Columbia Right to Life is protesting against abortion on the Steps:
Update, 2:20pm: We’ve updated the post indicating that the group was Columbia Right to Life.
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Bwog Staff on
Apr 08, 2010 
88 Comments
Columbia Right to Life is protesting against abortion on the Steps:
Update, 2:20pm: We’ve updated the post indicating that the group was Columbia Right to Life.
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88 Comments
@Anonymous I know few will read this and it will probably change no one’s mind. Maybe one if I’m lucky. But I need to make a few things clear:
1) Not all people who are morally opposed to abortion are conservatives. In fact not all people who are morally opposed to abortion believe it should be illegal, since all of us in the prolife movement do not necessarily agree on what the State is, or should be. Only in the isolated world of Columbia would it be “obvious” that prolifers are all politically conservative. I personally think abortion is one of the deepest and most hidden evils in our society but I am vary wary of saying that means its the government’s job to ban it. Interestingly, the Right to Life rally was not about the legality debate. It was about the personal experiences of women who have HAD abortions. You cannot tell them that their experience is invalid. These are women who have cried over their lost children, gone sleepless night after night, and suffered from severe depression because of something the pro-choice movement would have us believe is a routine medical procedure. As human beings, even if you disagree with their ultimate stance on abortion, you have to acknowledge that these women are not crazy, are not deluded and that their pain is real.
2) Although it is not the only issue at stake, the question of whether a fetus is a human being is central to the abortion debate. There is nothing religious, nothing conservative, nothing “fundamentalist” about the basic truth that we do not know when an embryo becomes human. The hour before a baby is born we know it is a human being because babies are born prematurely all the time. No one, I mean no one, would watch someone reach into a pregnant woman and dismember a baby that is an hour away from birth without the deepest horror. Okay so that’s one end of the spectrum. On the other end we have a sperm and an egg, not yet joined, just two gametes. Definitely not a human being. So sometime between A and B it becomes a human being, and therefore gains the right to not be killed. Do you really know in your heart of hearts when that happens? Can you point to the moment and say “There! the humaness just entered”. If you cannot, you need to seriously think about the possibility that the fetus became a human before the abortionist injected it with poison and sucked it out with a vacuum tube. The argument that it becomes a human being when it can survive on its own is totally false in that that age gets younger and younger as medical science improves. And that means that a baby that would have died in 1950 at 22 weeks could possibly survive at 22 weeks in 2010. But developmentally they are exactly the same, so whenever they became human did not change, only our ability to save them. And if we define human by some certain set of abilities or qualities, we are going to exclude people who are already born. The deaf, dumb and blind are human, therefore our senses do not make us human. The paralytic, retarded and comatose are human, therefore it is not movement, reason or even consciousness that makes us human. Those on life support, those who need organ donation, or an even better example, congentially joined (siamese) twins rely on another for their survival and would die without the support of another’s body. So it is not some set of abilities, even the ability to survive on our own, that makes us human.
3) As a feminist I believe that abortion is ultimately our society’s failure to serve women. Perhaps the young college elite may feel differently, but statistically the vast majority of women who have abortions believe they are doing something wrong, but that it is a lesser evil than what they perceive as a loss of their own life and self. More importantly, most women who have abortions say that they would not have had one if they had the money, the work benefits, and the family support that they should. I think we can all agree that no woman should be forced to have an abortion from lack of support. More than that, the question of a human life should never ever come down to money. There is no amount worth a person. Also, post abortion syndrome, whose symptoms include depression, insomnia, recurring nightmares, eating disorders, obsessive replay of the abortion, uncontrollable weeping and emotional numbness is real and documented and can occur years, even decades after the abortion. This is the experience of many of America’s women and it should be our collective shame.
4) If anyone reading this had an abortion, or is a man whose partner had an abortion, you should know that there are resources out there for you. Silent No More, which is actually the group that was on the steps has good resources. Ramah International may be another place to start but there are many organizations our there (including some that are not at all religious) with different focuses because there are literally millions of women in this country dealing with the aftermath of their abortion.
5) If by some chance you are reading this and are considering an abortion, know that there are resources for you too. In New York City the Sisters of Life are an excellent resource. Though they are, of course, themselves religious (being nuns) I know them personally and can promise that they never never never force religion or even bring it up at all unless you do first, and that they are some of the kindest and least judgemental people you will ever meet. They currently work with more than 600 women in this city a year, so you know they’re doing something right. They are not just a hotline but will meet all your needs, physical and logistical and emotional. They also have post-abortive healing retreats.
@anonymous these people had a lot of courage. i am unsure of how ethical abortion is and in private conversations, I have trouble expressing simple fears that our policies on abortion maybe flawed.
as for bwog’s comment about “scary conservatives,” i hope they meant it in the way i would expect them to: making fun of the uncomfortable feelings we all have in approaching these polemical topics.
like most online forums, there was such stupid, offensive, prejudiced shit written. for my own sake, i have to believe that pro lifers, pro choicers, those who protested, and those who wrote in this forum with sober opinions all have good intentions.
@did i miss something? since when are there abortions on the steps? where have i been!?
@i missed it too i want one!
@fetuses are not babies Why do people insist fetuses are human. Yes, they have human DNA, but they don’t have the capacity to think or reason nor can early babies live outside the womb without the mother. It is inside a mothers body, physically attached which means it is an appendage of the mother until birth is given. Yes, certain standards should be made in that after a certain term the baby is viable and could potentially be given birth to and survive, but early term babies range from a few undifferentiated cells to a mass of tissues vaguely resembling a human, but is mostly similar to the stages of development in other animals. Abortions are only legal in the early stages of a pregnancy. The only way one can consider a fetus a human in its early stages if you are under the belief that we receive our souls at conception which, unfortunately is a question within the spiritual realm that is irrelevant to laws within the American legal system. The United States Supreme Court has ruled abortions legal due to a woman’s right to privacy in the US constitution. As a fetus is not scientifically a human, it will not be treated as one if it is aborted. It is not murder, please refer to the biology before you give it that term.
@nurr Why do these loud annoying things start at noon when most people are in classes that go ’til 12:15?
@ugh Okay, pro-choice here, but really feeling kinda skeezed out by these “POTENTIAL CRIMELORD” babies. What? Seriously? Way to prejudice, people. Awesome job.
And here I was thinking the prime reason to support choice was to support a woman’s right to do what she will with her own goddamn body.
@Anonymous if the fetus is fully human, than it is a separate body inside of the woman’s body…. you should argue why you think the fetus isn’t human, as otherwise the fact it is located within the mother wouldn’t show why it is ok to murder a fetus
@Anonymous Having seen your comment above and been just about to respond to it – AWESOME. Hi. Thanks for coming by.
First, why don’t you tell me why you think a fetus IS human?
@limits Out of curiosity, do you think abortion should be illegal under all circumstances?
@Ok then If the fetus is fully human and is a separate body inside a woman, then the fetus is a parasite. This is not a point I would usually bring up because it sounds kind of ridiculous, but a fetus basically steals nutrients and oxygen from a woman’s body. It affects the way her systems function, it causes her a significant amount of pain and discomfort, and it reduces her energy. And since a fetus can’t survive outside the mother until a certain point pretty far into the pregnancy (usually somewhere between 22 and 28 weeks), it is an obligate parasite. I think that in and of itself ruins your argument about it being fully human, but we’ll ignore that. Pregnancy is pretty rough on your body. Why did so many women die in childbirth before modern medicine? Therefore, from the standpoint of the woman, pregnancy is a biological disadvantage (and I am not talking about propagating the species, just about the effect it has directly on the woman). I just don’t think it’s unreasonable for a woman to say that she doesn’t want to play host to a parasite for 9 months.
@excuse me, My body
My voice
Don’t take away my choice!
@bc2011 I believe it is a good thing that abortion is legal. Its would be the STUPIDEST thing to make it illegal again because you know what? No matter what your opinion is abortions are gonna happen whether you like them or not and also they will happen whether or not it’s legal to get one.
Because alot of people don’t want babies when they find out they’re gonna have one. Or they believe that they can’t take care of it. Or maybe they think something selfish like my body is gonna get ruined. idk. BUT my point is abortions will still happen.
I’m not saying I like abortions. I like to believe no one likes the idea of abortion but think about it logically. It is a smart thing to have them legalized because I would prefer, if I ever needed one or someone I know needed one, that they be performed by a professional doctor that knew what he was doing in a nice doctor’s office, instead of some random person sticking something up there in my living room.
It’s great you want more life on this planet but you know you gotta feed, clothe and raise those lives and people just can’t afford it. Not to mention all the stuff you gotta do while you’re pregnant cuz that’s expensive too.
Yes it’s a shame a potential person dies but that potential person could’ve ended up being a criminal.
@Anonymous we outlaw murder with the full knowledge murders will still occur….we outlaw burglary when we know full well burglaries will still occur..
this is the argument that makes the LEAST sense to me. Yes, people break laws- thats not a reason not to implement the law in the first place. If you’re going to be prochoice, at least argue why you think the fetus isn’t actually human…. these bullshit arguments are so weak
@Anonymous Eugenics is awesome.
We wouldn’t want to have potential Barnard retards now, would we?………
@lol wow, your use of “retard” as an insult really makes it seem like you DO support eugenics.
disgusting :)
@Anon shut up barnard.
@Stay on your side of B'way Well I guess Barnard at least teaches feminism with a touch of eugenics..
@bc2011 you all are ridiculous. but keep hating on barnard it just shows how weak you are.
Anyway, a fetus isnt a human. It fully depends on the mother. I consider it a human when it is able to do bodily functions on its own.
As for it being murder, really? How come its ok to kill people for the crimes they did? That’s murder too. I would fully understand if you were against all types of murder like the Catholic church which is against both abortion and the death penalty.
You act as if Pro-choice people like abortions. NO ONE likes the idea of an abortion. They choose to get one because they believe it’s the best choice for them.
If you aren’t pro-choice, then don’t get an abortion but don’t restrict anyone else’s options.
@Anonymous several economists have called out steven levitt on his pop-science bullshit, especially concerning his abortion argument. he’s a hack.
@cha I dislike all protests…no matter what the message is. They’re pointless and don’t offer any solution.
I was lucky enough to pass the steps when some lady was speaking and then a group of shirtless guys ran through. Everyone cheered and then it was back to laying about.
@anon The people of Kyrgyzstan would like to have a word with you.
@cha Should I have clarified that I was referring to protests in America (not freaking revolts)? Dinky little college protests are not equal to that.
@shut up you damn CC people with too much time on your hands.
for all those anti-abortion people, read Freakonomics:
abortion = babies that would’ve been born to neglectful parents and that would’ve been born to slums or ‘da streets would not have been born = lower crime rates.
by allowing mothers to have abortions, you’re decreasing the risk of your future children being murdered.
@Anonymous if you believe that this is actually a good thing, then you’d certainly support the mass murder of the all those in poverty, as they commit more crimes proportionally than the wealthy?
This kind of reasoning is really dangerous….just because one group may be more likely to commit a crime doesn’t mean it’s good if we murder the entire group. I don’t even have to say abortion is murder for your logic to be exposed as dangerous.
@not him/her but, no, I wouldn’t support the mass murder of the poor, I’d support proper sex education throughout the nation and free condoms and cheaper birth control to try and prevent any of this in the first place.
@OH SHIT OMG SOMEONE PROTESTED SOMETHING
SO OFFENSIVE
IT’S A BARRAGE OF THEIR VIEWS
Holy fuck, grow some thicker skin. Has it ever occurred to you how conservatives must feel on this campus with all of the protesting? I’m pretty moderate and open, but if people want to nonviolently hold signs in a public place, what difference does it make to you? Yes, this goes both ways. There are things protested here all the time that I disagree with, and maybe even find offensive, but fuck, whatever. It’s the real world. People see things differently than you do. Deal with it. Open your mind a little.
@lol if people want to nonviolently comment on a blog, what difference does does it make to you?
maybe YOU need thicker skin. “people are mean on the internet! BAWWWWW”
@Oh I don’t have a problem with them making those comments, that’s the thing. I just think more debates would go somewhere other than “I’m right you’re wrong” if people weren’t so quick to get pissed or offended. I’ve had discussions with people with opposite views, and if we just listened to what the other person had to say and tried to understand why they were saying it, we actually got somewhere and found some common ground. I’ve tried to do the same thing with people who share my views, or almost the same views, and gotten no where because they get all emotional and offended that someone disagrees with them, whereas in the first case, we still disagreed, but respected how we each felt and tried to figure out where we could go with the common ground we found to maybe, say, reach somewhat of a compromise. It felt good, bro.
Also, touche’
Last but not least, my captcha is “miscarry”
@I think we should all gather on Low and have a candle vigil for all the persecuted conservatives on campus. Poor persecuted conservatives with hurt feelings. And you thought fetuses had the problems….
@ugh I wasn’t trying to get anyone to feel bad for conservatives. Oh well, my fault for not making it clear.
@Anonymous Abortion = murder. Murder is a crime.
@lol actually, abortion is legal
@See, it's that kind of shit... …that makes people think that pro-lifer’s are ignorant fucks.
Murder is defined as “the unlawful, premeditated murder of one human being by another”.
Beyond the blurry defnition of human being at play here…if it’s lawful; it ain’t murder. Just like capital punishment, war casualities, an officier opening fire, etc. aren’t murder.
You goddamn idiot. You shame conservatives everywhere.
@I love debating abortion Very few things get educated people to spew personal insults like this issue does.
Also, way to use the word in a definition. Maybe you’d like to correct that?
@Yeah Nice use of circular logic.
@Bob Dole Abortions for all.
[crowd boos]
Very well, no abortions for anyone.
[crowd boos]
Hmm… Abortions for some, miniature American flags for others.
[crowd cheers and waves miniature flags]
@Kang That you for the classic Simpsons reference.
@alum Oh my god, thank you so much for stating your view that “Abortion = murder. Murder is a crime.” Because of your outstanding eloquence, I have just changed my view to mirror yours! Wait.. it doesn’t work that way?
Idiot.
@Anonymous i like how you assume by stating her view, she was making her most reasoned argument to change your mind. Asssuredly, this makes her an idiot, for if she was smart she would write every argument she had against abortion.
Or maybe this is a comments section on a website, and she didn’t have time to write her thesis on abortion.
You may be an alum, but you’re definitely pretentious.
@Logically then as abortion is murder, women who have any abortion in any circumstance are committing murder. Apparently murder is a crime in this socialist hellhole of a country too. Therefore, those women should be given the electric chair to think about what they did.
Anyone else for making abortion a thought crime?
@Even more logically To build on that, if abortion = murder, then wouldn’t miscarriage = manslaughter? Are we going to start hauling all women who miscarry into court? Sounds like a great plan to me.
@Utah beat you to it http://jezebel.com/5479032/the-next-anti+choice-target-miscarriage
@WHAAAA? I am actually speechless. That was supposed to be an example of a “this would never happen” kind of thing. How could it actually happen? Although I guess nothing Utah does should really surprise me.
@nobody important this campaign offended me, I don’t want to have to walk to class under a barrage of their views and honestly I believe they are wrong. Leave me alone!
@yes i agree!
i also find it annoying that their campaign posters claimed to speak for ALL women and ALL men who have dealt with abortions. i know many women who do not regret their abortions at all. if only they were there to yell at these assholes. i hope some people did.
@Anonymous why such anger? theyre assholes for putting forth a point of view supported by a ton of americans? you know those women were ones who had HAD abortions and regretted it, right? Why can’t they express their point of view from experience?
Surest sign someone is on shaky ground is when they try to stifle all opposition speech
@lol why didn’t they carry signs that said “*I* regret abortion”, then, instead of “women regret abortion”?
I’m a woman, and they sure as hell don’t speak for me, though they appear to be claiming to! so i’ll stand by my decision to call them assholes :)
@lol also, from your other posts, you seem to have no problem with abortion being equated to murder.
so, therefore, you should really try to get these protesters (who “have had abortions”) sent to jail.
TO JAIL WITH THE MURDERERS!!!!!
@I'm pro-choice and offended by your comment. Being ‘subjected’ to other people’s views is the way to promote healthy discourse. You think they’re wrong? Tell them so (respectfully). But don’t tell them that they shouldn’t be there just because they disagree with you. You have to be able to think of a better reason than that.
@40s? Weren’t there supposed to be drunk seniors on the steps?
Oh, I see… Very clever, Columbia. Very clever.
@Fabulous lol
@Anonymous Tired of this liberal bullshit… I am pro life and pro gay rights so quit dismissing those who believe that all Americans should be treated equally as conservative extremists, it’s not that simple and it just makes you sound unbelievably ignorant.
I’m glad to see there’s more than one view on this campus.
@“it’s a poverty that a child must die..." You/someone/anyone thinking that a witless poster and pamphlet can “recruit” someone to their side by definition lessens the issue to something “that simple”.
Really, no one is going to change their mind on the matter. Not gonna happen. Be anti-choice, pro-death, or whatever the hell you want but don’t get pissy when people refuse to see your point of view; you’re refusing to see theirs.
(And to claim the moral high ground makes you the bigger douche)
@Anonymous abortion = crime stopper
@Well Better logic than your fuck-tard queen Palin could give. Fuck the Republicans.
@ew fucking gross
i saw we force impregnate all these women and see if theyd just love to have a surprise baby with NO REGRETZ (what are these people, nike?)
@Anonymous “it’s a poverty that a child must die so that you might live as you wish.”
@Anonymouse “It’s also a poverty that I must drop out of college and sell crack to support my unwanted rape baby.”
@“it’s a poverty that a child must die..." ….so I assume you give half of your salary to humanitarian funds each month so they can feed African children too correct?
@I'm lending my voice for those who can’t speak for themselves, why would this not include “African children”?
@lol that’s very nice and all, but unrelated. with an abortion, it’s a fetus that “dies”!
@Anonymous How is “regret” really an effect anti-abortion campaign? They don’t say “don’t kill babies,” they say “people tend to have some regrets about abortion, even though it is generally the best available option to them.” I don’t think anyone ever has an abortion party, except on scrubs where they had to pop all of the fetus balloons.
@surfin' UWS I think it’s a way to guilt the pregnant girl who may have the abortion without telling the guy.
Like a polite “hey skank, this ain’t justyo baby!”
Eh.
@Did that really happen on Scrubs? If so, I need to see that episode immediately.
@Anonymous abortion isn’t the best available option in the same way that robbery isn’t the best available option for someone who’s impoverished- you can’t violate someone else’s rights. if it can be proven that a fetus is human, than all the circumstantial bullshit everyone else uses to defend abortion doesnt matter. so all the people saying they didn’t want to be poor with a child- listen, we don’t let people kill their children once born. The ONLY debate that can be occurring is whether or not a fetus is fully human (pretty easy to prove scientifically, the only issue is since you can’t “see” the fetus people like to pretend it isn’t human) So disappointed in how close minded prochoice people are on this campus..
P.S. Choice isn’t a value, or if it is, it is by far the lowest of those valued. Many of our laws are designed to restrict personal choice because it violates another’s rights. For example, I can’t choose to rob you without being charged with a crime. If the fetus is human, than an abortion violates its right to life (murder) and therefore should be criminal.
@lol “if it can be proven that a fetus is human”
uh huh. i stopped reading after that. :)
@MEN REGRET LOST FATHERHOOD Nope. I really, really didn’t.
We were stupid kids but not THAT stupid.
@I wish I had the courage to help you guys with those signs
@haha haha, that sign was ridiculous. I want proof
@True Story I got pregnant this summer. I found out when I had a miscarriage. The greatest relief came from knowing I didn’t have to pay $400 for an abortion. ‘Cause that’s what would’ve happened. And had it been born, its dad would be a broke asshole, I would be a broke dropout mom, and it would eventually learn how unwanted it was. Either that, or i’d spend nine months and tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills bonding with it only to forever give it away to some strangers and hope they treated it well.
Talk about regrets. I got doubly lucky: no abortion, and no child’s life to complicate because I believed it was wrong to get an abortion.
@those all seem like arguments to persuade someone against having abortion, but not arguments to ban abortion.
@Anonymous I think targeting the feeling of regret is kinda lame. Shouldn’t that just support an increase in counseling before and after?
@props that took guts
@oh yeah agreed
@and i wouldn’t call it railing… more like futile protest, like all the protests that occur on Low.
@eh I’m more interested in the the bake sale showdown.
(The winner is the table with the ice pops)
@What happened to "scary conservative"? It must be easy to bully bwog
@Well Shoot at sight. Get these Nazis out of Columbia.
@the point Bwog originally tagged this story as “scary conservatives” and then rescinded. What are they scared of?
@Anonymous Do you really believe they’re “scary conservatives”?
Thus, the bwogretraction.
@they weren’t about politics at all… what the hell people
@You. Are. Clueless.
@not my blog Scary conservatives? Personally yes, but Bwog originally must have considered this to be true. Stick to your guns, damn it. Bwog used to be known as a website with bite. Not everyone would agree, and they would bitch on comments. It obviously has nothing to do with me, “anonymous”, it’s not my blog
@Anonymous “anti-abortionists” is the most ridiculous framing of language yet from what i guess i should call “pro-abortionists.”
@Your Method A) Call opposition Nazis to discredit. If A does not work, then B) forcefully remove.
Very sophisticated…
@Your Method A) Use annoying lists to try to make a point B) Also sound like a douche
Very annoying…
@Anonymous To his credit that was really more of a flowchart…