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catsittingstillSome people may wonder why I'm beating a dead horse. Because as long as there is one person left who says "I'm quite relieve(sic) someone killed him. When I think of how many babies he killed everyday, I think it's a small price to pay." the horse isn't dead.
Now, I agree it is possible to honestly believe that a fetus is a human being. Say, when it's five weeks along, and a half inch long, worm shaped, obligate parasite, for instance. I don't buy it myself, but I can picture someone believing it, and while I disagree with this belief, I don't think someone is evil for holding it.
And I suppose it's possible that someone could weigh the wrenching choice of enslaving over a million innocent women a year versus murdering over a million obligate parasite human beings a year and come to the conclusion that the enslavement, while horrific, was necessary to save those lives, and a price they were willing, with deep regret, to force women to pay. I disagree with this belief too, and like anyone staring the prospect of enslavement in the eye, I find it harder to sympathize with people who hold it. But I guess they aren't evil either.
I just don't think that, for example, Operation Rescue are those people.
Here's an article that explains some of the "peaceful, legal" means that Operation Rescue used, not just on George Tiller, but on anyone associated with him in any way--not just the people who worked at his clinic, whether guard, administrative assistant, or janitor, but on his dry cleaner and on taxi companies that women might hire to take them to his clinic.
Tactics like this:
These are some of the people who oppose abortion. If Dr Tiller's colleagues re-open his clinic next week, these are the howling hypocrites who are going to continue their campaign of intimidation and harassment, against his grieving colleagues and family, against the secretaries and janitors, against the dry cleaners. These are the people who are going to publish "collaborator's" addresses and phone numbers, to recruit their neighbors to make their lives miserable, and--oh so coincidentally, I'm sure--to make it easy for the next murdering bastard with a gun.
Ladies and gentlemen; one face of the "pro-Life" movement.
What can you do?
1) Write your Senators and Representative (get their contact info here: (enter zip to get names, then look in the lower right corner of the page their name-links produce)--they get astonishingly few letters, so your letter *does* make a difference) to repeal the "Partial-Birth Abortion" Ban, or, if you can't bring yourself to promote that, at least to rewrite it so that it specifically exempts women whose fetuses have died inside them, women whose fetuses have some serious and incurable medical condition that would prevent their living for more than a short time if delivered, and women whose health would be endangered by continuing their pregnancy. That's only reasonable, right?
Because until that happens, there will be cases like this.
2) Donate to Medical Students for Choice (the site has "exceeded its CGI resources" at the moment so I'm guessing 1) that you'll have to wait a few days and 2) that response has been good so far--but that doesn't mean you should stop!) If you want to do something right now, there's always Planned Parenthood.
Why? Because Terror Shouldn't Pay.
Now, I agree it is possible to honestly believe that a fetus is a human being. Say, when it's five weeks along, and a half inch long, worm shaped, obligate parasite, for instance. I don't buy it myself, but I can picture someone believing it, and while I disagree with this belief, I don't think someone is evil for holding it.
And I suppose it's possible that someone could weigh the wrenching choice of enslaving over a million innocent women a year versus murdering over a million obligate parasite human beings a year and come to the conclusion that the enslavement, while horrific, was necessary to save those lives, and a price they were willing, with deep regret, to force women to pay. I disagree with this belief too, and like anyone staring the prospect of enslavement in the eye, I find it harder to sympathize with people who hold it. But I guess they aren't evil either.
I just don't think that, for example, Operation Rescue are those people.
Here's an article that explains some of the "peaceful, legal" means that Operation Rescue used, not just on George Tiller, but on anyone associated with him in any way--not just the people who worked at his clinic, whether guard, administrative assistant, or janitor, but on his dry cleaner and on taxi companies that women might hire to take them to his clinic.
Tactics like this:
A week later, hundreds of Phares' neighbors received an anonymous postcard of a mangled fetus. "This is abortion!" read the big block letters. "Your neighbor Sara Phares participates in killing babies like these."Or this:
In Wichita, members of the group rummage through employees' garbage in search of incriminating information. They tail them around town as they run errands. They picket clinic staffers at restaurants while they're inside having dinner ....Or this:
The collaborator list is constantly growing. Just a few days earlier, Newman added a place called Elite Cleaners after his aide-de-camp, Cheryl Sullenger -- who spent two and a half years in federal prison for conspiracy to firebomb a clinic -- spotted Tiller's wife, Jeanne, turning into a strip mall near her house.But hey--I don't want to make this so long I have to cut it. The link above has the whole thing, and there's a good set of excerpts here at Hilzoy's blog.
These are some of the people who oppose abortion. If Dr Tiller's colleagues re-open his clinic next week, these are the howling hypocrites who are going to continue their campaign of intimidation and harassment, against his grieving colleagues and family, against the secretaries and janitors, against the dry cleaners. These are the people who are going to publish "collaborator's" addresses and phone numbers, to recruit their neighbors to make their lives miserable, and--oh so coincidentally, I'm sure--to make it easy for the next murdering bastard with a gun.
Ladies and gentlemen; one face of the "pro-Life" movement.
What can you do?
1) Write your Senators and Representative (get their contact info here: (enter zip to get names, then look in the lower right corner of the page their name-links produce)--they get astonishingly few letters, so your letter *does* make a difference) to repeal the "Partial-Birth Abortion" Ban, or, if you can't bring yourself to promote that, at least to rewrite it so that it specifically exempts women whose fetuses have died inside them, women whose fetuses have some serious and incurable medical condition that would prevent their living for more than a short time if delivered, and women whose health would be endangered by continuing their pregnancy. That's only reasonable, right?
Because until that happens, there will be cases like this.
2) Donate to Medical Students for Choice (the site has "exceeded its CGI resources" at the moment so I'm guessing 1) that you'll have to wait a few days and 2) that response has been good so far--but that doesn't mean you should stop!) If you want to do something right now, there's always Planned Parenthood.
Why? Because Terror Shouldn't Pay.
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Re: I'm with you on this - Eric Rudolph missed me
Date: 2009-06-03 12:44 pm (UTC)He was against interfering with "God's will" in any way.
I take it he oesn't take medicine for hypertension or cholesterol or heartburn? Wouldn't touch Viagra with a ten-foot pole? Because he believes in submitting *himself* as well as the women he controls to "God's Will?"
Yeah, thought so.
Calling fetuses "babies" is part of the advertising of the anti-Choice movement. They don't all extend "baby" beyond conceptus to male ejaculation, but it's a continuum.
In real life, everybody knows what a baby is, when the anti-Choicers aren't trying to muddy the issue. A baby is something that gurgles and coos and snuggles and nurses, breathes and opens big eyes wide with wonder on a brand new world. A baby is *not* a half inch long, worm shaped obligate parasite. The name for that is "fetus." Someone who tries to get you to mistake a fetus for a baby is like someone who tries to get you to mistake a car for the admiration of the opposite sex, or a house for the love of your family. They want you to make a mistake that will hurt you (or in this case women) and help them.
My crystal ball says uterine replicators would ignite a firestorm in the anti-Choice movement, splitting it into factions. You'll be able to tell which is which by what they do. The ones who honestly believe fetuses are human beings would be perfectly happy with uterine replicators, and would say so. The ones who are using "concern for babies" to enforce the double standard of sexual behavior will claim that the uterine replicators are the tools of the devil. With an audience not so sympathetic to magical claims, they'll say the replicators don't keep the "babies" safe. They will hire sympathetic "doctors" to do "studies" to muddy the waters, the way the tobacco companies did about cancer and the oil companies did about global warming. They will choke off any funding that would let women of modest means use uterine replicators to escape bearing unwanted babies. Simultaneously they will struggle to outlaw abortion since "uterine replicators make it unnecessary."
Did I miss anything?
Re: I'm with you on this - Eric Rudolph missed me
Date: 2009-06-03 01:45 pm (UTC)Here's the part you missed, though the phrase "women he controls" is great foreshadowing.
The memorial service was held at a lakehouse with tons of space to run around, lots of food, and plenty of rafts, canoes, waterskis and other kid friendly fun. Wifey and 8 kids did not attend, though I'm sure they could have really enjoyed the outing. The kids that did attend took turns being towed on a raft behind a waterski driven by aforementioned odd uncle. (He keeps trying to convert us to his mail order religion)
We even got to making music and singing in the evening along their great rambling wrap around porch. I contributed Stray dog man by Bill Sutton. It went over well.
I remember the times as a kid when I attended other southern wakes/memorial services. I rarely knew who the grownups were sad for. But I atill remember seeing my living relatives and connecting with people I didn't see often enough. The quiver kids got more isolation and separation from mainstream culture that day.
Re: I'm with you on this - Eric Rudolph missed me
Date: 2009-06-04 11:39 am (UTC)That is very sad. But I think this is why a lot of the more right-wing religious types are so big on homeschooling. I think they're afraid if their kids meet more of the real world before their minds harden, they will realize some of the stuff they have been taught is just not true.