Post by Jax on Aug 7, 2018 12:37:46 GMT -6
By Jax West
I am a 46-year-old woman & when I was 16 I had an abortion. It was the right choice for me. My mother was very supportive when I finally told her I was pregnant. She asked me what I wanted to do & she would support whatever choice I made. I told her I wanted an abortion. She told me to go to school & she would make the arrangements for me.
When I got home she told me she made an appointment for me at a clinic. Later that appointment was cancelled. Not because I had second thoughts but because she found out there would be protestors there & she didn’t want me to have to deal with that. She found a place in Chicago that was in a big office building & I am sure the Anti-Choice people had no clue what was going on in there.
My parents took me for the appointment. No one there tried to force me into a decision one way or another. I had a counseling session where they told me they would help me with whatever I wanted to do. I was able to ask any question I had. They then had you think it over for like a half hour before the procedure.
It’s not an easy choice. But it’s a CHOICE. It was the right choice for me. I do not regret it. Many people don’t understand what it means to be Pro-Choice. It doesn’t mean Pro-Abortion. I would be thrilled if there was never another abortion again. It is not up to me or anyone else what people should do with their bodies. I am responsible for me.
So reproductive rights is obviously a big concern for me. After the Women’s March in 2017 I started a grassroots activist group called Friends Who March. We fight for people & animal rights. We learned about a group called 40 Days for Life that protest at clinics for 40 days straight twice a year. We started showing up & counter protesting. It has been a big eye opening experience for me. They pretend to be these good little prayer people that are just going to stand there & pray with their rosaries. Don’t let them fool you. They are quite nasty. I have witnessed one of them yank a sign out of a boy with Down Syndrome’s hands, throw it to the ground & demand he come stand with her to pray for his mother.
They lie to the people going into the clinic. They try to get them to go to a “free” clinic that is nearby. I have since learned these are Crisis Pregnancy Centers. These are fake clinics that set up near real clinics or even in a location where the clinic has closed & pretend to be medical professionals that will counsel you on your choices. LIE. They will tell you you’re not pregnant even if you are to try to get you past the date where you can have an abortion. If you refuse their help & leave they will call to harass you. They will mail you baby food to remind you of the baby you “killed”. They will lie about side effects of abortions. Lie, lie, lie.
Where do these fake clinics get their money to operate? One of their biggest donators is the Knights of Columbus. The Knights also regularly go to the clinics to protest & yell at women. DO NOT give any money to the Knights of Columbus. Don’t guy their Tootsie Rolls or go to their pancake breakfasts. They use that money to fund their hate of women & gay rights.
I have been assaulted numerous times at these clinics. By men claiming to be Christians. One man even wears a collar & claims to be a priest at a Catholic Church. These men are holding rosaries as they are grabbing me, shoving me, calling me “fat ass”. Here are some gems these men have said to me.
You’re so ugly no man would ever sexually harass you.
A dog wouldn’t fuck your mother.
It’s too bad your mother didn’t abort you.
So this brings me to the whole point of why I am writing this. I hear all the time that the people who are allegedly just there to pray have a right to be there & they are harmless. NO THEY’RE NOT! This is a form of intimidation. A woman going to the clinic has no idea what this mob of religious nuts are going to do to her. Just like my Mother didn’t want to put me through it all those years ago, I am sure many other women decide they don’t want to go where these people are. It can be very scary. They do not have the right to threaten, scare or harass women. They are not preventing anyone from having an abortion. They don’t change anyone’s mind. Standing out there with their rosaries every week & yelling at women isn’t helping them get into heaven. They are just being bullies. We are not going to take it anymore.
Friends Who March has a sub-group that we call the Pink Angels. This group is dedicated to defending reproductive rights. We do counter protests as well as expose fake clinics. We are going to start targeting the churches, Knights of Columbus & any other group that go to clinics to try to bully women. We welcome new Angels who want to help us to stand against them. You can find us on Facebook.
2018 is a big year. We have the potential to turn our country blue. We need to vote out people like Peter Breen, Dan Lipinski & Peter Roskam who think their religion dictates our laws. You need to vote in every election. The March Primary as well as in November. If you have moved since the last election you need to register. Make sure you sign your ballot just like you signed on your driver’s license. You can vote early or even mail in your vote. If you have any questions about voting or want to join us you can email FriendsWhoMarch@gmail.com.
Remember, it’s your body. It’s your choice. No matter what decision you make, it’s for YOU to make.
I am a 46-year-old woman & when I was 16 I had an abortion. It was the right choice for me. My mother was very supportive when I finally told her I was pregnant. She asked me what I wanted to do & she would support whatever choice I made. I told her I wanted an abortion. She told me to go to school & she would make the arrangements for me.
When I got home she told me she made an appointment for me at a clinic. Later that appointment was cancelled. Not because I had second thoughts but because she found out there would be protestors there & she didn’t want me to have to deal with that. She found a place in Chicago that was in a big office building & I am sure the Anti-Choice people had no clue what was going on in there.
My parents took me for the appointment. No one there tried to force me into a decision one way or another. I had a counseling session where they told me they would help me with whatever I wanted to do. I was able to ask any question I had. They then had you think it over for like a half hour before the procedure.
It’s not an easy choice. But it’s a CHOICE. It was the right choice for me. I do not regret it. Many people don’t understand what it means to be Pro-Choice. It doesn’t mean Pro-Abortion. I would be thrilled if there was never another abortion again. It is not up to me or anyone else what people should do with their bodies. I am responsible for me.
So reproductive rights is obviously a big concern for me. After the Women’s March in 2017 I started a grassroots activist group called Friends Who March. We fight for people & animal rights. We learned about a group called 40 Days for Life that protest at clinics for 40 days straight twice a year. We started showing up & counter protesting. It has been a big eye opening experience for me. They pretend to be these good little prayer people that are just going to stand there & pray with their rosaries. Don’t let them fool you. They are quite nasty. I have witnessed one of them yank a sign out of a boy with Down Syndrome’s hands, throw it to the ground & demand he come stand with her to pray for his mother.
They lie to the people going into the clinic. They try to get them to go to a “free” clinic that is nearby. I have since learned these are Crisis Pregnancy Centers. These are fake clinics that set up near real clinics or even in a location where the clinic has closed & pretend to be medical professionals that will counsel you on your choices. LIE. They will tell you you’re not pregnant even if you are to try to get you past the date where you can have an abortion. If you refuse their help & leave they will call to harass you. They will mail you baby food to remind you of the baby you “killed”. They will lie about side effects of abortions. Lie, lie, lie.
Where do these fake clinics get their money to operate? One of their biggest donators is the Knights of Columbus. The Knights also regularly go to the clinics to protest & yell at women. DO NOT give any money to the Knights of Columbus. Don’t guy their Tootsie Rolls or go to their pancake breakfasts. They use that money to fund their hate of women & gay rights.
I have been assaulted numerous times at these clinics. By men claiming to be Christians. One man even wears a collar & claims to be a priest at a Catholic Church. These men are holding rosaries as they are grabbing me, shoving me, calling me “fat ass”. Here are some gems these men have said to me.
You’re so ugly no man would ever sexually harass you.
A dog wouldn’t fuck your mother.
It’s too bad your mother didn’t abort you.
So this brings me to the whole point of why I am writing this. I hear all the time that the people who are allegedly just there to pray have a right to be there & they are harmless. NO THEY’RE NOT! This is a form of intimidation. A woman going to the clinic has no idea what this mob of religious nuts are going to do to her. Just like my Mother didn’t want to put me through it all those years ago, I am sure many other women decide they don’t want to go where these people are. It can be very scary. They do not have the right to threaten, scare or harass women. They are not preventing anyone from having an abortion. They don’t change anyone’s mind. Standing out there with their rosaries every week & yelling at women isn’t helping them get into heaven. They are just being bullies. We are not going to take it anymore.
Friends Who March has a sub-group that we call the Pink Angels. This group is dedicated to defending reproductive rights. We do counter protests as well as expose fake clinics. We are going to start targeting the churches, Knights of Columbus & any other group that go to clinics to try to bully women. We welcome new Angels who want to help us to stand against them. You can find us on Facebook.
2018 is a big year. We have the potential to turn our country blue. We need to vote out people like Peter Breen, Dan Lipinski & Peter Roskam who think their religion dictates our laws. You need to vote in every election. The March Primary as well as in November. If you have moved since the last election you need to register. Make sure you sign your ballot just like you signed on your driver’s license. You can vote early or even mail in your vote. If you have any questions about voting or want to join us you can email FriendsWhoMarch@gmail.com.
Remember, it’s your body. It’s your choice. No matter what decision you make, it’s for YOU to make.