 On a college campus in Texas, a prolife group put up a display of 2,904 crosses - one for every abortion that occurs each day in the United States.
The display was vandalized.
The students put it back up.
The next day a video surfaced...
In it, a male pro-choice student expressed outrage that each cross
merely represented “an aborted fetus."
He went on to speculate about what else each cross might represent, such as a woman who was able to go on to become a politician or doctor because she wasn’t saddled with the burden of motherhood...
Perhaps each cross represented a woman who was raped and
wasn’t “forced” to bear the “result of her assault?”
As women we found this incredibly condescending.
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So in true New Wave Feminists fashion,
we’ve decided to enlighten our "white knight" on what these crosses actually represent...
They represent the 64% of
women who attend post-abortion counseling each year and say they felt coerced
into abortion by their partner, parent, or abuser.
They represent the women who were lied to and told that they’d be crushed by the
financial responsibility of raising another child… when in reality there are so
many local outreaches that strive to help women in unplanned pregnancies with:
-Housing
-Daycare
-Medical bills
-And so many more resources.
All for free.
They represent the social justice warriors who convince women that without
abortion they won’t be able to become politicians, or doctors, or innovators.
Because nothing screams “feminism” like a man telling us what we CAN’T do,
right ladies?
They represent a world that
tells teenagers their lives will be destroyed if they have a baby at 17, 16,
15… that they can’t let their child live because they aren’t strong enough…
instead of creating a culture that tells women THEY CAN….
They can have their child and
finish school….
They can keep their baby and
still reach their goals….
She can choose life at 16 and
her future will hold so much more love and joy than she ever imagined.
Each cross represents a child that had to die because rather than eradicating poverty
and hunger; we decided the poor are better off dead.
These crosses represent the women
who were raped and then told that they couldn’t carry the “result of their
assault” to term and that they must abort. They were the ones that no one
bothered to empower with the truth that… This is YOUR CHILD TOO.
No, because instead of doing that people continue to use “rape arguments,”
listen to that, “RAPE ARGUMENTS!” These women's worst nightmare has become nothing more
than a talking point to promote your political agenda.
And so we are seldom able to hear, through all of the rhetoric, about the
heroines who CHOSE LIFE ...and PS, they are disgusted by the way you use their
stories to promote even more violence rather than celebrating their victory
over their victimization.
These crosses represent the unborn men and women who unlike the amazing Rebecca
Keissling’s and Ryan Bomberger’s of the world, were not allowed to live since
we’re all still horrifyingly comfortable with this patriarchal construct that
says because of their father’s transgressions it’s okay to callously refer to these
HUMAN BEINGS as “rape babies,” and dispose of them like garbage. Victim blame much?
What if each one of these
crosses represented a campus predator, an abusive boyfriend, or a flat out
douchebag who knew that abortion was his best friend because it would allow him
to use and exploit women for his pleasure without any consequences? Well, at
least not for him…. Right?
But someone pays. And we, as females know, it’s always the unborn child and
often the woman who has to live her whole life knowing that she bought into a
lie that she couldn’t live her dreams without sacrificing her child’s life.
That’s bullshit and we’re not buying it anymore.
Look, we believe in bodily
autonomy. We actually believe in it so strongly that we think you should be in
control of your own body from the moment it first exists. From the moment your
unique DNA is created within your mother’s womb at conception, to the moment
your heart starts beating just 18 days later.
No one can force you to choose life just like no one should be able to force
you to have an abortion. We just want you to know that we are here no matter
what you decide with the support and resources you need.
To any students on campus who have had an abortion, this display was not done to
hurt you, quite the opposite. We want you to know that we are here if you ever
need to talk. You might not regret your abortion, but if you do come talk to
us. No one should have to live a life filled with shame and guilt. We’re here
to listen and get you help, no judgment.
Great presentation, thanks.
ReplyDeleteOne question, though. Bodily-autonomy arguments contend that, because a woman is in control of her own body, she should not be forced to give life. Since you agree, "No one can force you to choose life," why do you contend that "[the unborn] should be in control of [its] own body from the moment it first exists," and why do you dispute bodily autonomy?
Isn't your position simply "No one can force you to choose life, [but you'll be happier if you choose it]" -- a position completely consistent with bodily-autonomy arguments?
By "[the unborn] should be in control of [its] own body from the moment it first exists," do you mean only that the woman should voluntarily let it be in control, and not that it really has a right to be in control?
Bodily autonomy happens to be on my mind because of much recent thinking about it. The results are here: http://www.NoTerminationWithoutRepresentation.org/bodily-rights-and-a-better-idea/
Here's our 2 cents... 99% of the time you engaged in a consensual act that led to the creation of this new human being. It doesn't matter if you didn't mean to, or even really really don't want it super hard, that unique person now exists because of a choice you made.
DeleteWe're all about men and women choosing whether or not they want to become parents, but the lie is that they have the ability to make that choice AFTER the life has already been created. That person exists now. You created them. You want to talk about the being in this sitch who truly has no choice? That's the fetus that you brought into the world through no fault or action of their own. And now that they have a body, it deserves autonomy too.
Destiny, thanks for that clarification. I think that's a nice statement of the moral situation. I think it gives those who agree with it some leeway as to whether to pursue a legislative solution or not.
DeleteOne more question: I agree it's condescending to say that a woman is incapable of becoming a politician or doctor if simultaneously shouldering motherhood. But it's not condescending, is it, to say that equal accomplishment in politics or medicine will be tougher for her than for a man or woman free from such responsibility? Recently (February 29) I helped author an article on the Secular Pro-Life blog, "Next Steps for the Pro-Life Feminist Movement." We pointed out that mathematically, pregnancy, and child-rearing even more, take time, energy, and money that will be diverted from career goals. So we argued that for a mother or expectant mother to accomplish as much, on average, in politics or medicine, attitudes have to change such that the fathers and society in general bear more of the load. Mothers with born and unborn kids whom they love are amazingly strong, but for them to be completely equal in the career area, society has to change too, doesn't it?
By the way, I think that what NWF has done in putting a happy and fun-loving face on the pro-life movement is another change that goes very deep in the collective mind of society.
I agree with you that society would have to change and be more accommodating to mothers, but when is that going to happen? because we live in capitalist society, women have to work, and to be able to compete, childbearing unfortunately, gets in the way, that is why the need for abortion will never go away Theirs is just no alternative to pregnancy, the woman cannot transfer the fetus to anybody else to gestate. I wish their was no need for abortion really, but their always will be, we do not live in an ideal world.
Deleteberetta1071: "because we live in capitalist society, women have to work . . ."
DeleteYes, but pregnancy and childraising are work. There is no reason that the pregnancy of women, and childraising either by mothers or by unrelated women or by men, cannot be rewarded as well as a professional position, meaning that those who perform those functions will be competitive. Capitalism only ensures that IF a particular good or service is demanded, it will be provided. Capitalism does not dictate which goods or services will be demanded -- that is ultimately purely a question of psychology, not economics. In the US, players of American football receive astronomical salaries, but anyone playing American football in India would receive much less than would a player of European football (soccer), and less still than would a cricket player. Because of psychology.
"but when is that going to happen?"
Did you read "Next Steps for the Pro-Life Feminist Movement" on the SPL blog? It discusses the conditions that would create demand and prestige and high salaries for child-rearing. For further market analysis of the situation, see http://www.NoTerminationWithoutRepresentation.org/next-steps-for-the-pro-life-feminist-movement/
Well good luck with that. You talk about this like it will happen tommorrow. Meanwhile women need to work and compete and childbearing is a burden. So for now contraception and abortion are needed. If you want we can call abortion a necessary evil if you want to call it that. Right now as it is controlling our fertility is very important. The ideal world you call for may never come or not on our lifetimes.
Delete"The ideal world you call for may never come or not on our lifetimes."
DeleteIt may not, but If you think I was arguing, "It's okay to ban abortion because society will change," no, I wan't arguing that. I think abortion should be banned whether society changes or not. My only point was that "because we live in capitalist society . . . the [demand] for abortion will never go away" is not necessarily true.
you said: because we live in capitalist society . . . the [demand] for abortion will never go away" is not necessarily true.
DeleteActually you are wrong, for now the demand is their mostly because of financial reasons. Unfortunately childbearing is hardship in a society where women for the most part have to work and compete in the workfoce, at this time their is no alternative.
If you ban abortion you cause hardship to millions of women, because the default will be if their is an unplanned pregnancy, the remedy will be gone, unless done illegally. Their will be an outcry because women would become subservient to their fertility. You will create a black market for abortions, just like in the prohibition days of the 1920's.
I know you don't like abortion on demand I get it, the problem is their is no alternative to pregnancy and you know that, unless their could be artificial wombs created, where a woman could be free from pregnancy without causing any harm to the fetus, i'am all for it. What you ask for just is not feasible in the society we live in.
"Actually you are wrong, for now the demand is their mostly because of financial reasons."
DeleteNOW it is there. But that is different from the words of yours that I quoted. Those words seem to say that according to some rigid economic law, such financial reasons will ALWAYS apply in any possible capitalist society and never go away.
This is absolutely amazing! The world desperately needs a wakeup call from this illusion it calls "empowerment" through the exploitation of womwn and the murder of infants. This is not just some religious issue that white, middle aged males are involed in. This is a humanity issue, and its wonderful to see a strong feminist viewpiont on it.
ReplyDeleteExcellent refute to that ignorant "white knight". I love how instead of ASKING the pro life campus group about the display, he just goes off on an illogical ( if I do say so myself) rant. Not to sound partial, but I really do feel like I see more hate and violence from the pro choice side- their destruction of pro life displays, screaming at peaceful protesters, demanding billboards be removed, and doing anything they can to violate our first amendment rights and silence us- than the pro life one.
ReplyDelete