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“A dream you dream alone is only a dream; a dream you dream together is reality.” — Yoko Ono
Jul
8
Highlight of My Day
Filed Under abortion, anti-choice extremism, assholes, religious fanaticism, reproductive justice | Posted by Cara |
Well okay, it’s only 10:30, but kind of hard to top. I turned up at work today to find that we have either got a new anti-choice protester, or the regulars got a new sign. Next to all of the fetus pictures, was in bright blue letters BIRTH CONTROL CONTROLS YOU. The lady with the bullhorn didn’t look too impressed that I was laughing my ass off even before she got the chance to scream at me about what a horrible person I am.
But if you think about the message, it is totally true. I mean, just this morning I had to drink a sip of water to take my pill and I wasn’t even thirsty. It may not sound like much, but think about it; after 7 years, it has to have added up, and I’ve probably had to pee, like, an extra two times. I bet you haven’t considered that one before, now have you? That’s why the protesters are there — to inform you.
You’d think that foot would be kind of bloody and sore by now, but if anti-choicers want to keep shooting themselves in it, I’m sure as hell not going to stop them. But I will continue laughing.
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“Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less.” — Susan B. Anthony
I don’t know whether you wrote anything about this, but the Catholic church has made birth control a deadly sin.
They put it under the category of “ethical violations”
I must admit, I would have laughed at the sign too.
Do you ever get the urge to walk out of the office carrying a big blue sign that says: “Idiocy Controls You”? I know its better to take the high ground and all…but I’m not sure I could resist…
I get the urge to do LOTS of things. But we’re not supposed to interact with the protesters unless absolutely necessary — maintaining a professional image and all. I even resist giving them a big fake smile and waving when I pull in and out of the parking lot. I sometimes get the urge to go to ANOTHER clinic and start doing the “How many years should a woman who has an abortion serve?” routine.
So, birth control controls me and if I got knocked up due to no longer using birth control, having a child wouldn’t control me at all? Not buying it. If the choice is the control you’re put under as a parent versus the control of having to take a pill everyday (or change the patch weekly, or the ring monthly, etc), I’ll choose the controlling pill over a screaming infant any day of the week.
Having a child is probably the most limiting thing that could happen to me at this point in time (which is why I’m preventing having one). I know not all Women feel that way, but I do and that’s why I take the pill, every single day.
I used to work for PP in college and we were a birth control clinic Only, we never performed abortions, and we still had idiot protesters outside once a week. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
They seriously are stupid a lot of the time. I work at the main office in my area, but there happens to be a tiny PP clinic just down the road from me in my little town. They do birth control, STD testing and all that, no abortions, and are only open one day a week.
You still see the protesters out there yelling about abortion, on days when the clinic isn’t even open. And it’s just like . . . ??????? DO THEY SERIOUSLY DO THAT LITTLE RESEARCH? I’ve actually decided that it’s more likely they just don’t care. They’re holding signs regarding abortion, but clearly are just opposed to women receiving reproductive health care of any sort. And they’re not really trying to “reach” patients, they just have some bizarre fantasy that they’re radically changing the minds of motorists who pass by.
Yes, it controls me: it controls my baby-making. That’s why I take it, silly!
It’s also that they so broadly define “abortion” in their own little minds that the protesters we had considered the ordinary birth control pill to be a form of abortion and thus, they were there trying to “educate” our patients that birth control=abortion! We had numerous patients over the years come in and ask us if the protesters were lost because all of their signage was about abortion.
There’s also a sense of martyrdom about them. Obviously they are not going to die standing out in front of a clinic (which is more than I can say for our doctors, nurses, and volunteers Inside the clinic). BUT they want to feel that they are really sacrificing something for their faith and beliefs. It’s for their ego, it has nothing to do with reaching anyone but themselves. In my observation, at any rate.
And I forgot to add that a lot of these people just don’t like Planned Parenthood because PP has always supported the lifestyles that Americans want to lead, not the lifestyles this minority Believes we should lead based on their own book of fairy tales and mythology.
Any organization or Person, for that matter, who has so thoroughly supported the sexual revolution and the individual sex lives of ALL Americans no matter what those lives are like generally earns the ire and scorn of these people.
And of course the fact that PP has ALWAYS stood for Women’s liberation is a large part of it too. Some of these people claim to want to see the day when Women are reduced in power and choices even though they haven’t given serious thought as to what that society would look like and how disastorous it would be for Actual Born Children.
Yes, it does. That’s why I got an IUD instead.
Yep, totally unacceptable control-pillz! That’s why I’m a lesbian. Why can’t all women do that? That’s a good alternative, right? No BC needed!
…But I think the stupid here *almost* kills the funny.
*Strangeled gasp of horror*
My sister’s married friend was recently denied her birth control by a Catholic doctor (her previous Dr. retired). My sister thought that denying birth-control to a married woman simply must be illegal, when I told her it was actually a protected right of Dr.’s to put their unscientific religious beliefs ahead of their patient’s health, she was shocked. I think that many “regular” folks (even strong Feminists like my sister and her friend, who don’t participate in much Feminist action/media, are floored when they learn about the anti-abortion/anti-woman establishment of the far right). Luckily S is middle-class and can go to another Dr. and pay OUT OF POCKET for a second pap (of course, her insurance only pays for one per year and the Catholic Dr. pretty much stole money from her by performing a pap that didn’t prove her worthiness for birth-control…why isn’t the pill over the counter already?). Its all bullshit, but she can manage, but of course, she shouldn’t have to. I’m glad that you saw that sign and this “the pill kills” bullshit is becoming a bigger part of the anti-choice/anti-woman crusade because the vast majority of women use birth-control and showing the true cards of the anti’s can only help to reaffirm that choice, even Roe, is really about the right to self-determination of one’s body, not about the baybezzzz.
Of course the subtext of the sign ‘Birth control controls you’ is ‘That’s OUR job!’
That is absolutely hilarious! I would have also been laughing my ass off.
Thealogian, birth control isn’t over the counter cos there are some health risks with it and for some women in some situations those risks aren’t worth it. But it should be easy to get a prescription for it anyway!
One thing I love with Sweden: it took me a whole five minutes to get a prescription for the pill. And those five minutes were spent discussing what kind of birth control would be best for me at that point. And then the birth control for a year costs 280 SEK but I payed 60SEK (~10USD) cos I’m younger than 23 :)