God has a Plan for Incestuous Rape Victim

Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle has been making headlines with her absolutist anti-choice views. This Tea Party favorite has spoken about her belief that all abortions should be illegal, even in the case of rape and incest, on multiple occasions.

Most recently, the buzz has been centered on her radio interview on the Alan Stock Show in late-June. Stock asked about her recent television interview in which the host asked if she would tell a 13-year-old girl that was raped by her father that she has to have the baby. Angle responded with an anecdotal story of how she saved the life of a teen rape victim's daughter from abortion. Angle claimed that "two wrongs don't make a right" in reference to aborting a rape-induced pregnancy and that the people she counseled were able to make "a lemon situation into lemonade."

However, this is extremely problematic. If Angle had her way, girls impregnated by their fathers would be forced to give birth! It is bad enough to deal with the trauma of rape, let alone incestuous rape, but to deal with the government forcing her to give birth to a child that will forever be associated with such a horrendous event is ridiculous! In addition, it can be dangerous. Still developing, teenagers are at a much higher risk of having serious complications.

How is Sharron Angle ok with putting women's lives at risk to save what isn't even a person yet?

Well... She believes that "God has a plan and a purpose for each one of our lives." Personally, I am an Atheist and am accepting of others' religious beliefs, but I take issue with her statement. I am ok with religious individuals making statements like "it's part of God's plan" or "God works in mysterious ways," but would God really want a young teen to be raped and go through a pregnancy to end up dying? Sorry, but isn't God supposed to be just and loving? Why would he want someone to go through so much pain-- is he teaching a moral lesson or punishing these young women?

Sorry, Ms. Angle, but I don't think religion justifies forcing rape victims to give birth. Perhaps, you are confusing religion and politics, or maybe you should let other people worry about their fate and allow them their reproductive freedom.

Photo Credit: Huffington Post

40 days for life is back at it again

Hello feminist activists,

As an FMF intern and Cal State LA FMLA member, I’m back blogging about a crucial issue that is near and dear to my heart. Anti-choice organizers are at it again – as its kick-off campaign for 2010, 40daysfor(so-called) life fanatics are harassing women out in front of local comprehensive women’s health and Planned Parenthood clinics from February 16 – March 28th. And these anti-abortion zealots are targeting womyn’s health care providers in 167 cities across the country. For a complete list of the clinics they are harassing with protest, you may visit their anti-abortion website here: http://www.40daysforlife.com/location.cfm. (Please note: this is an anti-choice website.)

This campaign of fear and intimidation makes it all the more important for us as students to develop meaningful relationships with comprehensive womyn’s health care providers in our communities. If you haven’t yet, now is the time to find out who your providers are and to reach out to help them and offer to help.

Because many anti-abortion protesters like to demean and harass every and any person looking to enter a womyn’s health center, a positive, safe, pro-choice presence outside targeted clinics can help support patients and clinic employees. I have seen these people in action firsthand as a pro-choice advocate, activist and clinic defender. Their actions against womyn’s clinics and the patients they serve are outrageous. This is why we as students need to step up and out to protect and support our local clinics. And this is why the FMF’s Choices Campus Leadership Program is launching its new Adopt-A- Clinic Program.

It is equally important to work with your clinic in the ways they want your help – whether they need help with clinic escorting, legal observing, or if they simply need more clinic volunteers.
I hope all you this month will take it upon yourselves to each out to your local womyn’s health clinics and offer to help where it is needed. Especially since March 10th is National Abortion Providers Appreciation Day! Help stop anti-abortion harassment and defend our right to choose. We should always remember to trust womyn and their bodies!

Frank Perez, FMF CHOICES intern

From Kim Gandy: Stop CBS From Airing Anti-Abortion Super Bowl Ad

Kim Gandy, FMF's new Vice President (and former President of NOW), writes:

Even as the trial continues for the murder of Dr. George Tiller, CBS is planning to air an anti-abortion ad during this weekend's Super Bowl game.

Tell CBS that this is no time to feed the anger and hatred of anti-abortion extremists.

CBS has a stated policy to reject all ads it deems controversial, including ads from MoveOn.org, PETA, and even the United Church of Christ, which dared to suggest that their church would model tolerance ("Jesus Didn't Turn People Away. Neither Do We").

In fact, CBS execs told the United Church of Christ that CBS rejects any ad that "touches on and/or takes a position on one side of a current controversial issue of public importance."

Although the ad itself is secret, Focus on the Family's own publicity indicates that it will "take a position on one side of a current controversial issue." The ad reportedly focuses on quarterback Tim Tebow and his mother, alleging that Tebow's mother was urged to have an abortion for medical reasons but did not. The implicit suggestion that pregnant women whose health is at risk shouldn't worry because nothing bad will happen is downright dangerous, even if the story is true.

The Super Bowl audience, one of the largest of any event, spans all ages and political positions, and should not be used to promote an anti-abortion message.

And why would CBS promote a clearly controversial message from Focus on the Family? That organization uses their millions to promote discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs - they even ran a campaign before the 2008 elections equating the U.S. with Nazi Germany!

Tell CBS that using the public airwaves to promote an anti-abortion message will lose the network both respect and business.

For Equality,

Kim Gandy
Vice President

Celebrate the Anniversary of Roe v. Wade on January 22nd

January 22, 2010 marks the 37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that guaranteed American women the right to a safe and legal elective abortion. Our fore-feminists dedicated their lives to obtaining this integral human right and it is not free from threats, even today. To commemorate the fight for the right to abortion and to stand up against current attacks on that right, take action on January 22nd!

History
Abortion has been performed in every culture and society for thousands of years. It wasn't until the mid to late 1800's that abortion was criminalized in the U.S. Of course, making abortion illegal didn’t stop it from happening, or even reduce the number of women who sought abortion.

It is estimated that as many as 1.2 million abortions happened each year in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These “back-alley” abortions by untrained practitioners, in addition to self-induced abortions often cost women their lives – in fact, many thousands of women died or suffered serious medical problems during the time that abortion was illegal (accurate records could not be kept).

Thankfully, in 1973, Jane Roe, a Texas woman seeking to terminate her pregnancy, brought a class action lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Texas law prohibiting her from doing so and the Supreme Court sided with her, 7-2. Delivering the opinion of the Court, Justice Blackmum stated:

“The right to privacy…is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy. The detriment that the State would impose upon the pregnant woman by denying this choice is altogether apparent.”

Abortion rights proponents rejoiced.

Right v. Access
Unfortunately, the Roe v. Wade decision was not perfect, by any means. The wording of the decision left doors open for states to regulate abortion through restrictions on third-trimester abortions, parental consent and notification laws, “informed consent” laws, waiting periods, refusal or so-called “conscience” clauses, and even spousal consent laws (which were later made illegal with the Planned Parenthood v. Casey ruling in 1992).

Additionally, Roe v. Wade sent anti-abortion forces into a tizzy (just as its anniversary does every year), and in 1977 we saw the passing of the Hyde Amendment, which, to this day, prohibits Medicaid funding of abortions.

What’s the significance of all these various types of restrictions? Well, abortion may be legal, but it is not necessarily accessible or affordable. This distinction persists today, varying state by state. If you are under age 18, don’t have a provider near you, don’t have transportation, are a victim of incest or rape and don’t want to come forward, don’t have health insurance or don’t have the means to pay for an abortion, we’re sorry – the right to abortion doesn’t apply to you.

Furthermore, for several decades, anti-abortion forces have mounted escalating attacks on reproductive health clinics and health care providers throughout the nation, making access to the very clinics that provide reproductive health services even more difficult.

Continued Threats
While abortion remains legal, there are constantly rising threats jeopardizing access.

Currently, abortion has become a major divisive issue in Congress’ Health Care Reform efforts. By using women’s health and lives as a pawn to stop health care reform from happening, opponents of both reform and reproductive rights have managed to introduce some very restrictive abortion language – the Nelson amendment. By requiring separate payment systems for abortion coverage in the new health insurance exchange, the Nelson amendment will effectively eliminate abortion coverage for all women participating in the exchange – forcing millions of women who currently enjoy abortion coverage to pay out of pocket in the future.

Year after year, voters in referendum states are faced with anti-abortion ballot initiatives and state legislatures consider and often pass bills that limit abortion access. We see these bills and ballot initiatives in the form of: abortion bans (that are placed on the books in order to challenge Roe v. Wade), biased counseling requirements, mandatory delays, gag rules, refusal clauses, restrictions on low-income women’s access, restrictions on young women’s access, personhood initiatives and targeted regulation of abortion providers. In the fall 2010 mid-term election, don’t be surprised to see plenty of the above-mentioned threats present on your ballot!

And lastly, anti-abortion organizations such as Operation Rescue, Army of God and many others are creating a rising tide of extremism and violence against women’s health care clinics and providers. You may be familiar with the “Justice for All” or “Genocide Awareness Project” displays that often set up shop on college campuses. You also may have seen anti-abortion protesters outside of your local clinic. In addition to spreading lies and misinformation and making access to clinics difficult and intimidating, anti-abortion efforts often go far beyond protests and demonstrations and begin to threaten the safety and lives of women’s health care providers and clinic staff. Sometimes these threats escalate into real violence, as with the murder of Dr. George Tiller in his church in May, 2009.

What You Can Do on Jan. 22
On January 22nd, TAKE ACTION! Educate your campus, show support for abortion rights and the feminists who fought for that right, and fight the current threats we face. Let 'em know that we will never go back! Here are some ideas:

- Oppose the Nelson Amendment and show your support for woman-friendly health care reform. Find out how your Senators voted and let them know how you feel. Table with information on this issue and encourage other students to contact their Senators as well.

- Start gearing up for the onslaught of anti-choice ballot initiatives we are likely to see in this fall’s mid-term elections. Parental notification and personhood initiatives will likely be prevalent. Find out what’s likely to happen in your state, and begin educating your campus about why they should vote NO!

- Find out if there will be any anti-choice protests, demonstrations or events happening on campus and organize a counter-protest. Pass out medically accurate information about abortion, as well as information about the local reproductive health clinic.

- Adopt-a-Clinic. Call your local reproductive health clinic and find out how you can help them. They may be faced with protesters and need your help escorting patients into the clinic safely, showing your support through a rally or counter-protest, or just need your volunteer time in the clinic.

This article was featured in our January 2010 monthly Choices eZine. Sign up for our alerts to stay up-to-date with the latest feminist news and to receive the monthly eZine.

Anti-Choice Groups Oppose Nevada Personhood Initiative

Via FeministNews:

Four anti-choice groups released a statement last week opposing a personhood initiative petition that is currently gathering signatures in Nevada. The measure in question would extend due process rights to "everyone possessing a human genome." The statement says that the proposed "amendment will harm the Pro-Life movement by giving pro-abortion courts more power to decide all matters relating to abortion, such as parental notification, informed consent, and taxpayer funding of abortion. These matters should be decided by the elected representatives of the people--state legislatures and Congress, not the unelected courts."

Conservative group Personhood Nevada originally filed the ballot initiative with the secretary of state's office," in October. In order for the initiative to reach the ballot, petitioners must obtain the signatures of at least 10 percent of registered voters that voted in the last general election, or 97,002 signatures. According to the Las Vegas Sun, a lawsuit was filed in district court that aims to prevent the measure from being placed on the ballot. This suit claims the petition violates the "core principles of the single-subject rule by proposing multiple unrelated and sweeping changes to Nevada law, while utterly failing to give voters notice of these changes."

Abortion opponents have pushed these so-called "personhood initiatives" in several states. These measures declare that a fertilized egg is a "person" who enjoys "inalienable rights, equality of justice, and due process of the law." They would threaten not only abortion itself, but IUDs, emergency contraception, in vitro fertilization clinics, and stem cell research. In the 2008 elections, Colorado's Amendment 48 (see PDF), failed by 73 to 27 percent. In addition to failing in Montana, petition drives for similar initiatives ultimately failed in Georgia, Oregon, and Mississippi for the 2008 elections.

Stupak is Whack

30 feminists descended on Capitol Hill today to protest the Stupak amendment. I was one of them.

The rally, sponsored by NOW, drew feminists from groups like the Feminist Majority Foundation, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, and the National Women's Law Center.

We met in front of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, carrying signs that said "Keep Ur Stupak Off My Body," "Stupak is Whack!," and "Healthcare for All!" We were promptly greeted by Randall Terry of Operation Rescue and his anti-choice buddies. They followed us around, shouting "Abortion is murder!" through their megaphones.

Oddly enough, we got serenaded by Randall in a Grim Reaper costume. His lyrics bordered on sexual harassment and were pretty demeaning. "Don't worry ladies, I want all your children." "Girls, girls, keep abortion going." Oh well, religious nutjobs going out of their way to put you down is a sign that you're doing something right.

We did two laps around the office building before we were asked to leave by Capitol Police. You can only do so much with an impromptu protest and no permit.

I hope these protests pick up in size. We need our Congressfolk to kill this amendment!

Has Ira Glass wire-tapped the FMF headquaters?

While on my morning commute, ( which still involves zoning out to Ira Glass.) I noticed that he and the show have, yet again, picked a show subject that matches up perfectly with my life at FMF.

Yesterday I talked about the documentary Hell House and critiqued the moral-based Haunted House on its extreme scare tactics used to convert it's "Hell bound" visitors to the other side.

Today, I discovered that the PRI radio show This American Life had interview the film's director and Hell House's actors for this weeks show!

For a real Halloween spook tale, you can listen to the show here.

photo credit: sean dreilinger from flickr.com

Ditch the candy, this Halloween sign yourself up for some good ol' fashion fear mongering!

Everyone has their own Halloween traditions. In his documentary Hell House, director/ producer George Radliff shows the not-so-common Halloween traditions of a town on the outskirts of Dallas, where the production of "Hell House" is annually held.

Hell House is a haunted house-style play focused on decisions that will exempt a person from the pearly gates. Teens and parents alike try out in large numbers, hoping to play "rave master" or"school shooting kid."

During Halloween season, "those who dare enter" watch a series of five-minute skits, showing what each character did to get in Hell. There's the boy who "chose the gay lifestyle" and became HIV positive; the woman who cheats on her abusive, alcoholic husband; the girl who took the abortion pill and died from blood loss, the boy who was so fed up with teasing that he commits suicide in front of his class and (can't forget this one!) the girl who goes to a rave, gets drugged and raped and commits suicide because of her guilt!

After seeing the characters tortured and burned in the final "Hell" scene, the audience is taken to calm room. Here, a person asks the group if they know where they would go if they were to die that night. Those who would like to go to heaven are offered entrance into a room where they can pray with church members.

This is where I sat on my couch, watching and thinking "WHAAAAAT! WAY TO BLAME THE VICTIM!"

This movie put things in the most disgusting terms: It's not the rapist who goes to hell, its the poor survivor. It's not the abuser or the mean students, it's the abused and the taunted.

It's time to identify this as what it is: fear mongering! They are showing extreme situations as scare tactics to sway their audience towards their unrealistic cause. To find out more about Hell House, rent it!

Cupcakes For Life

Sadly, the content of this post has been pulled from REAL websites. Check out the links below for a look into the anti-choice movement's "rationale"...

I don't know if you've heard, but October 9th is National Pro-Life Cupcake Day! Celebrate by bringing in cupcakes adorned with pro-life messages into your school!

Why cupcakes? Well, because everyone wants them! Bring a tray of cupcakes into class and serve them to people. When people ask, "Who's birthday is it?" (ignoring the pro-life messages on the food), you can stop them mid-bite and say, "It's no ones birthday. These cupcakes represent the 50,000,000 children who weren't allowed to be born, who never had a birthday." Assuming that your classmates aren't choking on their cupcakes with grief, you can add, "If you and I were aborted, we wouldn't have a birthday either." For an even better effect, hand out plastic fetuses!

Why should we do this? We need to do the work of God and be the voice of the unborn. When talking to kids, tell them that God loves them and wants them to have birthdays. Abortion means some kids don't get to have birthdays. It's as simple as that! If you're a mom, take some young teenage girls aside to talk about abortion and teach them about the merits of abstinence and pregnancy. It works!

And remember, if those nasty, sinful pro-choicers (more like, pro-abortionists! Thanks Abort73.com!) smash the cupcakes in your face, just wipe them off and do God's work elsewhere!

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/bljfour/

Help wanted! Clinic defense in DC area

On Saturday morning, 75 protesters prayed and sang outside Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington DC while a handful of volunteers in oversized orange vests walked patients into the clinic.

Students from local universities were joined by clergy and assorted characters as they lined up on the sidewalk and across the street. They used walkie talkies so they could pray in unison.

Some students and older protesters acted as sidewalk stalkers, chasing after women walking in and out of the clinic to dissuade them from obtaining care from PPMW. One of the antis shouts at women mere inches from their face as he shadows them.

Busy day at the clinic.

The Washington Area Clinic Defense Task Force needs your help. The clinics in Manassas and Fall Church VA receive a lot of protesters throughout the year, and there aren't enough volunteers to shield patients from the antis. If you are able to volunteer as a clinic escort, email wacdtf@wacdtf.org to get involved.

I volunteer as a clinic escort at the DC clinic. I started in late May because I worked with several students who volunteered at clinics near them. After Dr. Tiller's assassination, it became pretty evident this was an important way to contribute to the pro-choice movement.

Longtime volunteers tell stories of when 500 antis would rush the clinic in waves to blockade and invade the clinics. During the 80s and 90s, they'd see blockades every 4-6 weeks or so. Law enforcement was slow and not too helpful.

The passage of the Freedom of Access to Clinics Entrances (FACE) Act in 1994 made it a federal offense to block access to clinics. The clinic protests got smaller, and the antis shifted toward legal strategies to limit abortion access.

This has helped, but clinics are still under attack by antis. In a 2008 survey, FMF's National Clinic Access Project found 20% of clinics in the US reported severe violence and harassment.

WACDTF discourages pro-choice counter-protests, as they believe this escalates the situation and feeds the antis' protests. Consequently, they think this is the reason for the relatively low levels of harassment in DC-metro area clinics. Still, on each anniversary of Roe v. Wade, 450+ antis will protest outside the clinics.

Doctors from the local clinics say women are less distressed when they enter clinics with a strong presence from clinic escorts. They require fewer sedatives and recover more easily after their appointment. So if you care about choice and about women's health, get trained by WACDTF or your friendly local clinic and get involved as a volunteer!

Are you looking for even more ways to get active? Donate to local organizations like the DC Abortion Fund that help low-income women pay for their abortions. Find your local abortion fund here. We need your support to protect choice, or else we will lose it.

Photo credit: benuski via Flickr

Rachel Maddow on Anti-Abortion Extremists

Rachel Maddow is one of the few in the mass media market who continuously stays on top of issues that I care about; in particular: women's rights, LGBTQ rights, civil rights...ya know, HUMAN RIGHTS.

Most recently and closest to home for me, as a staff member for FMF working with our National Clinic Access Project, I have greatly appreciated Ms. Maddow's close attention to and investigative reporting of anti-abortion extremists. Not only does she dig deeper than most, she calls our attention to the key connections no one else seems to pay attention to AND she keeps coming back to it, over and over again!

Here's the latest from the Rachel Maddow show, linking the anti-abortion extremist groups who celebrated Dr. George Tiller's murder with the current threats facing Dr. LeRoy Carhart, a close friend and colleague of Dr. Tiller.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Anti-choice supporters target Hispanics and African Americans

Recently I attended an anti-choice rally labeled “Building a culture of life during the Obama presidency.” Here I got to witness the anti-choice marketing plan.

I heard how the pastors involved made themselves seem as God’s modern day apostles. The pastors literally used phrases such as, “God came to me and told me…” to emphasize their statements.

I listened to twisted facts, deceptive statements, and manipulated statistics. I held myself back as speaker after speaker depicted abortion as nothing less than a crime. They made late term abortions seem always the result of someone’s delayed decision and painted women and doctors as murderers.

I talked to a camp anti-choice leader who mentioned they prefer to target high schools and low-income areas because the people there are more responsive. They also target the Spanish-speaking community and even have short term trips to Mexico and South America.

I watched one of their Spanish propaganda videos. Their marketing scheme includes the handsome and popular actor Eduardo Verastegui (above) as the spokesman, an emotional story, graphic visuals, and a well-known Spanish anti-abortion song. The lyrics of the song are from the perspective of a happy fetus that lives in the womb and then goes through an abortion.

As the anti-abortion song played, they exhibited gruesome inflammatory visuals of “post-abortion” fetuses and even a clip of an actual abortion taking place. The origin of the images were left out. Were they from still births? Were they from abortions where the woman’s life is in danger?

When I recognized the song, I got sad. Not because of the song’s message, but because I realized they are preying on the sensibility of people like my aunt and cousin. When my aunt and cousin from Jalisco, Mexico first made me listen to this song, their eyes got watery and after the song they asked, “Isn’t it horrible?”

This video also includes dishonest and twisted messages. In the video, Verasteguie makes the outrageous claim that Hispanics are the most targeted by the abortion providers and goes as far as to say racist individuals use abortion as a medium to eliminate Hispanics because we are a threat to democracy. In the same rally, Walter Hoye, a keynote speaker, made similar statements as Verasteguie, saying that African Americans are the most targeted community by women’s health care providers.

This is terrible! How can they make such ridiculous accusations and completely dismiss that women’s heath clinics don’t only provide abortions but also provide women with breast cancer screenings, pap-tests, HPV tests, access to contraceptives, etc.

It is mind boggling why in the name of their beliefs they want to stop women from communities like mine from the only access to health care we have. They want to close these clinics. It is ironic they accuse women’s health clinics as targeting African Americans and Hispanics when they are clearly going to great lengths to manipulate us.

I mean, as soon as one of their members from the rally realized I spoke Spanish I was urged to take more pamphlets and DVDs from the bundle I already carried and encouraged I show my family and friends that horrible video.

In the video they also target Barack Obama with incendiary accusations. Verasteguie states with missionary-like zeal, “As a legislator, Obama voted several times against an appeal that tried to protect babies who survived an abortion and are born alive.”

It is amazing how much energy and resources anti-choice supporters can muster. Just think about what we could do if we were able to harness that energy and money to work towards universal health care, including access to comprehensive reproductive health care, especially contraception. Wouldn’t this be a better method for the anti-abortion supporters to reduce the number of abortions?

Most of the grassroots followers are well intentioned, and it is remarkable how they believe in the validity of their convictions. However, I wish they would see that pro-choice does not mean anti-life. Rather, it just means that we want to preserve the constitutional and moral right of every woman to choose for herself.

Anti-Choice's Next Generation

As a thirteen-year old who is avidly pro-choice, it was fascinating to go undercover to attend an anti-abortion rally, ostentatiously entitled "Building a Culture of Life in an Obama Presidency".

In order to blend into the crowd, I was forced to don an impenetrable good Christian, anti-choice facade. The irony is I am an atheistic Democrat (raised Jewish, no less) who has been fighting for women’s reproductive rights since second grade. Not only that, but I attended the rally with my extremely pro-choice godparents, who helped defend women’s health clinics from anti-abortion blockades in the 1990s. In trying to look relatively conservative, we ended up looking like the model Christian family.

I’ll never forget the things I saw last night. They left me as much with a sense of bewilderment as they did hope and fear.

Out of everything at that rally (the almost entirely male group of speakers, the prayers for the dead babies, and the creepy obsession with controlling women’s lives that seems to be the norm for anti-abortion groups), by far the most interesting was the ‘devotion’ of the teenagers present.

This rally was planned and attended by teens enrolled in Survivors LA. Survivors LA is made to empower anti-choice youth to activism. In the words of one camper, "The training goes beyond becoming a warrior, to becoming a fully equipped leader in the war on abortion." It sounds awfully scary, especially considering the recent murder of Dr. George Tiller.

These teens are fed pure propaganda and a cult-like mentality to this one cause. Last night, they were wearing the Survivors LA t-shirts emblazoned with biblical passages and the camp's grisly logo, which appears to be the skeleton of a fetus. They were sitting in the front rows of the church where the rally took place. They prayed when they were told to pray, clapped when they were told to clap, and joked around with Troy Newman and Jeff White. Probably, the reason they attended the rally was because they were told to.

Have you ever seen The Manchurian Candidate?

The fact is, these teens are only shown one side of the abortion topic. The only things they see are those gruesome pictures of dismembered fetuses, which are not even legitimate, and are pure propaganda. They've probably never seen the pregnant fourteen-year-old who died in a back-alley abortion because she lives in a mandatory parental notification state.

These teens probably hear many a glowing success story about adoptions and foster care before they hear even one about those foster children who don't live so happily ever after, the children who end up unwanted, unloved, and unadopted.

Maybe these kids would be pro-choice if they had only been given all the information. Maybe if they had been presented both sides of this hefty, multi-faceted issue, they would have chosen differently. After all, restrictions on abortion (and contraception) have a huge negative impact on teens.

In fact, the latest report on teen pregnancy stated that in 2006-2007, teen pregnancy rates increased while the number of teens using contraceptives decreased.

One would think that these teens would side with their peers, but mysteriously, they still side with the unborn, not the sixteen-year-old whose life could be destroyed by an illegal, unsafe abortion.

SOAPBOX! History of Anti-Abortion Terrorism

So I've decided to go on my soapbox today. I hope you all don't mind. I was watching a youtube clip of the Rachel Maddow Show this week where Maddow highlighted a timeline of past acts of terror and murder against abortion providers, and a few things came to mind. Check it out and tell us what you think!



This youtube clip is ironically titled "Brief History of Pro-Life Terrorism", but it's essentially an oxymoron. There's nothing pro-life about political terrorism and murder. There's nothing pro-life about honoring assassins. Anti-abortion extremists that justify their terrorist acts through arguments of morality and faith only attempt to dismiss the ethical and medical reasonings for abortion services. Therefore, the two arguments aren't even on the same page, let alone the same book! You would think we would have a greater understanding of this since we've been inundated with the "war on terrorism" for the past 8 years. How funny that we turn a blind eye to it here at home.

The one question I have is: why is mainstream media referring to Dr. Tiller's death as simply a murder. Dr. Tiller was ASSASSINATED! By making this claim, this politicizes the issue of terrorism and extremism in our country as it relates to reproductive justice. This issue can no longer be simplified and unchallenged because of differences of moral beliefs. As Maddow mentioned, "violence [is being used] as a political strategy" and these acts are "politically motivated" to "intimidate women from seeking these services". This is a political issue if history has shown a continuum of radical acts of violence against abortion providers.

In my last attempt to rant on my soapbox, I wholeheartedly wish that the dialogue among those who define themselves as "pro-choice", "anti-choice", "pro-life", "anti-abortion", and anything else in between can expand beyond life vs. abortion. This black and white dichotomy doesn't give room for the exceptional realities that lie in the gray area. Are we hearing those stories? If we stick to "objective", factual information, then maybe we can reach some plausible conclusions. Essentially, we must do right by women who have to live out their choices day in and day out, with or without the consent of those who do not live her reality. If we hope to see substantive change in our nation, let it come because we've assumed the posture of allowing true democratic freedoms to exist for everyone involved.

One more thing, check out Melissa Harris-Lacewell's article "Countering Anti-Choice Terrorism" in the Nation.

Peace.