Abortion and Schools...

[Faith The Fanpire]

Earlier this year, well, in the fall, myself and all other students going into the school were visually (and in some cases, verbally) attacked with anti-abortionists' (pro-lifers) and shier beliefs. They were carrying big banners with pictures of baby dolls broken apart with ketchup on it. I'm being literal, that is exactly what the banners looked like. We have two schools, and there a street between them. Though I do not cross the street for my classes, I have been told by many students that the people were handing out leaflets and talking to students as they made their way to their classes about how abortion is wrong, and it's God's will/law for babies to be born, etc...

I found this not only offensive but completely...illegal, I guess. I really can't see how the school board let people protest (that's not really the right word, but..) on school grounds DIRECTLY to students.

I"m just wondering what you guys think. Should pro-and-anti-abortionists be able to make gatherings like this on school grounds during school hours and attempt to force their information on students? I personally thought it was a huge invasion of privacy and highly offensive. Do you think that it matters what age group they submit to their gatherings? What if it was an elementary school? Or a preschool?

I think they're trying to force their beliefs on our "impressionable" (not really, but some think so) high-school minds.

PS-The day after, there was a crowd of pro-abortionists gathered around the streets too. I noticed some people I knew. ;D

So what do you guys think of this?

Also, I found it very misleading that they had pictures of "dead" baby dolls. That is not the result of an abortion looks like. It's not like the chop the baby into pieces! It's not even a baby at that point. Do you guys think that by showing these sorts of images they were trying to win over those students who may be less informed than others?

[William Campbell]

"As the "baby" is completely dependent on the mother until into the third trimester"

Sorry to break it to you but a child is completely dependent upon it's mother for the first half of it's adolescence. I have not met many 3 year olds who can function without mommy for even half an hour. And irregardless of when people are having an abortion they are destroying a human life. You can say all you want about it's fingers and toes forming whenever, but from the moment of conception that Human being has a complete and distinct set of DNA. They are human, from the very first moment. If you can sit there and say that a being with 100% DNA isn't human, then I doubt your ability to except your own humanity.

[Kenny]

irregardless

Not a word. Try again.

from the moment of conception that Human being has a complete and distinct set of DNA. They are human, from the very first moment. If you can sit there and say that a being with 100% DNA isn't human, then I doubt your ability to except your own humanity.

My toe has 100% human DNA. That doesn't make it a human. The argument isn't over whether the fetuses are human, it's about whether they're self-aware.

[William Campbell]

It could be argued that some living, breathing human beings are not self-aware. A child of only a few years old are aware that they have needs and wants, hurts and joys, but they don't understand why, or how. Yet we allow these children to continue to exist until such a time as they become aware. If you want to determine viable human existence based on the ability to reason, you have just declared that about 40% of the population of the world today are not human beings.

I am saying that the child in the womb is not an average appendage or a seasonal growth. It is the result of a single action. That action, if entered into willingly, should not be treated lightly. I speak now of the non-rape/incest cases of abortion. The conception of a child is the direct result of a single choice. That choice was made knowing the possible consequences, those that choose to play with fire should not be surprised when they get burned. The reproductive act is just that, the act of reproducing our species. It is not the fault of the child that the parents were not ready for the responsibility of the repercussions.

I am pro-choice, to the point that the choices made do not harm one of the three persons in the process. Contrary to common belief, there are great risks involved in abortions for the mother, both physical and psychological, and the father. Current studies have shown that both mothers and fathers of aborted children suffer from varying levels of PTSD. The lose of a child, wanted or otherwise, is a traumatic event in anyone's life.

[Johanna]

PTSD is a myth. But mothers getting severe depression after giving birth is not, also giving birth is waaaay more dangerous for women then having an abortion ever will. Sure, a very young child may not be completely self-aware, but it is not fully dependent on it's mother to survive, I'm sure you see that. An actual baby does not need it's mother to breathe in order to be survive.

[Julia Chapman]

irregardless is a word... It means the exact same thing as regardless. Irregardless is usually used in casual conversation, and regardless is usually used in formal. He was right.

 

You try again ;-)

[Q]

Wait, so adults were protesting at your school? See, I'd be fine with it if it were students protesting, but the adults ...I dunno, just seems weird that they went to a high school. Unless a ton of the students there were getting abortions? They are allowed, technically, to be there though.

Although I am curious why you're against the pro-lifers protesting, but you seem to be ok with the pro-choicers being there the next day? Unless I'm reading your post wrong?

[Kyrie]

I can see why they're protesting, but it seems pretty random to do it at your school, unless someone recently had an abortion or is planning on it and they found out.
Please, I know I'm ranting, but PLEASE read this post. I'm not shoving my pro-life beliefs down your throat, I just want to inform you of the truth, correct the false information you have been fed.

I just went to the pro-life March For Life in Ottawa and I'd like to tell you, that your facts are completely wrong.
1. The babies are torn from the mother's womb using a hose like tool. They scrape the inside of the uterus and essentially they DO tear the BABIES to pieces.
And yes, it IS a baby. Did you know in Canada, for example, we have no abortion laws. You can get an abortion up until the point you go into labor!
And guess what? In six weeks, just after the average woman would really start to take notice of a pregnancy, the fetus looks like this: http://www.spuc.org.uk/_inline-images/drop.jpeg
And guess what, it's that big too. It may not look much like a grown baby, but it's on it's way.
Here's what that same baby looks like aborted. I implore you to click on the link, if you can stomach it. http://www.abort73.com/HTML/AbortionPictures/images/abortion-10-02.jpg
Abortion is not right. Just because it doesn't yet look like a child that we're used to seeing, doesn't mean it isn't one. It's not like that's just a place holder for the REAL baby when it's time to be born. It's not like that being is just tossed aside after birth and the doctors give you an actual baby to take home.
As the 12 year old Lia Mills says, "Fetus comes from the Latin word for 'young one' or 'young CHILD'" Here is her entire speech, she said it again at the March for Life, in front of 10,000 people, and guess what she told us? Did you know that every 30 minutes, the amount of people that were at the March, were being robbed of their future by their mothers and a doctor, was 15,000?
I have to go to school, and I will leave you with this; the link to Lia's speech, as well as a very good site for Show The Truth. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOR1wUqvJS4
http://www.showthetruth.ca/

Also, pro-lifers are not all religious! It is NOT a religion, but I will say it seems that way becuase it is, for example, a Catholic belief that abortion is wrong. Therefore, a majority of Catholics are pro-life. We are not preaching, we do not want to take away the mother's rights, but is it really that freaking hard to suffer the consequences of being sexually active before you're ready and just have the kid put up for adoption? And if you were raped, guess what, you're part of the 1, I will repeat, ONE percent of hard case scenarios, including rape. And even then, will you kill your child because its father made a bad decision?
That to me is wrong, it's plain disgusting.
Don't pin this on religion, and look at the facts.
Abortion is murder people, and frankly I'm disgusted in the fact that there are Nerdfighters out there who would actually encourage someone to kill a child.

[Julie Anne]

The reason I am pro-choice is because I do not see something that is in my body, eating my food, using my oxygen, living my the placenta I made, as anything other than something that belongs to me until it is born. The fetus is reliant on me for everything. Consider the horrible situation when I pregnant woman dies, how long after does the fetus live? Minutes? Less?

The niggling issue within the life/choice debate is that we are fighting from different wavelengths. You fundamentally see the fetus as a baby, whereas the choice side see it as cells that MAY form a conscious life. Am I making sense? That is why it is so difficult to change other people's minds about it. I saw Mills' debate speech a few weeks ago and it is not a persuasive argument because she is basing all of her answers on her fundamental belief that the fetus is human.
Also, the choice side makes this mistake. We say "You must give women the choice, whether you believe in something or not. It is only fair." However, the pro-life camp would say "Would you legalise murder because your want to give killers a CHOICE to kill if they so wish?".

The reason I am talking about the debate as a whole is because I wanted to comment on how little progress any debate will most likely make. It surely does solidify and help us validate our own beliefs, but does little to contribute to progress.

[shouldbejaime]

The reason I am pro-choice is because I do not see something that is in my body, eating my food, using my oxygen, living my the placenta I made, as anything other than something that belongs to me until it is born. The fetus is reliant on me for everything.

The reason I am pro-choice is because I do not see something that is in my house, eating my food, using my oxygen, living in the home I made, as anything other than something that belongs to me until it moves out. The child is reliant on me for everything.

Its literally a matter of weeks between these two statements.

[Johanna]

You really don't get it. A parasite is directly dependent on it's host to survive. An actual child can live on even if the parents die.

[shouldbejaime]

I do get it.  I have tons of rationalizations myself. But how one can rationalize that something is a parasite one moment and a human a moment later is beyond me. 

 

And to further the fallacy, if you fell into a coma, do you become a parasite again?

[Kyrie]

You think someone made up those pictures? How misinformed you are.
I wasn't preaching, I was stating a fact.
And really, what guilt would you rather live with; I gave my baby to someone else, or I just killed a 'potential' (if you wish to call it that) being?
And really, have you been pregnant and had an abortion?
If not, then I guess we both shouldn't be here, should we?

And if I made you laugh, I feel sorry for you. But as for me, I don't find the maiming and ripping apart of children funny.
I wish I was religious so that I could pray for you. But I'm not, so instead I hope to one day meet you, on your day of "what goes around comes around".