Libertyville Abortion Demonstration

Antis are stupid: more at 11.


(sadly I cannot embed this video, but please follow the link and watch it!)

That's Entertainment!

Ah, TV. I'm not really sure where I'd be without you. Who better to supplement my early childhood education? Who better to boost my self-confidence with your pathetic reality slop? Who better to show me what real life is all about?

Wait. Scratch that last one.

My favorite thing about TV is how inaccurately it portrays everything (except, of course, for Sandra Lee's "Kwanzaa Cake" calamity, which is depicted with frightening accuracy). For example, very few programs or movies related to pregnancy address abortion as more than a sidebar comment. This problem extends beyond it's disdain for reality and thoughtful women; I wager that folks who are not involved in the pregnancy options world actually buy this tripe and take it as gospel. In the last couple years, since the outpouring of pregnancy-related entertainment, I've lamented to friends and coworkers time and again that abortion should be part of the story. Their responses are usually to this effect: "But Anti-Anti, if she had an abortion there would be no story lol!"

Apparently the media has made ignoramuses out of all the people I know and respect. No story?! People are actually starting to believe that abortion is a nonsense topic. It's something that people don't go through. It's something that people don't seriously consider. It's something that is not nearly as chaotic or side-splitting as a woman carrying to term an unplanned pregnancy brought on by some doofus with a stupid haircut.

Let's count the ways in which choosing an abortion continues to be an issue of substance:
1. the woman actually has to weigh her options to make a decision
2. the woman probably already has kids
3. the woman has a deadbeat partner, or an awesome partner who doesn't want her to have an abortion
4. the woman doesn't have the money for an abortion
5. the woman doesn't have an escort to get to her abortion
6. the woman is near the gestation limit in her state and has to get to her appointment NOW!
7. the woman has to get a judicial bypass because her parents would mangle her if they knew
8. the woman gets mugged and all her hard-scrounged abortion money is stolen
9. there is a fetal anomaly and the woman has to get to a specialized health center NOW!
10. the woman is homeless
11. the woman is a teenager
12. the woman is ill
13. the woman doesn't speak English
14. the woman has no support from friends or family and has to rely on total strangers
15. the woman was desperate enough to attempt a DIY abortion
16. the woman's pregnancy circumstances are not ideal, yet her biological clock is ticking
17. the woman belongs to some moron religion
18. the woman was a virgin impregnated by God, but still thinks it's not cool
19. the woman makes a living as a swimsuit model and doesn't want to compromise her figure
20. the woman wound up at a CPC and has to make up for lost time and lost sanity

Phew! With any combination of those circumstances I could write a Judd Apatow-esque comedy that would knock your socks clean off, about abortion! What's our world coming to? When did unplanned pregnancy become HILARIOUS? Something that is a wild ride while you're on it, but always feels better at the end? Screw that. I want to see a) an abortion comedy, where a woman does some hilarious things and faces zany circumstances to make her abortion happen or b) a pregnancy tragedy where a woman listened to all the folks around her telling her not to have an abortion and dies in childbirth and utters with her last breath, "If only I had chosen abortion, one of the safest medical procedures in the United States."

IT'S TIME TO GET REAL, TV!

On that note, I'd like to pay tribute to MTV, who aired a wonderful special on abortion last night. One of my fellow Abortioneers will investigate this topic in depth, but I'd like to first share with you the link so that you can see for yourselves just how interesting a story about abortion can be.

No Easy Decision - MTV Shows

quick Superbowl addendum

In addition to mr. banana grabber's excellent post below (complete with excellent mock-ad find), we hope you catch this today, instead of that annoying Tebow ad:

Abortion in movies

It's good to be back.

I realized this past month (once I left my like-minded, sex positive, wonderful feminist group of friends) that it is really hard for me to be around people who do not have the same values and ideas about abortion, gender, and sexuality as I do. As I left the group of women I surround myself with at school (and outside of school for that matter) I did not anticipate how different and uncomfortable I would feel in situations that challenged my core values and forced me to "defend" my position.

I traveled abroad for a week for holiday and my travel companions were two boys. Little did I know what the next 10 days would entail. I felt completely alone without my "backup," and unable to articulate to them what was wrong with statements like "that's so gay" or "when you say partner, you sound like a lesbian."

I am so used to talking about abortion, sex, masturbation, etc. with people who feel the same way, that I realized I was totally unprepared to have discussions with people who don't feel the same way, or simply DON'T KNOW.

It is this realization that reminded me, this is part of my "job or mission" as well. To be able to talk to people outside of my pro-choice, feminist group and hear what they have to say. To try and remain calm when I feel infuriated, and instead impart my knowledge in hopes that some of it sinks in and stays with them. It is enough... when you hear the words "I never thought about that" or "That's a good point. Now I'm not sure how I feel."

I realized I will not always be immersed in my safety net of women, because there is a world that exists outside of us. Which brings me to this past Thursday, when I attended a screening of abortion documentaries, in light of the upcoming anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The films were wonderful, and I felt at home with the other ladies in my program by my side, surrounded by people I didn't know, with their friends and partners, who had all gathered for the same cause: to continue the fight for abortion rights, to keep it safe, legal and accessible for every woman.

Obvious Child from Gillian Robespierre on Vimeo.

At the end of the films, one of the filmmakers talked about how important it is to continuously tell people how abortion happens to 1 in 3 women (which I already do) and how our fight is not over in face of bills like the Stupak Amendment, restrictions like waiting periods and parental notification laws and clinic violence (which I also do).

Then she said, "I know we don't always surround ourselves with people who have the same views on abortion..." and my friends and I looked at each other, eyes wide and mouths open, and said "Yes we do."

So, here is my long-winded message... are we just "preaching to to the choir?"

Is it necessary to step out of our comfort zones and mingle with people who are anti-choice? Who think abortion is a sin? Who think feminism has "destroyed" women? Who think "ego" is the reason trans people alter their bodies? Who think you choose to be gay?

All of these opinions I heard over my break from school, my separation from my friends and family who hold the same core values and who are my constant support group. I was alone and had to defend my and "our" position, and although I felt angry and like I couldn't get my words straight sometimes, for me, it was good practice to be faced with those opinions in stark contrast to my own and force the other person to question their values while forcing me to define mine.

In the end, I will most likely surround myself with other pro-choice, liberal people, mostly because I like talking to them and not always having to argue or defend my position :) But when possible, I think it is important to be able to articulate why we fight for abortion and sometimes, not always but sometimes, you will hear "I had never put myself in those shoes, or looked at it from the woman's perspective."

And once again, it is all worth it.

Human Kindness

Why are so many people afraid of the word abortion?

Even though 1 in 3 women will have an abortion before the age of 45, even though it is one of the safest medical procedures, people still find the need to keep it on the “down low.” Like when people come into the clinic for their appointment and whisper through the glass, “I'm here for my abortion,”…. And I whisper back “So is everyone else” (signaling to the other 50 people in the waiting room)

ABORTION!!! Maybe if it was called…. Noitroba? How do we get rid of the stigma attached to this word? Hmm… what do people like?

Most people would agree with human rights, right? What about the right to a fulfilling and happy life? The right to control your own body?

Abortion=Love, Choice, Relief, Option, Life, Happiness, Respect, Kindness….the list goes on. Abortion means so many positive things to so many different people, and yet it still “sounds bad.”

So maybe it’s just the word. Maybe it’s the tone in which people say it. Maybe everyone should say abortion at least once a day until it is no longer hushed and whispered in conversation. Abortion, abortion, abortion….is human kindness.

This weekend, I participated in a values clarification seminar where I was once again, the “abortion person.” In a room full of like-minded, sex positive women, values were colliding and being challenged. I became aware of the assumptions I carry about how important being “pro-choice” actually is to women, and the role abortion plays in their lives.

The other day I had a wonderful conversation with a girl in my class about abortion, and her work as a health educator in schools. She was genuinely interested in hearing about the work I had done in the abortion field and it was such a breath of fresh air to freely talk about what I was most passionate about.

The next day, I saw her in the student café area and beamed with excitement, remembering the lengthy conversation we had just had about abortion. I came up to her in front of some of her friends, mentioned something from our talk, and watched as her face dropped and head shifted away. She hurriedly said “uh huh,” and then went on her way. I suddenly remembered, she might have opened up to me the other day because she felt comfortable and safe. She could talk to me in a non-judgmental, respectful and loving space. In a different context, in front of her “other” friends, it was a topic she did not want to openly and publicly discuss.

There are days now that pass where those conversations don’t happen, and when they do, I am reminded of my unconditional support and love for women. Why I constantly fight for safe and accessible abortion services, and why I will never stop fighting. I feel so grateful and comforted that there are other people, just like me out there, who feel there is nothing more than Human rights-which are sexual rights-which include the right to safe, legal and accessible abortion. These people in my life are sprinkled throughout different states and countries, and I often miss them in my everyday life. So thank you blog, and women of the blog, for filling a place in my heart.

Strong Women

I just want to say that I h-e-a-r-t Sonya Renee, a beautiful, strong poetess who does lots of poetry slams. Yes, I love poetry. Yes, I'm a sucker for women who pull themselves up by the bootstraps and tell all the people in their lives trying to yank those boots off, to go fuck themselves. That's why I love Sonya Renee.

It's also why I really love Sonya Renee today. We all have those days we don't feel so hot about ourselves, where things get a little shitty, and we might just need a bit of a reminder that we're better than we actually think we are, right? Well, I was having one of those days until I watched the video below. This lovely poetess/goddess served as a smack right upside my head telling me, "Uh. Hello! You're not all THAT bad! It could totally be LOTS worse! AND, you like yourself more than you THINK you do!" Don't we all need that every once in awhile?

This is the thing: we don't have to put up with sub-par crap. A friend of mine reminded me today, we don't need to wait around for others who are "dicking around" with our lives to get their dicks back into their pants (like Sonya says!); we can tell them to walk right on out that door because we.like.ourselves.enough. (Even if they don't like US enough.)

Sometimes, this means we like ourselves enough to have an abortion because the guy that knocked us up is a complete tosser who isn't going to stick around when the going gets tough. They just would rather keep on dicking around with that little dick of theirs. So, thank you Sonya. And thank you friend.



Oh, and in case you have not ever seen her in all her pro-choice glory, telling everyone where to stick it, you can watch this (we've posted it before, but personally, I don't think you can ever get too much of the beautiful Sonya:

Be Powerful!

It's hump day. And as hump days go, it seems appropriate to add a fun little video made by NARAL's Free.Will.Power website dedicated to empowering teens about sexuality, sex, birth control, adoption and abortion. I happen to love this video, called "Power" and there are two others as well.

Enjoy!