We all agree the science of "when is a life a life" is ever-evolving, and I think we can agree that we can find scientists and doctors who will state it is or isn't a life at any stage in development.
But that's not why I poked fun at the placard-carrying protestors. It's that those same placard-carrying protestors aren't pro-life, they're anti-abortion. In certain circumstances those folks will pull a trigger and end a life. There are pro-choice people bombing Russian soldiers in Ukraine right now. Sometimes taking a life is justified, and sometimes it's the lesser of two evils.
Where I think those placard-carrying protestors deserve some scorn is in their decision to harass and hurt hurting people. Women who choose abortion are not there because they want to be. It's a shameful and harsh choice, and one that some people will regret the rest of their lives. Who are the placard-carriers to rub salt in that wound? Where is the understanding? That really bothers me.
What also bothers me are stories like this. Abortion is evil and must be stopped - until I need one. And that one abortion can be forgiven.
“The Only Moral Abortion is My Abortion”
In the spring of 2000, I collected the following anecdotes directly from abortion doctors and other clinic staff in North America, Australia, and Europe. The stories are presented in the providers’ own words, with minor editing for grammar, clarity, and brevity. Names have been omitted to protect privacy.
“I have done several abortions on women who have regularly picketed my clinics, including a 16 year old schoolgirl who came back to picket the day after her abortion, about three years ago. During her whole stay at the clinic, we felt that she was not quite right, but there were no real warning bells. She insisted that the abortion was her idea and assured us that all was OK. She went through the procedure very smoothly and was discharged with no problems. A quite routine operation. Next morning she was with her mother and several school mates in front of the clinic with the usual anti posters and chants. It appears that she got the abortion she needed and still displayed the appropriate anti views expected of her by her parents, teachers, and peers.”
(Physician, Australia)
“I’ve had several cases over the years in which the anti-abortion patient had rationalized in one way or another that
her case was the only exception, but the one that really made an impression was the college senior who was the president of her campus Right-to-Life organization, meaning that she had worked very hard in that organization for several years. As I was completing her procedure, I asked what she planned to do about her high office in the RTL organization. Her response was a wide-eyed, ‘You’re not going to tell them, are you!?’ When assured that I was not, she breathed a sigh of relief, explaining how important that position was to her and how she wouldn’t want this to interfere with it.”
(Physician, Texas)
“In 1990, in the Boston area, Operation Rescue and other groups were regularly blockading the clinics, and many of us went every Saturday morning for months to help women and staff get in. As a result, we knew many of the ‘antis’ by face. One morning, a woman who had been a regular ‘sidewalk counselor’ went into the clinic with a young woman who looked like she was 16-17, and obviously her daughter. When the mother came out about an hour later, I had to go up and ask her if her daughter’s situation had caused her to change her mind. ‘I don’t expect you to understand my daughter’s situation!’ she angrily replied. The following Saturday, she was back, pleading with women entering the clinic not to ‘murder their babies.'”
(Clinic escort, Massachusetts)
“We too have seen our share of anti-choice women, ones the counselors usually grit their teeth over. Just last week a woman announced loudly enough for all to hear in the recovery room, that she thought abortion should be illegal. Amazingly, this was her second abortion within the last few months, having gotten pregnant again within a month of the first abortion. The nurse handled it by talking about all the carnage that went on before abortion was legalized and how fortunate she was to be receiving safe, professional care. However, this young woman continued to insist it was wrong and should be made illegal. Finally the nurse said, ‘Well, I guess we won’t be seeing you here again, not that you’re not welcome.’ Later on, another patient who had overheard this exchange thanked the nurse for her remarks.”
(Clinic Administrator, Alberta)
There are a few dozen more accounts like this at the link, and a number of examples of those placard-carrying protestors harassing patients and trying to drive clinics and clinicians to financial ruin. It's disgusting.
And that's not to mention the politicians who think nothing of running on anti-abortion hysteria who pay for their mistresses' abortions.
I've seen too much from those placard-carrying people outside clinics. We'll have to agree to disagree on how fair it is to lump them in with flat-earthers.
