Notes on Taking the Fight for Abortion Rights to the Broad Public with StopPatriarchy.org
December 7, 2015 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
The following is a lightly edited snapshot from a young revolutionary who led a team with two very new people going out in a busy public area to build for the demonstrations Stop Patriarchy is organizing in DC and San Francisco for the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the U.S. in 1973.
One person commented that she’s never seen pro-abortion rights people campaigning and she was glad to see us. Another person said that Hillary Clinton supports abortion but someone with more experience corrected her (explaining that Clinton has conciliated and compromised with the anti-abortion fascists and this is part of why we have lost so much ground) and the lady smiled.
Another person was disgusted by the shooting of Planned Parenthood that happened in Colorado. One person ripped our “Abortion On Demand and Without Apology!” sign and ran away as I was signing someone else up.
One of us had a long conversation with a guy who stood to talk to him after hearing us mention that Christian fascists like the attacker in Colorado who attacked Planned Parenthood enslave women. The guy said that the shooter was suffering from mental illness and not from Christian fascism. The guy with our outreach team said both, but the guy kept insisting. The woman who joined us after meeting us at our emergency protest last weekend and I stepped into the argument. I explained that politicians are trying to take away abortion rights and that this belief that abortion is murder does come from Christian fanatics.
The new woman who joined us explained that we are not attacking religious people but oppose those who take the Bible, Quran, or other religious doctrine literal to the point of killing and enslaving people. He said that the Bible is not meant to be taken literally. I said, exactly. He understood. But then he said that fetuses are babies. We explained they have the potential to be, but are not yet. He said that bacteria and other living organisms are alive just as fetuses are alive. I told him that might be true but that fetuses are still women’s living parts, not yet developing as a baby, and I gave him the “A Fetus Is Not a Baby” pamphlet which we started giving out after the lady ripped one of our posters. He said science does not determine when life begins. I told him that it is evident and that science has proved it. He said he would read it.
In the beginning, I noticed most people were ignoring me and walking to take their train, a few took the flyer. I was telling people to stand for women’s rights. The guy on our team would say in the background, “Show you have a pulse.” Some people found that amusing but would not take the flyers. I started agitating that women are half of humanity and that there is a war on women which will not be stopped until people stand up for women’s rights. More people were taking it with interest. I continued to agitate that politicians are trying to control women’s bodies and that women have the right to choose what they wish to do with their own bodies. I added that these politicians are Christian fascists and that the Bible taken literally is a horror for humanity. The anniversary of Roe v. Wade is coming and we must stand for women’s rights.
Some were saying “I agree.” A guy said, “Oh, I was going to argue with you because I thought the sign was against abortion. But we are on the right page.” But they wouldn’t sign up or take a flyer. A lady came to talk with us, but when she realized that we are for abortion, she started walking away. I agitated while she was walking away. I also saw annoyed snarks. A young couple was looking at the sign amused and then took the flyers. We were also giving out the ones given out on the emergency protest.
I continued agitating, “This is the year 2015 and most people still don’t know that fetuses are not babies, abortion is not murder, women are not incubators! We have nothing to be shameful about! Women have the right to choose what they do with their bodies! Forced motherhood is female enslavement!” A crowd started slowing down, looking scared but eyes on me.
One of the girls I signed up said she went through a similar situation but that she knows what she prefers to do with her own body. She told me to please contact her and that she wants to attend the meeting, mobilize, and join us in DC!
There is a man who stood to hear me speak before taking the flyers but said he will spread the word but would rather not sign up.
We discussed at the end how we should have also mentioned that clinics are closing, because there is an assumption that there are lots of abortion services. Damn. Great experience though.
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