Scare Tactics

One of the worst aspects about being an Abortioneer is the scare tactics.

I'm not talking like Freddy Krueger.


Mummies.


Chainsaw-wielding cannibals.


I'm talking about the frightening shit that goes on in our lives, every day of the year.

Umm... Where do I start?

The harrassment? Hanging outside my place of work with pictures of stillborn babies that WEREN'T EVEN ABORTED (whole 'nother blogpost), spewing hatred at everyone with a vagina who walks by? Screaming at women that God hates them and Jesus will send them to H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks? Screaming at me when I am just showing up for work? Getting my license plate information and then showing up at my house? Protesting outside my house in my neighborhood on a Sunday afternoon? Following me home from work because I have a bag that says "PRO CHOICE"? Huh?

What about the shame? Trying to make me feel ashamed for doing my work? Making it hard for me to even bring up the nature of my job because someone might get offended? Worrying that having this on my resume will hurt my graduate school application, or my future job security?

What about the lies? Abortion causes breast cancer? Abortion causes suicide? Abortion fills women with regret? If you go into this abortion clinic we will throw your dead baby in the trash? We will make you push your baby out into a toilet and then leave it there for hours on end? That we will force you to have an abortion? That the abortion will be incredibly painful? That I am a murderer? .......... Wait, what?

And then... then there's the really scary stuff.

The destruction of clinic property.
The death threats to abortioneers.
The death threats to abortioneers' spouses. Their children.
The bomb threats.
Actual bombs and firebombing and arson.
The attempted murders of escorts. Of receptionists. Of nurses. Of doctors.
The actual murders. Of escorts. Of receptionists. Of doctors.
The murders of living, breathing people. IN CHURCH. IN THEIR OWN HOMES.

News flash: Y'all can say and do whatever you want, but when you act out violently, when you reduce something you believe in so much to an act of terrorism,* it brings Abortioneers together. We become more united and more resolute. When you care enough about something to literally risk dying everyday you show up to work, it sorta puts things in perspective, you know? And then there's the people who are middle of the road. Watching the murder coverage on CNN. They see you as a bunch of crazies who go around killing people. "Pro Life" murderers.

I guess my point is that none of us will tolerate your scare tactics. And in the long run they aren't doing anything but creating more negative energy in the world.


*Terrorism (n): the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes.

A means to an end

Abortion, abortion, abortion
Pregnant pause
I’m pregnant.
I can’t help but think about pregnancy.
Why, because it happens, because it is, it is what is life, it is what is happening, really it is what happens.
Typically the only option is not really optional because
the grass is always greener on
the other side.
Abortion is what is. It is not why, but because.
Abortion is not war it is the product of war.
War on my body, war on my soul.
War on my sisters' bodies, black bodies, really all bodies.
But sometimes the wounds run a little, or a lot, deeper when your body is black.
Or brown, or any color but white.
It's really safe and rather painless or painful for some.
It's not the reason for pain but a result of pain.

Recently, I met with a professor. Let me begin by saying this woman is an amazing professor. Of all the things I learned in 17 + years of schooling, I tend to refer to nuances she taught me rather often. She is objective and smart and saw potential in people. She also challenged people. Of all the teachers I had in college I wanted to have lunch with her before leaving my college town. I emailed her and said something like:

Hi Amazing Professor,
I am still here in collegetown and working in abortionland. However, I will soon be relocating back home and I would like to know if you will be a reference for me?
Sincerely,
Sparky

When she responded stating she would be my reference I asked if we could have lunch. So, we scheduled lunch and she made turkey sandwiches. She packed us a wonderful lunch full of little goodies that really only a mom might think of. We showed pictures of babies we love, and I told her about another student who now has 2 children, one of whom is my godchild.

Eventually, she brought up my work; she proceeded to tell me that she is against abortion. She said that when students comes to her stating they need an abortion, she tells them that she does not agree with abortion and whatever choice they make they should speak to a counselor so that it does not haunt them in 10 years. She was the most objective anti I have ever had the pleasure of speaking to. I don’t think abortion haunts women 10 years later, maybe a woman every once in a while, but no, most women have had a few more pregnancies to contend with in the course of 10 years.

She followed up her self-identification as an anti by stating she just wished we lived in a world where women didn’t feel they needed abortion.

I don't really think this kind of utopia is possible. Even if it were, don't you think something so seemingly perfect probably isn’t perfect at all?

Abortion is not a means. It’s an end.

Activism or Advocacy

In response to being identified as a victim of right wing anti-choice violence Dr. Tiller once said, "I am a willing participant in this conflict… I choose to be here." I read these words for the first time shortly after Dr. Tiller was murdered. His life was taken as a result of the conflict he willingly participated in, becoming a martyr for choice. I have been pondering what it means to be a pro-choice advocate versus an activist.

In order to be an activist one must be willing to face conflict, we cannot hide under the many “what ifs…”. I believe confrontation often shows people’s true strength, conflict is uncomfortable and difficult more so for some than other’s. Dr. Tiller’s response to being called a victim made me ponder what it means to be a willing participant in a conflict over abortion. What does is mean to be an activist and not just an advocate? An activist intentionally makes choices and acts to create social change, while an advocate speaks on one’s behalf.

A few times in life, I have heard someone say men’s conflicts are fought over women’s bodies. I am not sure who the first person to plant this seed of thought in my mind was. Access to abortion is one way conflicts are worked out over women’s bodies. Women are the source of reproduction, thus we hold the future of humanity in our bodies. Our bodies are a source of power, both politically and economically. Women who seek abortions are criminalized in many places and even in places like the United States where abortion is legal but inaccessible women are stigmatized. Our bodies are a means of control, a means of asserting power and control. Women are often systemically raped as a tool of terrorism. This not only damages the woman psychologically and physically, but also makes her and the child she bares outcasts. These are only a few examples of how men’s conflicts are waged over women’s bodies.

In a book called The Ethical Slut, by Dossie Easton and Catherine Liszet, I read the words, “We need to politicize to protect our right to accurate and positive information about sex.” (p.94) This book is about our culture in regards to negativity towards sex and pleasure. This quote reminded me that in order to act as a willing participant in any conflict one must be willing to become political, one must be willing to take a stand and act on that stand. I can not simply advocate for access to abortion; I have to help my sisters’ access. I have to be willing to drive my sisters to the clinic, to help her find information on clinics, and lend her money when I have it. I have to support her choice no matter what and I have to be willing to motivate other people to support individuals that are beyond my personal reach. Abortion Activists work towards creating a world where reproductive health is available even when these rights are under attack.

Activism means becoming a willing participant in a conflict, and it is essential to politicize. As long as women’s bodies are terrorized and controlled by political forces, those of us who advocate for women’s rights must be willing to fight. We must be willing help educate, motivate, and mobilize others.