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I can already guess that this post might not be popular with alot of people and I know most people in the state of AL don’t share my opinion on this, but…oh well. My blog…and I’ve got a bone to pick.
After seeing one Miss Jessica Clark in the Birmingham Children’s Theatre production of Pinocchio this afternoon, several of us headed over to Al’s in Southside to grab a bite to eat. Those who don’t know much about Al’s…well, it’s a fun little place with gyros and hummus and falafels and burgers and fries and yadda yadda yadda. It’s quite the popular late night gathering place for the college crowd. Thinking about it now, I’m not sure that I’ve ever been there during the daylight hours, which might explain why I’ve never had this experience before. What experience, you ask? Two words. Abortion protestors.
Unfortunately, Al’s is across the street from an abortion clinic and before we even pulled into the parking lot we saw them…standing on the sidewalk holding their “Abortion is Murder” signs and their pictures of aborted fetuses. My question is…Why?
Everyone has the right to their opinion, and everyone has the right to express that opinion, much as I’m doing now with my own. But it really angered me that these men stared at me as I’m getting out of the car and only after realizing that I wasn’t going to murder my child, said “God Bless You” to Alex and I. As if that fact somehow makes me a better person than the women who were actually going into the clinic. As if that fact somehow gets me off the hook with big guy in the sky.
As we sat out on the patio I watched as couples came and went from the clinic. I watched as mothers escorted their daughters out to their cars and gently helped them inside. And then I got even angrier. Because as I was watching these people come out of the clinic, I watched as these grown men stood across the street screaming at these people about how they’ve just killed their child. What happened to judge not lest ye be judged? Would God really want you to condemn another person in this manner? Who are any of us to judge anyone for making this decision?
I have a very good friend who had to make this decision at a very young age. It was grueling mentally, physically and emotionally and she said something to me once that I’ve thought about frequently even until this day. She said nobody can say for sure what they would choose to do in this circumstance unless they had the choice to make for themselves. She believed that ANYONE, male or female, who was faced with an unwanted pregnancy would at least consider it, even if only for a fraction of a second. And I think she’s right. And it was those words that she spoke to me that are the reason I am pro-choice. Because even though I might not like the procedure, I don’t have the right to tell anyone what to do when I haven’t even been in the position myself.
Regardless, I find it appalling that people actually feel it’s a GOOD thing to publicly humiliate a person for choosing to have this procedure. Because that’s what it was. You have every right to be anti-abortion if you choose. But it doesn’t give you the right to protest in such a way that is meant only to shame and berate those making such a tough choice. Shame on you if you do. Didn’t anyone ever teach you bullying is wrong?
