U of C Abortion protests

[RougeUnderoos]

Can someone who has actually seen the demonstration tell us what they do?

[burn_this_city]

Check the confessions thread..

[REDVAN]

They have a bunch of posters of "gross" abortion images. And I have avoided them this year, but they are usually chanting and making wild accusations against pro-choice.

[REDVAN]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Check the confessions thread..

I'm sure that's why this thread was started.... to avoid that talk in there.

[guzzy]

Sick people. The religious right wing has killed more people than terrorism ever will.

Hey let's declare war on them.

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by guzzy

Sick people. The religious right wing has killed more people than terrorism ever will.

Hey let's declare war on them.

uh?

[RougeUnderoos]

Were they escorted off the premises? Did someone get roughed up?

[Russic]

I usually remember to avoid them but today I wasn't paying attention and ended up elbow deep in pictures of hanging Jews and kids hacked to death with machetes. Not exactly the kind of thing you want to see just before eating at taco time.

There were plenty of protesters there though ... nobody escorted anywhere it seems.

edit: quick side note: My wife says we're all lucky, at UBC one year they took over a lecture hall. She walked in and they had hung a bunch of plastic fetuses with nooses around their necks hanging from the ceiling. Love 'em or hate 'em, you gotta admire the dramatic flair.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

Were they escorted off the premises? Did someone get roughed up?

The last I saw it was last Spring. I think that last year they were just served a trespassing notice with the threat of a fine. It sounds a lot crazier this year.

[Kipper is King]

I'm anti abortion, and a student at the U of C myself. But I'm not a member of the Pro-Life group. Overall, I support the message of the group, but I think the delivery was a bit brash- the display could have been placed in a room or something.

Also, I'm kind of unsettled by the abortion/genocide analogy. One could say that killing is killing, but genocide is a different context.

I can't really put accurate words to why that analogy doesn't quite work for me. Just a feeling.

Overall though, I am quite pro-life.

No one got roughed up or anything yesterday. There were tons of security around, and one pro-choice guy who liked to scream "You don't have a right to live!" (How ironic, idiot). The display was still up today, but I wasn't around it, I was in class.

Once the screaming, argumentative people on both sides got out of the way, I found I was able to have quite a few calm, civilized discussions and debates with others. Once the drama stopped, it was good.

[RougeUnderoos]

I watched the CFCN news coverage of this, and I don't really agree they should be punted.

If they aren't literally pushing it in your face or haranguing students (which it didn't look like they were doing) then they do have a right to do this. It is "their" school after all.

If you don't want to look at it, don't. Is that possible?

Security/UofC could have been a little smarter though. Make up something about fears of violence and confrontation and that's why the signs have to be turned inward.

Hell, that's probably a legit concern. As strident and shrill as this group is, we all know there is a faction on the other side of this debate who are equally dedicated to their cause. And where do they go to school and work?

[Kybosh]

These people are scum. They've been putting on this display for as long as I can remember and finally the University is doing something about it. The display is basically pro-life people assaulting you verbally and visually with pictures of the holocaust and other massacres.

I think that they should be allowed to hold their rallies but not in such public places. Give them a room somewhere where they can do whatever they like. The biggest problem in my opinion, is that they are in such a public place and they make such wild accusations at random people who are just walking by. Nobody needs that.

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

I watched the CFCN news coverage of this, and I don't really agree they should be punted.

If they aren't literally pushing it in your face or haranguing students (which it didn't look like they were doing) then they do have a right to do this. It is "their" school after all.

They might not have been doing it this year because of what was at stake but they have frequently in the past. I don't care if people are pro-choice or pro-life, you can be either without being an ass.

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by Kipper is King

I'm anti abortion, and a student at the U of C myself. But I'm not a member of the Pro-Life group. Overall, I support the message of the group, but I think the delivery was a bit brash- the display could have been placed in a room or something.

Also, I'm kind of unsettled by the abortion/genocide analogy. One could say that killing is killing, but genocide is a different context.

I can't really put words to why that analogy doesn't quite work for me.

Overall though, I am quite pro-life.

The campus pro-life group is to pro-lifers as PETA is to vegetarians.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Kipper is King

I'm anti abortion, and a student at the U of C myself. But I'm not a member of the Pro-Life group. Overall, I support the message of the group, but I think the delivery was a bit brash- the display could have been placed in a room or something.

Also, I'm kind of unsettled by the abortion/genocide analogy. One could say that killing is killing, but genocide is a different context.

I can't really put words to why that analogy doesn't quite work for me.

Overall though, I am quite pro-life.

Me too. I come from the viewpoint that human life is the most beautiful thing on this planet. We should value it and protect it all costs. I'd say that from a certain context, the genocide argument works. Abortion, to me, represents a social callousness towards the plight of the next generation. Quite simply, abortion clinics only exist to kill and dispose of fetuses. However, I am not sure that that is pro-life's stance and they certainly don't show it in their presentation.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

The biggest problem in my opinion, is that they are in such a public place and they make such wild accusations at random people who are just walking by. Nobody needs that.

Okay, so they do harangue people walking by? That kind of changes things.

What would they say?

Do they get abuse thrown back at them?

My confession is that I'd take the chance to be nasty to them if they started hassling me.

[Kipper is King]

I understand that women contemplating abortion have often been through horribly painful situations- rape, they can't financially care for a child, etc.

What I think they often don't realize is that so many agencies and groups can help these women and their children manage.

If things really can't work out, then adoption is an option. But at least give the kid a shot at life.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

Okay, so they do harangue people walking by? That kind of changes things.

What would they say?

Do they get abuse thrown back at them?

My confession is that I'd take the chance to be nasty to them if they started hassling me.

It's normally a pretty abusive situation. Certain individuals on both sides take the opportunity to cat-call and chant slogans. From the point of democratic participation, it's a pretty pathetic display by all sides.

[Thunderball]

What bothers me in the abortion debate is it truly seems that the majority of pro-life activists are not stakeholders in the issue (typically over 50 or under 16 with said over 50 people).

Abortion is pretty callous... but unfortunately accidents despite multiple contraceptive agents and things like rape happen. Women should not have to be held accountable for things like that, nor should a child be born into a desperate and unhappy household. Adoption isn't the total answer either when there are millions of existing children that need loving homes as it is. Its no coincidence that crime rates dropped as abortion rates rose.

However, I don't see any reason for second trimester abortions. That is selfish and irresponsible. Women know by the end of the first trimester if they are pregnant.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Kipper is King

I understand that women contemplating abortion have often been through horribly painful situations- rape, they can't financially care for a child, etc.

What I think they often don't realize is that so many agencies and groups can help these women and their children manage.

If things really can't work out, then adoption is an option. But at least give the kid a shot at life.

I also believe in a firm dedication to prevent unplanned pregnancies from the other end. A strong commitment to the subsidisation of contraceptives and sexual education is a must for anyone opposed to abortion.