From the StopPatriarchy blog:
Abortion Rights Freedom Ride Indicts “Crisis Pregnancy Center”
August 10, 2013 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
The following indictment was posted by the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride on August 9, 2013.
Indictment of Crisis Pregnancy Center
For more photos, see "DANGER! DANGER! No Choice At 'A Better Choice' CPC in Wichita."
On behalf of women and young girls everywhere, the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride hereby indicts “A Better Choice” & EVERY fake clinic…
- for spreading lies and ignorance that coerce women into forced motherhood.
- for using religious fanaticism and fascism to shame women who have sex, seek abortions, or strive to pursue a purpose other than motherhood.
- for targeting women in “crisis pregnancies” by purposefully establishing themselves near real clinics, deceiving women into thinking they are entering a legitimate medical facility that provides abortion services
- for what they say to the victims of rape and incest, in convincing them to bear their rapist’s child: we say FUCK YOU. Women are NOT responsible for rape, and should not be forced into motherhood for a crime that was perpetrated against them
- for spreading outrageous lies about the “ineffectiveness” of condoms and other forms of birth control, abortion and its risks, and sex in general, replacing scientifically accurate information with a biblical literalist morality that belongs in the dark ages.
- for propagating the fictitious link between abortion and breast cancer, a link that every reputable medical organization denies.
- for spewing words like “killer,” marking the backs of abortion providers with a target and whipping up an atmosphere of hatred in which people have actually MURDERED heroic providers like Dr. George Tiller and the 7 other clinic workers before him.
For more photos, see "DANGER! DANGER! No Choice At 'A Better Choice' CPC in Wichita."
We’re also calling out and exposing Operation Rescue, and in particular, Troy Newman, for leading the entire women-hating anti-abortion movement that preaches the open enslavement and subordination of women, completely denying their full humanity.
Women are not objects.
Women are not mere breeders.
Women are not slaves.
Women are full human beings.
The Abortion Rights Freedom Ride is taking back the political and moral high ground.
Abortion is NOT murder because fetuses are NOT babies and women are NOT incubators.
Forced motherhood is female enslavement.
Abortion on Demand & Without Apology.
* * * *
Posted by the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride, August 9, 2013:
The Reality of “Crisis Pregnancy Centers” & the Whole Anti-Abortion Movement
What does it mean to be “pro-life?” Do they care about the “sanctity of the unborn?” Are they motivated by strong moral convictions to preserve life? Is “fetal personhood” their final goal?
This may be true of a handful of individuals who identify as “pro-life,” but the reality is that once the fetus is granted rights, the woman is denied hers, and that the entire agenda of the anti-choice movement is to enslave women. Not one single anti-choice organization supports the right to birth control, even Feminists for “Life.” At the root of the ”abortion question” is the “woman question” because how one sees abortion depends on how they understand a woman’s role in society. In order to better understand why this is the case, it’s important to expose some of the more influential anti-choice organizations and the fake clinics known as “crisis pregnancy centers” (CPCs) which target women seeking real choices.
These CPCs are usually given a perplexing name including the word “choice.” In addition, a number of these facilities are set up near or even next to actual abortion clinics. This is all to deceive women along the same line of their targeted advertising which calls on women in “crisis” who need a “free pregnancy test,” “information,” and “options.” Abby Johnson, a Planned Parenthood employee turned ardent anti-choice bigot, clarifies this particular CPC strategy here. They deceive and coerce women into their facilities and to bear children against their will, which ultimately aligns with the framework of the greater anti-abortion movement.
Feminists for “Life” proclaim “refuse to choose,” which actually sums up a lot about the anti-abortion movement as if admitting to its foundational motive to impose its dark ages “choice” of forced motherhood. These Crisis Pregnancy Centers insist that they are merely an educational resource for the benefit of women. After participating in several undercover exposing operations, I can assure you that these places are a legitimate threat to women’s lives.
Crisis Pregnancy Centers spread dangerous lies about the effectiveness of birth control, the risks of abortion, and sexuality overall. They propagate a fictitious link between abortion and breast cancer, which every reputable medical organization rejects. They insist on referring to pregnant women only as “mothers,” and if the choose to abort, “the mother of a dead baby.” If a woman has been raped she is asked to “not punish the baby for the crime of his father,” or “continue the cycle of violence.”
Each fake clinic has its own strategy. The one I wrote about in NYC was literature and discussion heavy, while the one I just investigated in Wichita was very hands on.
This particular CPC is called “Choices Medical Clinic,” positioned directly next to an abortion clinic. Upon entering the “clinic” I found myself watching a video of testimonies people with some sort of disability, expressing gratitude for their life. The picture flashed between 4-d ultrasounds, babies in the NICU, and these disabled adults who were “survivors of abortion.”
When I went back to an exam room, it wasn’t long until the fetus dolls were called on. It was quite the collection, complete with an explanation of how the speck on the page to resemble four weeks was “just as much a baby as a one-week-old.” Pretty soon the counselor had set up surgical tools on the table we were sitting across from each other at. She began to show me the “abortion procedure,” explaining all the complications: perforation of the uterus, infertility, uterine infection, breast cancer, suicide, promiscuity(?) Apparently having an abortion lowers women’s self-esteem to the point where they have a “might as well” attitude, which “makes them less desirable partners for future marriage.” The counselor ended by reminding me that she would be there for support if I made a “mistake” and got the abortion anyway. She explained that a great deal of employees at CPCs have had traumatic abortion experiences themselves, not disclosing her particular story, but leaving it open for interpretation.
These are the Feminists for “Life” type who declare “abortion hurts women,” leading women who have made that decision to confess their sins and live in guilt. One of their regular signs seen in front of clinics reads: “women regret their abortions,” which is fundamentally untrue. The feeling most often reported after an abortion is “relief.” In fact, we have spoken to a great deal of women who feel guilt for not “regretting their abortions.” This just perpetrates the shame and stigma that needlessly hangs over one of the most simple and common medical procedures. 1 in 3 American women will have an abortion by the time they turn 45 (Guttmacher). Many more women will find themselves in a position where they consider having one.
As legal restrictions stack up to nearly insurmountable (exemplified in the 5 states with one clinic left) Troy Newman and Operation Rescue spew words like “killer,” marking the backs of abortion providers with a target and whipping up an atmosphere of hatred in which people have actually MURDERED heroic providers like Dr. George Tiller and the 7 others before him.
Whether condescending coercion or sugar-coated pressure, the revolting reality of the anti-choice movement remains: an underlying agenda aimed at controlling women’s bodies and lives. We are on an Abortion Rights Freedom Ride because the stakes for women are so extraordinary: if women cannot decide when and whether they will have children, they are no more than slaves. There can be no common ground between slavery and liberation, common ground only leads to ceding ground and there can be no compromise when it comes to the humanity of women.
(Note: you can read about an undercover visit to a CPC in NYC last summer here.)
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