to lure women in and intimidate them into carrying their pregnancies to term.

After calling the National Abortion Federation Hotline seeking an abortion, she got a number for a health care clinic, but a crisis pregnancy center located themselves a mere two doors down from the clinic, where the woman ended up walking into thinking it was the clinic she was in search for. What these people put her through is sick, twisted and no woman should have to be put through this when making a personal decision regarding her body.

“She asked me about my religious beliefs. I was immediately defensive at this point. I asked her why this was a relevant question to ask in a medical facility. “Because I can’t properly counsel you on the issue of abortion unless I know your moral standing,” she said. I decided that this was not the kind of place I felt comfortable seeking medical care so I asked her to complete the free pregnancy test and then I would be on my way. I gave her a urine sample and she agreed to run the test, but only if I watched an educational video while the results were processing.”

First of all, the woman felt the need to ask about the religious beliefs of the patient just to feel around and see if she had to intimidate her to stay there so she could “counsel” (ie: push her moral standing onto her patient and make her believe what she wanted) and the woman of this clinic, after seeing the hesitancy, started bartering with the woman over getting a pregnancy test done at their clinic. “You can have your pregnancy test if you watch this video.” That is not the way to treat the women who walk into your clinic, but they knew that this woman was hesitant and was starting to realize what was going on and knew that she should not be there, so I guess bartering is the only other viable option since these people are completely unprofessional and exist only to terminate a woman’s right to choose.

“The video I was forced to watch made false claims including: doctors who provide abortions graduate at the bottom of their classes and can’t get real jobs; abortion is dangerous and often results in serious injury, even death, to women, and abortion causes severe psychological and emotional damage to women. The woman on the video said many women who have abortions have nightmares of babies crying and have guilt about their decision so intense that it sends them into depression.

The second portion of the video showed an illustrated enactment of a surgical abortion procedure. A picture of a uterus with a fully formed fetus inside filled the TV screen as illustrated metal instruments appeared. The instruments were shown probing inside the uterus and dismembering the fetus. Then a suction device entered the screen, pulling the fetus out of the illustrated uterus for disposal.”

These centers should not be able to give women completely fabricated information. “Abortion providers can’t get real jobs?” Sorry, I believe that abortion providers have one of the most important jobs–Giving a woman power over her own body and giving her the respect to know that she can make her own decision. I would think that the people who “can’t get real jobs” would be the ones who make a living off of scaring the hell out of women who walk into their trumped up office. I would think that these people can only get jobs in which they must lie to scared and impressionable women in order to push their personal beliefs onto other people–whether they’re willing to listen or not because if they don’t, they’ll just barter with them–”We’ll let you out of this room as long as you agree to pray with us.” This makes me sick.

I am willing to bet that their claim that abortion results in serious injury and even death are taken from statistics published before the early 70’s, since they would be right–Back alley and illegal abortions that women are going to have to resort back to if abortion is ever outlawed, do cause serious injury and in a lot of cases, even death.

That, my friends, is why the option of a safe and legal abortion is a hell of a lot better than an abortion done with a wire coat hanger either in your home or in unsanitary surroundings because I, for one, would rather an already living and breathing woman be able to continue with her life before I would put the life of a cluster of cells before her.

Tags: anti-choice, crisis pregnancy centers

Crisis Pregnancy Centers Having to Tell People They Lie? Hells Yes!

March 15, 2008 · Filed Under Reproductive Rights ·

Crisis pregnancy centers really strike a chord in me that makes me sometimes rant to the boyfriend about how unfair it is that they are even able to “practice” pregnancy “options” with the women that go to them for help out of desperation and whom are bullied by so-called professionals to make the decision that they want women to make while completely disregarding the feelings of women seeking help.

I recently came to find out that Maryland feels the same way!

The Maryland state senate is considering a bill requiring Crisis Pregnancy Centers to issue a disclaimer stating that the information they give to women in search of options and counseling, is not accurate. The same bill is being considered in New York as well as in West Virginia. Examples of misinformation that crisis pregnancy centers have been giving out are:

Abortions lead to breast cancer.
Abortions lead to infertility.
Abortions lead to mental illness.

All of the above are completely untrue and should not be given to women seeking abortion services as facts when they are simply taking advantage of emotional women and brainwashing them by throwing around personal morals that are fabricated as far as medical accuracy goes.

87% of the clinics studied in a July 2006 came out to misinterpret and grossly exaggerate medical facts.

I do not believe that crisis pregnancy centers like this should not be able to practice. They should not be able to brainwash desperate women and guilt them into believing that abortion is not the answer to their unwanted pregnancy when an abortion is what they are seeking. Not to mention, Planned Parenthood clinics who support women and support the informed choices that women are able to make on their own–Imagine that!

I was recently watching the fourth season of The L Word, which I am absolutely addicted to and love unconditionally, and in the very first episode of the fourth season, it shows exactly what happens at these so-called women’s clinics. To watch the episode, which I highly suggest, you can by going here. In fact, I think that everyone should watch The L Word, so here is a link to all five seasons which you can watch online. (clickclickclick)

I really hope that Maryland gets this bill passed, the truth about these clinics must come out and I could not support Maryland enough in this bill.

Tags: anti-abortion extremism, anti-choice, crisis pregnancy centers, television, The L Word

Vote Pro-Choice and Go to Hell

March 3, 2008 · Filed Under Religion ·

Oh, the Catholic church is at it again with their preposterous shenanigans. Catholic bishops, being the men who form the delusions of speaking directly with god and informing others of his word, are going down their list of damnation and letting us all know that the latest memo says that reproductive rights trump everything.

Bishops have not only taken a poll, saying that all politicians who believe in a woman’s right to choose are going to hell, but if you vote for them, you have a seat reserved right next to them.

“It is important to be clear,” the bishops said in a 44-page statement titled “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” “that the political choices faced by citizens not only have an impact on general peace and prosperity but also may affect the individual’s salvation.” Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, chairman of the committee that drafted the statement, put those high-minded sentiments into plain English earlier this month. Support for a candidate who “espouses policies that are gravely immoral” is possible “only under exceptional circumstances that are hard to imagine,” he told the Cathedral Club of Brooklyn.”

But that isn’t all! Not only do these bishops condemn you to hell if you vote for a politician who upholds women’s rights, but you are also helping us follow in the footsteps of the Nazis:

“In our country we have, for the most part, allowed the party of death and the court system it has produced to eliminate, since 1973, upwards of 40 million of our fellow citizens without allowing them to see the light of day,” wrote Rockford, Ill., Bishop Thomas Doran in 2006. “No doubt, we shall soon outstrip the Nazis in doing human beings to death.” He continued, “We know…that adherents of one political party would place us squarely on the road to suicide as a people.”

Note: “The party of death” sure is clever and ranks up there on my list of “Funny things Catholics say for kicks while in the process of using scare tactics for conversion.”

I cannot even imagine how those who have family who had been tortured and killed during the Holocaust feel about now being compared to those who performed the torture and killing of their ancestors by a group of people who protect pedophiles and actually aided the Nazis. I suppose we have come a long way, however, since the Catholic church is now actually admitting that the Holocaust even happened; but the hypocrisy that spews from the mouths of these people every time they deem something immoral is becoming a bit more than I can handle.

The moral of this story, and the new law that god told the bishops to relay to all of us peons who do not get to speak with him directly, is that now to gain entry into heaven, even if we do everything else so-called “correctly,” if we vote pro-choice, we’re spending eternity in hell. Nice. I wonder what else god has in store for us in the coming years.

“This just in: All people who are interested in spending eternity in heaven with the pedophile priests all must wear clown noses and hop on one foot for an entire year.”

Tags: anti-abortion extremism, anti-choice, Catholicism, clergy sex abuse, Holocaust, pedophiles