On Dr. Tiller and reproductive rights

[chanaleh]

Posted publicly because I think this is important (comments are enabled on this entry, for now, though I reserve the right to turn them off if any ensuing discussion grows uncivil):

My friendspage has been buzzing all week with reactions to last Sunday's act of anti-choice terrorism, the brutal murder of Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, KS.

Links from today that I found particularly meaningful:

"The Only Moral Abortion is My Abortion": So what does an anti-choice woman do when she experiences an unwanted pregnancy herself? Often, she will grin and bear it, so to speak, but frequently, she opts for the solution she would deny to other women -- abortion.

Dr Tiller's murder: What you can do

That last article links, among other resources, to Medical Students for Choice, an organization dedicated to "Creating Tomorrow's Abortion Providers and Pro-Choice Physicians. [...] Medical Students for Choice® stands up in the face of violent opposition, working to destigmatize abortion provision among medical students and residents, and to persuade medical schools and residency programs to include abortion as a part of the reproductive health services curriculum."

I clicked through immediately and made a donation. I am a longtime Planned Parenthood member and onetime clinic defender... but beyond that, I often think that if I had it to do over again, I would seriously consider medical school SPECIFICALLY in order to become a provider of women's reproductive health services. I'm glad to know there are concrete ways of supporting others to carry out that mission in my stead.

Shabbat shalom, y'all. I'm headed out of here shortly.

Comments

[besamim.livejournal.com]

Yashar koach.

Could you please elaborate on your role as "clinic defender?" I'm curious to know what that involved, i.e. is that another term for "donor" or did it involve in-person protection of clinics against aggressive protestors and such? Or some other activity?

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, I meant in the in-person sense. Brandeis Voice for Choice (which doesn't appear to exist any longer) took volunteers into Brookline to defend a Planned Parenthood clinic there. There was probably literally one time, my freshman year, that I went and participated. But it was actual, linked-arms defense against protestors (I don't remember any of them being *particularly* aggressive, but it was still rather adrenaline-inducing) and escorting of patients.

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

I've been wondering if this is even done anymore. I can't seem to find any information about it. Maybe the law that went into effect in the nineties obviated the need for clinic defense?

[seborn.livejournal.com]

Planned Parenthood does have volunteer clinic escorts, who go through a screening and training process and have regular shifts a few times a month. It takes a very cool head, as they're supposed to help escort patients in without interacting with the, er, "sidewalk counselors" just outside the buffer zone. I'm not sure if they're currently taking new volunteers; their volunteer and intern page didn't mention it.

[mangosteen]

I read the "The Only Moral Abortion Is My Abortion" article a long time ago, and refer to it every now and then.

In all the time I've known of its existence, though, I still am trying to figure out how those women who do that can have a morally consistent viewpoint, and I'm still coming up empty.

I mean, it is possible that they say to themselves "Yeah, okay, I'm a hypocrite, but I need to do this anyway", but I continue to wonder if there's more there.

[navrins]

That's just... special.

I mean, I honestly can understand an anti-abortion position. I think there are a lot of good arguments to be made on that side of the debate. I personally believe that the arguments for allowing abortions are far more compelling, but I can see why someone with different values than mine would not, and I can respect that while still disagreeing.

But to hire the person you've been demonizing as a murderer, to commit the act you've been calling morally wrong and arguing to ban, and have him commit the act on your behalf, while continuing during and after the act to do the same thing?

Honestly, if I were the abortion provider in such a circumstance, I don't think I would willingly permit such a person to remain in my presence or on my property, let alone perform any service of any kind for them beyond holding the door and letting it hit them on the way out. I'm just not that nice.

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

My impression is that in many cases, they trust their *own* judgment when the situation arises, but not others'... and who they imagine these "other women" to be, the ones they don't trust to make the choice, is just loaded with race and class bias. I think in many cases, these women truly believe that THEIR situation is DIFFERENT. They have distinct ideas about WHO "the women who get abortions" are, WHY those women may become pregnant, and WHY they then choose abortion. And all of those behaviors are Wrong, and need to be Stopped. But when it happens to *them*, it wasn't because *they* were poor/uneducated and slutty and irresponsible and immoral (and often, nonwhite and working-class...), like all those *other* women who get abortions... for them, it's different.

Hence the behavior like refusing to sit in the waiting room with the "slutty" women -- the ones who so totally believe that THEIR situation is different, that they actually expect the abortion providers and other abortion seekers to recognize it too.

I also imagine that it depends on the situation. Like the 16 year old who had an abortion and was back picketing the next day -- she may have just been hiding her true experience, and the guilt and shame she probably felt about it, from her parents and those close to her. If that fear of having her secret discovered were removed, maybe she'd give up the protesting.

And of course there are those who, upon suddenly discovering that *their* situation demands an abortion, actually reconsider their views. So it's not so much that the anti-abortionists are more likely to be hypocritical; it's just that the people who don't behave hypocritically (for whatever reason) don't stick in the memory and baffle logic and understanding the way the hypocrites do.

[msmidge.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to know there are concrete ways of supporting others to carry out that mission in my stead.

Awesome. In my nonprofits class today, our instructor was telling us that fundraising isn't begging, it's enabling people to live out their values by supporting those who are doing that work.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Your instructor is so right. (Not that you needed my confirmation.)

shabbat shalom

[drwex]

I like the idea of more meaningful acts of tzedakah. I've been working on making some of those myself this year and also donated to Medical Students for Choice a few days ago.

[lyriendel.livejournal.com]

I made a donation to Medical Students for Choice.

If I had a clone-double who was just like me but not so squeamish, she might go become an abortion provider. Not one of these non-judgmental, super-tolerant types, though. More like a "f*ck you, if you think I'm a murderer then go ruin your life getting stuck with a squalling baby" abortion provider. I'd be pretty tempted to expose the hypocrisy of all those protesters who go back to protesting the day after their abortion, too.
Maybe it's good that I'm too squeamish to be an abortion provider. :)