Protestors Holdilg Gross Signs
It goes without saying that the abortion issue is probably the most controversial issue of our time. Beginning in earnest after the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Roe v Wade, the “pro-life” and “pro-choice” forces have been going at for years – and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. And if you read the polls, it’s really had to say what side is actually “winning.” Indeed, I’m not even sure how you determine who is winning. The bottom line is I know abortion is still legal in this country but they are harder to get. You decide.
Some even go so far to say we are in a “war” over abortion, although I wouldn’t go that far because to me a “war” is when two sides are engaging in violence and, as far as I can tell, the only violent acts have come from the pro-life side (and please, if you are pro-life, do not bore me with the “violence in the womb” argument). But, for the moment let’s say we are engaged in a war. The question now is how far are you willing to go to win this war? In the world of international relations, somewhere along the line we came up with the rules of the Geneva Convention which set some boundaries for conduct that warring parties are supposed to adhere to (although not everyone complies). In this abortion “war”, I think there should be boundaries as well. And recently, one pro-life group crossed a boundary that makes my head spin.
By now, everyone involved in this issue knows that Doctor Lee Carhart, a physician from Nebraska, has decided to carry on the work of the late Doctor George Tillerby performing later abortions and he
has established a practice in Germantown, Maryland. He has been there for several months and has been so open about what he is doing that he even gave a front page interview to the Washington Post a short while ago. I’ve written in the past about how I wish my friend Lee would just “shut up” and do his work quietly (out of fear for his safety), but Lee is not built that way. He is an advocate as well as a physician.
Not surprisingly, there have been protests at the Germantown clinic. That’s okay, that’s the First Amendment in action. I don’t like it but I support their right to be out there on a Saturday yelling and screaming and parading around with their gross signs. But now here comes a pro-life splinter group with a new tactic that boggles my mind. It seems these folks found out who owns the office complex where the abortion clinic is located. Yes, they had enough negative energy stored up that they probably combed the real estate records in the county for his name. I have no doubt that they probably tried to find out where he lives but have not yet been successful. But, after discovering the name of the landlord, they found out where his CHILDREN go to SCHOOL. And, once they discovered that his children went to an elementary school in Maryland, they came up with the idea of picketing the kids’ school! Yep, they went out there just a few weeks ago during the day and stood in front of the school with their ugly signs and blaring the name of the landlord (and, by reference, his children).
Dr. Carhart and Dr. Tiller
Just think for a second about not just his children, but all of the children as they jumped off the bus, already thinking about their lunch period or recess and then they see this sick group of people holding signs. When they look closer, they may see the pictures of a dismembered fetus, they may see lots of blood, they might see the word “abortion” in big red letters. Of course, they are probably too young to even comprehend what is going on but – as this group would say – THEY NEED TO LEARN ABOUT THE HORRORS OF ABORTION!
Who are these nut balls who believe it is up to them to introduce these young children to this difficult issue? Aren’t they the same ones who scream about parental control? The thing is I know who they are, they are the ones whose own children will be forced at a very early age to stand outside of an abortion clinic on a beautiful Saturday, be forced to hold a disgusting sign, chant a slogan, scream at the women. And they’ll say their six year old told them they’d rather be out there than playing soccer with their friends.
I have always encouraged a healthy, honest debate on this issue. But a line has to be drawn somewhere. Again, I would support their right to do this, but do these folks have no shame? Besides, from a strategic point of view it’s a pretty stupid thing to do because they are pissing off a lot of parents, even those who are pro-life.
I wonder how these folks would feel if we went to their kid’s school and held up signs of women lying in a pool of blood after a botched abortion? We could easily do it, we’ve got the pictures.
The difference is we’re too civilized.
