"Abortion Kills Children"

[MapleLeaf]

*sigh*

I was driving to the drug store from school, and a block from the university there were a bunch of people (about 8 adults and 3 children) standing on the corner holding up signs, such as the title of this thread, "Life is the most fundamental right", etc. Thankfully no pictures of dead fetuses or anything. And I can't say they were doing anything inappropriate in terms of the manner in which they were protesting. But maaaan do I hate anti-abortion protestors.

[lyra_silvertongue]

It's the "40 days of life" thing right now, I don't know if Canadian anti-abortion protestors participate in that.

There was a lady standng in the rain with her rosary when I went to get m birth control at Planned Parenthood the other day. Not only do they not perform abortions there, they weren't even open yet (I had forgotten thy had weird hours that day). When I returned later in the day, once they were open, the receptionist and I chatted about their fan club. She said there have been groups with bloody signs out there some days. Once again, this PP doesn't even offer the abortion pill, nor surgical abortions.

[MapleLeaf]

Originally Posted by lyra_silvertongue

It's the "40 days of life" thing right now, I don't know if Canadian anti-abortion protestors participate in that.

I don't really associate with organized anti-abortion groups (and they don't tend to be as numerous or vocal as they do in the US) so I'm not sure. But that would definitely explain it, as I have seen all of two previous anti-abortion protests in Toronto in my entire life.

[Christie]

I wonder if the "40 days of life" explains something I noticed last year. Groups of people at various intersections in the suburb I was living in at the time all holding signs like "abortion kills" and similar. This was on a Sunday and they were all quite well dressed. I'd assumed they got revved up at Church that morning and decided to do a little preaching of their own. The part that was odd was that it wasn't as if they were targeting any place in particular, sundry gas stations, fast food places and the entrance to the Mall were where I noticed them. I don't think they made anyone go "duh well whatta ya know, guess I won't have one of those if I ever get pregnant".

[Dactyl]

The only time I have come across against an Anti-abortion protester was when I went with a friend to get emergency contraception (AKA the morning after pill). I was ~18 at the time and undecided on the issue of abortion, however, I certainly didn't consider Emergency Contraception as abortion as I perceived it at the time.

I engaged the protester in conversation for about five minutes about whether she truly believe sentience would have occurred at this point and she agreed that the "potential life" would have no knowledge of the event or emotions attached to it, she also had no issue with condoms. We left on good terms yet she was still there when we left twenty minutes later.

On a lighter note, this was back when you had to take two pills 12 hours apart. My friend took the first at 4pm meaning we both had to wake up at 4am to ensure she took the second. We both agreed that if there was a next time she would take it at 8pm at the earliest!

[Roadsterboy]

That would explain the rather large number of people lining Rt. 64 through town today. I too thought it was some local church that decided to go out and preach.

-RB

[MisterGrey]

Last week during a walk I was passed by a truck that had a home-made billboard mounted in the back, with a giant picture of a fetus hacked up into pieces alongside the tag, "DOESN'T THIS LOOK LIKE MURDER TO YOU?" The scary thing is, I think I know the guy who was driving it. I've run into him at the store before; he wears (what appears to be) custom-made dead fetus jewelry

[lynnejanet]

Originally Posted by Christie

I wonder if the "40 days of life" explains something I noticed last year. Groups of people at various intersections in the suburb I was living in at the time all holding signs like "abortion kills" and similar. This was on a Sunday and they were all quite well dressed. I'd assumed they got revved up at Church that morning and decided to do a little preaching of their own. The part that was odd was that it wasn't as if they were targeting any place in particular, sundry gas stations, fast food places and the entrance to the Mall were where I noticed them. I don't think they made anyone go "duh well whatta ya know, guess I won't have one of those if I ever get pregnant".

A lot of the Catholic churches are holding "Life Chain" vigils in the next couple of weeks. I suspect that's what you saw. It's supposed to be a silent one-hour protest, and the signs travel from town to town and group to group (usually sponsored by the Knights of Columbus). The organizers are asked to choose a busy intersection. The idea is exposure and awareness, rather than protest. I think some other denominations hold such vigils, too.

[mizzie]

Originally Posted by Ramblin' Dave

One anti I used to know on another website insisted that they never even mentioned adoption as an option and did their best to make sure patients never even knew adoption existed. I told him several times that that was ridiculous, but he didn't want to hear it.

See, that's not only ridiculous, it's untrue. When I got pregnant (unplanned) I went to PP to confirm pregnancy. The nurse there brought in a small stack of pamphlets once they ran their test. There were ones on abortion, adoption and places to help if you plan to keep your baby (MA, WIC and such). She didn't push me in any way and the pamphlets simply presented facts, pros and cons, and such.

She asked what I was going to do. I said I was going to keep the baby and she pulled out only the ones about that. She did say if I needed anyone to talk to or felt I wanted information on "other options" to just give them a call. Ok, no, she never mentioned adoption specifically, but she also never mentioned abortion. And she never pushed in any direction.

The irritating thing about all this is that I am pro-life, but I always hesitate to say it because people like that give it a bad name. I'm certainly not going to go protest anywhere and I'd never judge someone who has had an abortion (unless they've had several and use them as their only form of birth control, but I'd probably judge them regardless in that case and I still wouldn't say anything to them).

[Chloe]

Originally Posted by mizzie

The irritating thing about all this is that I am pro-life, but I always hesitate to say it because people like that give it a bad name. I'm certainly not going to go protest anywhere and I'd never judge someone who has had an abortion (unless they've had several and use them as their only form of birth control, but I'd probably judge them regardless in that case and I still wouldn't say anything to them).

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by being pro-life, then. Do you mean you don't want women to have the choice you're not judging them for making? If they'd done something bad, wouldn't you judge them? If they haven't done something bad, why shouldn't they get to choose to have an abortion?

[Amigone201]

Originally Posted by MapleLeaf

*sigh*

I was driving to the drug store from school, and a block from the university there were a bunch of people (about 8 adults and 3 children) standing on the corner holding up signs, such as the title of this thread, "Life is the most fundamental right", etc. Thankfully no pictures of dead fetuses or anything. And I can't say they were doing anything inappropriate in terms of the manner in which they were protesting. But maaaan do I hate anti-abortion protestors.

I sure hope none of them ever complained about "liberal indoctrination" of young kids.

[AnglRdr]

"Abortion Kills Children"

ur doin it wrong.

[crocoduck_hunter]

Originally Posted by AnglRdr

ur doin it wrong.

Or maybe just late.

My personal favorite is when they say that abortion prevents an innocent life from being born.

I like to come back with "So does not having sex at every available opportunity. Think about how many babies you've failed to conceive while you were wasting time here."

[Magpye]

Since I am now seven months pregnant, and pretty obviously so, I need to get myself down to our local Planned Parenthood office with a sign... I want it to say something like "Planned Parenthood helped me plan this pregnancy!" but I probably need to be more concise. Then I can stand there with the protesters and my big pregnant tummy as a sort of counterpoint.

[moonfall]

One of the girls in my RPG group is always harping on the evils of the pro-choice movement, abortion, and Planned Parenthood. She's gotten better (probably figured out no one else wanted to talk politics or that the majority of the group leans left on that issue) but not long ago, she told us all that Planned Parenthood tested birth control on unsuspecting Puerto Ricans. The Pro-Life Alliance (yep, she's a part of it) has passed out information claiming that Margaret Sanger favored eugenics and forced sterilization of African-Americans.

Is any of this true? Why the hate for PP? I pretty much have to go there now, because I have no insurance at the moment and can't otherwise afford the pills that keep my period under control.

[BamaRainbow]

Originally Posted by Magpye

Since I am now seven months pregnant, and pretty obviously so, I need to get myself down to our local Planned Parenthood office with a sign... I want it to say something like "Planned Parenthood helped me plan this pregnancy!" but I probably need to be more concise. Then I can stand there with the protesters and my big pregnant tummy as a sort of counterpoint.

Okay, this may not really be concise, but how about a t-shirt that reads "I went to Planned Parenthood, and all I got was this" with a down arrow pointing at your belly?
No?
Then, what about "My baby thanks Planned Parenthood"? Or have a sign that simply reads "Planned Parenthood!" and have an arrow pointing down at you, or more precisely, your belly. (Actually, what you wrote really isn't all that bad.)

[Canuckistan]

Originally Posted by MapleLeaf

I was driving to the drug store from school, and a block from the university there were a bunch of people (about 8 adults and 3 children) standing on the corner holding up signs, such as the title of this thread, "Life is the most fundamental right", etc.

I saw a similar group of protesters in the Parkdale area (just west of downtown Toronto). Must have been something coordinated, because I'm unaware of why they'd be in that area otherwise.

[lyra_silvertongue]

Originally Posted by moonfall

Is Planned Parenthood even a for-profit organization? I know they do make some small amount of money (my pills are $20 per month), but they also take some donations. Do they really make any profit?

Ryda can probably explain how Planned Parenthood is funded better than I can, but I know that they recieve some funding (which always seems to be decreasing) and rely on donations. They're a non-profit organization, which doesn't mean that they don't pull any money in, just that all the money continues to go towards funding the organization. They have workers that are paid, for instance.

Also, abortion services count for a very, very small percentage of the total services offered by PP. A good majority of PPs don't even offer abortion. Mostly they are providing birth control, STI tests and pre-cancer screenings. I guess a PP a few hours south of here also offers free vascetomies for low-income people because a friend of mine went and got one there the other day.

[Ryda Wong, EBfCo.]

Originally Posted by MapleLeaf

*sigh*

I was driving to the drug store from school, and a block from the university there were a bunch of people (about 8 adults and 3 children) standing on the corner holding up signs, such as the title of this thread, "Life is the most fundamental right", etc. Thankfully no pictures of dead fetuses or anything. And I can't say they were doing anything inappropriate in terms of the manner in which they were protesting. But maaaan do I hate anti-abortion protestors.

Hah. Lightweight. the other day, I was having a smokie outside the back gate (our property is smoke free, so we just cluster by the back gate). One of our constant protesters* just happened to be driving by. He stops, in the middle of the road, and proceeds to give me my very own sermon! For about 3 1/2 minutes. I felt so honored.


* This particular protester has a repetoire of things he shouts. He loves to rail against the "pervert judges and politicians" that allow us to exist, against our "pervert security guards" that keep us safe, to taunt us with descriptions of recently lost supporters (like our head of security who died last year) burning in hell, that global warming is coming and that it presages the rapture and tribulation, that there will be no cigarettes in hell, etc., etc. He's a colorful chap.

[Simply Madeline]

Originally Posted by Ryda Wong, EBfCo.

that there will be no cigarettes in hell, etc., etc.

I don't know why this amuses me so, but it does. I mean, sure, the roasting of my flesh, being forced to pull out my own entrails, the acrid stink of damnation - that I can handle. But no smokes?! Where do I go to repent?