Dear Pro-Life Club: Freedom of speech vs freedom of choice

I would first like to start out by saying this: Yes, you totally came off as negative. And no, you didn’t necessarily handle this the right way.

Abortion is the hardest fucking thing that a WOMAN, not a man, will have to go through if presented with the situation. You’re literally deciding whether or not you want to A) keep this baby and find some way to raise it on a minimum wage salary and a prayer. Or, B) You get the abortion and have a child if and when you want them. When you want one. On your time.

Does spreading compassion include writing that “abortion is murder”? Does spreading compassion include calling the women who made this decision murderers? Because there are plenty of ways to sit down and talk about this issue without calling women murderers, which doesn’t exactly sound like a pro-life thing to say.

And believe me, if I had gotten an abortion and had read the words that you had written, you wouldn’t hear the end of it.

Abortion should be a choice that the mom and the mom only makes. Yes, she should know her options. But this is a choice that she and she alone should have to make. Politics should have never been dragged into this. A cisgendered man, especially a politician who probably has never had a medical background whatsoever, should never have the ability to take control over my health care rights.

I’d also like to present this idea: We live in a country where Freedom of Religion is our First Amendment. We pride ourselves in it, whether we’re atheists who don’t believe in the concept of a deity, Mormon missionaries going door to door passing out Books of Mormon, or Muslim women wearing their hijabs with pride.

To me, part of that freedom of religion means some people don’t believe that Abortion is wrong. That Abortion is necessary. I mean, the alternative to Abortion is lethal. According to feminist.com,

“In the 1950s, about a million illegal abortions a year were performed in the U.S., and over a thousand women died each year as a result. Women who were victims of botched or unsanitary abortions came in desperation to hospital emergency wards, where some died of widespread abdominal infections. Many women who recovered from such infections found themselves sterile or chronically and painfully ill. The enormous emotional stress often lasted a long time.”

Over 1,000 women dying because they’re trying to take care of their own bodies is not pro-life!

One of the pro-life chalk messages this editorial was written in response to. Photo by Morgan Connelly

And while yes, you could make the argument that we now have birth control, then run with that as your argument. Give out condoms, help women get contraception like the pill or an IUD for lowered prices.

Wait, I think there’s a infamous women’s clinic that’s trying to do this. It’s called Planned Parenthood, and they’re not just for abortions. The place you protested against is the place that hands out contraception for cheap. It’s the place that gives women, and even men, hope.

When you say “defund Planned Parenthood!” you’re really defunding this:

Anema testing. Cholesterol screening. Diabetes screening. Physical exams (for employment and sports). Flu vaccines. Helping cessation of smoking addiction. High blood pressure screening. Tetanus vaccines. Thyroid screening. Erectile dysfunction help. Jock itch treatment. Prostate cancer screenings. STI screenings. UTI screening. Help with yeast infections. Pregnancy tests, counseling, PAP smears. And, most importantly, birth control access so people can avoid abortions.

But what really irks me is when you say, “Abortion is the worst injustice our world has ever known.”

No. No it’s not.

There are wanted children dying of malnutrition in impoverished third-world countries. There are wanted children being abandoned by their parents just because they came out as an LGBTQ individual. There are girls all across the globe who are being raped, and sexual assault is something that affects 1 in 5 women, and 1 in 16 men.

You didn’t have to have your message come across as negative. There are plenty of ways to sell your message and still come out as sweet rather than scathing.

However, I applaud you for providing diapers and formula for mothers. This, to me, is the greatest way to go about your cause. Not by writing controversial messages on the ground, but proving that you’re pro-life by giving to parents in need of basic baby supplies.

BUT LET ME BE CLEAR: LBCC, to me, is a haven for people to be themselves. And in a period of time when people are at a pivotal point in their maturation ─ moving out of home, making big decisions on their own, figuring out what the hell they’re going to do with the rest of their lives ─ they need love, support, and in my opinion, perhaps even a diverse group of friends to provide a new perspective.  

I love all the diversity on campus, and am proud to say that everyone I’ve interacted with has so much to add to my life experiences. The last thing I want is for someone to feel excluded.

Editorial by Morgan Connelly