I'm still not sorry

I did come across very angrily in that post, and that's because the anti-choice group on campus upset me. They brought graphic images onto quad (a central area of campus that is impossible to avoid), which violates the student code in multiple ways, and the university allowed it. To make matters worse- this happened during pride week, thus taking attention away from a really important event. So there was a counter-protest, and it was full of positivity, pride flags, and "I support you" posters. We even had some anti-choicers &/or christians in the group because they thought the graphic display was THAT inappropriate. And it was, and the president of the group cried about how we were engaging in a criminal act- which, we absolutely were not. This group has tried to make themselves into innocent victims all year and the students are just having none of it and it makes me SO PROUD.

This group has, to date,
1) Used LGBT terminology to push their message (prompting messages that said using that terminology to block access to medical care wasn't okay)
2) Put inflammatory messages ("I REGRET MY ABORTION: abortion does hurt women" instead of, you know, abortion CAN hurt women, because yeah, they can regret it, especially if the anti-choice people around them try to make them feel guilty....) on their posters
3) Violated the poster guidelines by
a) putting more than one poster per event on each board, and
b) posting on private boards (e.g. some in biosci which are for the use of people working there ONLY)
4) Violated the student code of conduct by
a) disseminating malicious material (posters, as well as pamphlets which said "pro choice" and "reproductive justice" on the front and were then full of those horrible fake abortion images on the inside-- no trigger warnings for those!)
b) creating an unsafe space (discriminating against women who have had an abortion, are considering one, or who have miscarried, or people who are just sensitive to gore) (not to mention the pride parade went THROUGH quad, so if not for the counter protest, the parade (which has children in it) would have had to see those images)

The group is saying that we are obstructing their right to free speech. We say no, we had every right to be there, as much as they did. As for being inflammatory ourselves, you want to know what my sign said? It said "I SUPPORT YOU" with hearts on it, along with a pride flag with the words "HAPPY PRIDE WEEK" below it. Intimidating and scary, I know.
The other thing this group is complaining about is that "people need to confront the truth" and then they proceed to put up images of what abortion doesn't look like. You can't force people to confront difficult issues- you can't. Furthermore, you can't create an unsafe work/study environment that prevents the full participation of everyone by placing gory, triggering images in the most central area of school.
Also, if they want to "confront the truth" in this manner, I could bring in some pictures of perforated uteruses for them to look at, because that's what happens when you criminalize abortion.

Things I do not like that the pro-choice group has done
1) Tore down the posters

Things I like that the pro-choice group has done
1) Put up response posters next to all the anti-choice ones (a MUCH better idea IMO)
2) Protested to make campus a safe space for all
3) Allowed the pride parade to proceed through quad safely
4) Warned people about the misleading pamphlets
5) Written the dean in vast numbers to complain that this display is a total violation of the student code of conduct
6) Showed that our campus is one of support, choice, and CORRECT sexual health information that will allow women to make whatever choice about their bodies they feel is best- whether that is abortion, adoption, or parenthood, all of which are equally acceptable and OK

To be clear: this group has every right to exist on campus, as much as that bothers me. They can have their events, have meetings, discuss this issue if they want. That's great. But the difference between their other events and this one is that this one required a trigger warning, which should kind of mean that the display shouldn't be public in the first place if I'm not mistaken.

But what really pisses me off is the university administration's response. They've been totally useless chickenshits and I am beyond disappointed with them for not telling this group to do one of the following:
1) Have their event, but without graphic images and harassing slogans
2) Have their event, but in a tent or classroom where people can consent to seeing the images
3) Most importantly, MOVE THE EVENT SO IT ISN'T DURING PRIDE WEEK. They said they just "didn't know" despite the fact that pride week is the same week every year and a fairly well advertised event on campus... I'm gonna call bullshit on that one.

And at the end of the day, what matters is that every woman can make the choice for herself. Any anti-choice/pro-life woman facing an unwanted pregnancy should feel like she can get help raising the child (childcare! housing! help out of abuse situations!) or feel like giving it up for adoption truly will mean a better life for that child. I absolutely support the right of women to have their children and raise them or give them up for adoption. These are both great choices! But so is abortion, for some women. Some women have issues that mean pregnancy would be incredibly dangerous- even more so than pregnancy already is (pregnancy is seriously incredibly dangerous, don't even get me started on childbirth), and sometimes, things happen that mean the fetus wouldn't survive long outside the womb or the woman won't survive the pregnancy (ectopic pregnancy, for example). Because of these examples and the simple fact of bodily autonomy and control (we don't FORCE people to donate blood or organs, even after they are DEAD), abortion needs to be safe and legal, regardless of whether you would choose it for yourself or not. At the end of the day, it is not your place to make decisions about anyone's body except your own. Your body belongs to you, but only your body.

All in all: I'm not sorry for having the opinion I do, even though it might put me at risk since anti-choice groups have been known to murder people before, despite calling themselves pro-"life." I think my opinion is well supported by facts and evidence, as well as on philosophical and moral grounds. I am pro choice, and proudly so. Women should have choices and be supported no matter what choice they make, and nobody should be pregnant when they don't want to be.

yer pal,
swegan.