We Are The Pro-Choice Generation

Today the College Republicans on the FSU campus set up large displays of aborted fetuses on out Union Green. I then wrote this letter to their facebook page and e-mail:

To whom it may concern,

I would like to voice my overall disgust with your abortion displays set up on campus today. It shows complete disregard for the well-being of the students who live here, and a total lack of respect for anyone who may be harmfully triggered by these images. Not once did you consider someone who has had to go through a painful experience, miscarried a child, or who has a phobia of blood. “Harmful images ahead” signs are not enough, because you set up in an area of campus that is largely unavoidable due to class locations.

Your complete and utter incompetence and uncaring stand for the people who surround you, as well as your lack of empathy, and the fact that concern for others probably never crossed your mind when deciding to put up these awful displays, is the exact reason that I, and many like me, will never respect, nor tolerate, the College Republicans on our campus. You invited the Genocide Awareness Project, a misguided propaganda group that displayed disturbing images of not only abortions (often mislabeled) but victims of the holocaust and genocides in Rwanda, to our campus last year, and even though they came back again this year to cause more harm and trauma to the student body, you were still not satisfied.

If you are so “pro-life” how about you start caring about people and your peers. Not just your own political agendas. It shouldn’t take pictures that trigger innocent students to get your point across, and if it does, your point is clearly not good enough to stand on it’s own. It should take facts, which could easily be shared via a pamphlet. Even pictures could be put on fliers, which people have a choice to look at.

But you didn’t think of any of that. Did you? No. Because you don’t care about the student body at FSU.

With total disgust and apprehension,
Ashley Craig

What I got back was this:

Ashley,

You’re not a bad writer. I can only imagine how long that took you to type. Thank you for your concern. I appreciate all different points of view, however wrong they may be. I can’t say the same for you, as you do not fully appreciate the value of the first amendment, which was made clear by your email.

I would like to point out that we did not, in fact, invite the GAP last year; though, I will give it to you, we did reserve them space as to promote free speech on campus. The removal of comparisons of abortions to the Holocaust, which you so eloquently described, was a condition on our reserving them space again this year.

We don’t believe that the value of life should simply be reduced to a simple pamphlet.

Thank you for taking the time to voice your opinion.

In Liberty,
Kayla Mae Westbrook
Chairwoman, FSU College Republicans

What I returned with:

Kayla,

Although you seem to believe that i’m arguing your views, I am not. Like you said, everyone is allowed to have their own points of view, however wrong they may be.

I was stating that your blatant disregard for the student body’s welfare is reproachable and completely disrespectful. You may want to consider that the next time you put your name on something.

I would also like to point out, that you accused me of not wanting you to have your first amendment right. However, if you read the message above, I never told you to stop, only to consider the students and find a nicer and more concerned way to spread your message.

You don’t have to stop talking to be considerate, you know. I realize that this is a concept that not many can grasp, but I have faith that you can do it.

Ashley

After that:

Ashley —

An advocate of free speech should, also, stand up for speech they don’t agree with, no matter how it’s stated. Thank you for your faith in me; it certainly means a lot.

Kayla

And finally I got this in before they stopped responding:

Kayla,

Although I advocate for free speech, I also advocate for student’s right to a safe environment in school. And when both are possible, it is always the better choice.

Ashley

Gotta love that anti-choice snark, although I did get a bit snark back. I think it was justified. Oh, and for the record, in her first e-mail back to me, she mentioned that they would have to remove the Holocaust images to be sponsored again.

They didn’t.

And they came back.

23rd Feb 2012 | 504 notes

[TRIGGER WARNING: Blood, gore, dead bodies, aborted fetuses, pro-life jackassery]

Today, a group calling themselves the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP for short, as in, there’s a GAP in their brains where logic should go) set up a huge display or graphic and disturbing images in the middle of the Florida State University campus, right on the common green in front of our library.

They came prepared with fliers of false information, “documentation” of abortion statistics, and worst of all, giant billboards that compared abortion in America to the genocides in Rwanda, the lynchings of African Americans in the decades before and after the civil war, and the Holocaust, complete with pictures of victims of these mass murders.

Already we’re off to a wonderful start, disregarding anyone who lives on our campus. There are dorms right next to that green. They held no respect for people who may have been triggered by these images.

Here are some of the things I heard today:

“Abortion is genocide!”

No, actually, Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group. The common denominator between abortions is that all of the “victims” are unborn. Thus, this would be a genocide against the unborn, or as some put it, simply very, very young. However, when a woman gets an abortion, she does not look down at her body, go “this thing is unborn or young, I will destroy it because of that.” Therefore, it is not a genocide, because the common linking factor is NOT the cause or reason of the abortion.

Also there are quite a few Jewish friends of mine who would like to have a word with you about your comparison.

“I work as an ultrasound tech, I know what i’m talking about, ive seen thousands of pregnancies!”

This does not make you a doctor. An ultrasound technician, although you must have knowledge of ailments that often happen to pregnant women and an understanding of the medical procedures they will have to go through, is not a biologist. As a matter of fact, biology is not even a base requirement. You have not learned everything there is to know about the human body. You run a machine.

“Life begins at conception! Here, look at these article snippets!”

I was then handed pamphlet with snippets of medical journals. However, all of the quotes simply stated that human development begins at conception, which no one is arguing. The word “life” was mentioned once, and that particular quote only stated that conception was the first stage in creating life, not the start of it. When I pointed this out I was met with:

“Human development and life are the same thing!”

No, no they are not. Life is a philosophical concept, human development is scientific. When I pointed out that life was a philosophical concept, I was met with this:

“No it’s not! Life and conception are one in the same”

However, when I began to argue that a fetus is not a sentient thinking being, I was met with:

“Don’t get into philosophy, only science! Life begins at conception!”

So clearly, the man I was talking to (who seemed to be the ring leader) had gotten it into this head that my definition of life was philosophical, however his definition of life was scientific fact.

Their billboards were also riddled with inaccuracy. The man I was speaking to held up a poster of an aborted fetus that claimed it was 22 weeks. However, a different angle of the same fetus on their larger billboards, claimed that it was 24. When I pointed out the inaccuracy to one of his female partners (the ultrasound tech) she initially tried to deny it. When I pointed out that the fetus has the same blood smears, the same umbilical cord placing, and the blanket it was placed on had the exact same blood pattern, she then took back her words and said that:

“When we judge when a woman gets pregnant we go by last period date, however it’s often more like two weeks after. That’s why that’s different.”

When I pointed out that it was still an inaccuracy and two weeks could make a difference between legal and illegal, she had no response for me.

The man continued on his rant, and at one point asked me this:

“As a woman, can you look at this picture? It should tear at your heart strings! It should make you want to cry!”

Which I found particularly offensive. Simply because i’m a woman does not mean I have a motherly instinct, or can’t look at a fetus without bursting into sobs. I also got this little gem before I left:

“If you had seen this picture 100 years ago, you would have wanted to know who did this! You would have wanted to string them up on a flag pole! Think about if you saw this 100 years ago!”

At which point I was just done. How am I supposed to know what I would have thought 100 years ago? I’m not a vampire. I’m not a time lord. I don’t know anything about 100 years ago besides the fact that I would have had no rights at all.

But then again, they all want it that way, don’t they?

These people make their way to schools all over the country, so if you see them coming your way, set up a counter protest with actual information, and try to record their idiocy for all to see. This is the second year they came to FSU, last year they were sponsored by the College Republicans, this year they came on their own. I called the Student Relations office to have them removed, however Landis Green is a free-speech zone, and he told me straight up that they couldn’t remove them no matter how much they wanted to, because then the GAP would go to the news and they would get even more attention, and none of the staff wants that. Some of the things that came out of these people’s mouths were so inaccurate I almost cried. They also come with a bus with pictures of aborted fetuses on them that drives around for the two days in which they stay.

If you see them, just try to ignore them. Arguing science will do nothing, as they have grown such thick skulls they can no longer accept words that do not agree with their own. Their arguments are childish and illogical, and they back it up with no scientific fact.

If you are around the Florida state University campus tomorrow, Friday the 24th, stop by Landis green and support the counter-protest. Here is the facebook group, they will probably be out there from around 10 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon if weather permits.

11th Dec 2011 | 15 notes

(Source: tiny-the-doll)

10th Dec 2011 | 210 notes

Regarding the “Pro Life Generation”

swirlingblacklilliestotallyripe:

I think it’s great that you have an opinion. If you don’t want an abortion you don’t have to get one. If you would rather refrain from sex and not use birth control, that is your choice as well. However, the difference between you and I, is that I have enough respect and love for you to actually WANT you to have a choice. You don’t want to give me a choice. You want to push your religious beliefs on me and/or control my body. You want me to refrain from my nature-given right to have sex even though science let’s me protect myself.

All I want is for you and I to have a choice. All “pro-life” wants is control. Pro-choice isn’t all about abortion. We don’t “push” or force anyone to have an abortion. All we want is the simple CHOICE to have options. Choosing abortion should be the same as choosing to give birth. My body is not your body. Pro-choice advocates, unlike “pro-lifers”, want what’s best for each individual. It’s not our place to tell you what to do, so why do you feel it’s necessary to tell us what to do with our bodies?

(Source: behind-the-chair)

9th Dec 2011 | 36 notes

“You should respect my beliefs.”

Alright, let me address this really quick. This is a thing a lot of anti-choicers try to use to make pro-chocers look condescending when they are called out.

But let me tell you the difference between a belief and an action.

Your belief is that abortion is wrong and that you are pro-life. And that’s okay. I have no right in any way shape or form to make you change that belief because it is yours. I may not agree with it personally, but that is also my belief. If you respect my belief I respect yours, simple as that. No one has the right to judge someone for that.

Your action is that you move to make abortion illegal, making you anti-choice. Now here’s the thing. This takes a step out of belief and moves into something that directly effects other people. Your actions are not protected. Your actions are fully allowed to be judged, chastised, hated and called out for. Your actions don’t have to be tolerated.

To put it another way that maybe you will understand:

You may like to think about little boys at night but I can’t do anything about what’s in your head. However you can’t molest a child and say that it’s your belief that they’re sexy and expect to be let off because of that.

You may be a racist prick. But you can’t beat a black person and say that it’s your belief that they’re lesser than you so your action should be respected.

You may hate one person so much you want to kill them. But as soon as you take that step from personal thought to action, you get arrested.

Beliefs are protected. Beliefs should be respected. Beliefs are fine.

Actions are not.

9th Dec 2011 | 33 notes

(Source: smudgedbypen)

8th Dec 2011 | 26 notes

a-very-gleeky-starkid:

I’m pro choice not because I am ‘For Abortion’.

I’m pro choice not because I’m a baby killer.

I’m pro choice because I believe if I get pregnant I should have the choice to go through with it.

It’s as simple as that.

(Source: theothermillie)

18th Nov 2011

goltrai asked: Thank you for making this blog! :) :)

No problem! :)

18th Nov 2011 | 21 notes

Ethics in Breaking Dawn and why it’s pro-choice.

So like many people on the east coast, I just came back from the midnight premier of Breaking Dawn: Part 1, the first movie of the two-part finale to the popular Twilight saga (I swear, I just go for kicks).

Like anyone who has read the books knows, in the final chapter of this four part series, the main character Bella Swan becomes impregnated with the hellspawn love child of her and her vampire husband Edward. This causes one of the main conflicts in the book and movie, as this pregnancy may very well kill her. And by kill her I don’t mean normal complications. The fetus will literally suck her body of all nutrients before breaking her spine and bursting out.

Now, as I was watching this movie, a scene came up in which Bella, Edward and his family debate what to do with this situation. As words like “baby” and “fetus” and “choice” were throw around, I sat there feeling every single person who has an opinion on the abortion issue start to either think or just feel awkward that something so obvious and controversial was being discussed in a teen movie (they didn’t hide it well, it was clearly an issue of to abort or not to abort). Not only that, but I could literally sense “pro-lifers” all over the globe sitting in their chair smugly, planning their blog post about how this movie was clearly “pro-life” and how they would write about it when they got home.

But that’s where I come in. I’m beating everyone to it and clearing things up for those who may be confused and laying down the facts before people can start up with the ignorant “pro-life” posts. Because, you see, this movie wasn’t “pro-life” at all. It was completely pro-choice.

For now, let’s pretend that this isn’t an unknown entity in Bella’s stomach that may or may not be a demon. Let’s pretend that this is a completely normal pregnancy, with a high risk of complications. To start this situation off, let’s look at what the two parties really are. “Pro-life” is not “pro-life”, it is anti-choice. Thus, we have pro-choice and anti-choice. Those are the two sides involved.

In this situation, Bella wants to go through with the pregnancy, and is supported by one other member of the family. The rest of the family, including her husband Edward, want her to get rid of the fetus.

Now stay with me for this next part, it gets a little complex. Let’s pretend for a minute that Edward and his family are the people in charge. What they say, always goes (for those of you not following, they’re an anti-choice government in this metaphor). Bella is who they are in charge of (the citizens). These people in charge want this baby gone. If what they say always goes, it means that Bella would have had no choice in the matter. Against her will, she would be forced to get rid of the fetus inside of her. She would have to go through a traumatic experience, and would probably never fully recover mentally. If this movie was going by “pro-life” ideals, in which the person pregnant has no choice and the people in charge choose for her, she wouldn’t have had the baby.

However, that didn’t happen. She did have the baby. Because of the fact that Edward and his family didn’t have that sort of authority, Bella was free to make her own decision, despite what others advised her or believed she would do. In her very own words from the movie, “it’s my choice.” And that should speak louder than anything else.

I do understand where people can be confused with this. In the movie the roles are reversed from what is the typical argument in society, and because what most people view as “pro-life” means keeping a pregnancy, they assume that because Bella chose to keep hers that it was a pro-life situation. However, by taking “life” out of the equation and boiling it down to pro-choice and anti-choice, the situation becomes much easier to understand.

Bella was given a choice. She chose life. But the important thing is that she had the choice to begin with. And that is what being pro-choice is about.

15th Nov 2011 | 19,202 notes

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