Sometimes they are confusing. Sometimes they make me laugh because they are so ridiculous. Other times, they contradict themselves. Seldom are they good conversation starters and they almost always mask the hurt that comes from past decisions. What am I talking about? I am talking about pro-choice/pro-abortion signs. What do we do when we see these signs? We usually turn to our friends and discuss the sign. Or, if we are alone, we argue with the sign in our head. (When I do this, I start moving my hands and mouth like a crazy person talking to himself. It’s not pretty). So many times I have read their signs and thought, “I don’t think they understand where we are coming from on the issue.” Maybe it’s me that is misunderstanding their point. Personally, I think some are just meant to offend and get us off topic. So, here is what I have decided to do. I am going to give my take, interpretation, reaction to some of the more memorable signs I have seen out there. Let’s see if you’re with me on these.
1. The Hanger
How are women not offended by this sign? Does the pro-choice movement think that women are so stupid that they would really go back to doing this? By all means, DO NOT TRY THIS! We as pro-lifers do not want women to hurt themselves out of desperation. As Christians, it is our role to make every woman feels they have a soft compassionate place to land when they have an unplanned pregnancy. This sign just needs to go.
2. Removing men from the conversation
Why do pro-choicers insist on removing men from the abortion conversation? That is, unless the man supports abortion. Sexist.
3. Guy trying to impress pro-choice women
This one kinda goes along with the above sign. I actually think it’s a little funny. Pointless, but funny. How does one guy tell another guy, “you can’t be a women’s rights expert because you’re not a woman?” When a man is ok with abortion, does that automatically give him a leg up over other men when it comes to women’s rights? I’m not sure I get it.
4. Let’s talk about my sex organs
I don’t want it. I don’t need it. But if you wouldn’t mind using it responsibly…? That would be great. Also, please don’t ask me to pay for anything involving it. (Note: By “it,” I mean your uterus shown in the picture).
5. Raising kids to be pro-choice
No kid has a desire to take the life of another human. Especially not the life of another child. You are essentially raising them to accept a culture of death.There are few things more disturbing than seeing a child that says, “my parents thought it would have been okay to kill me.”
6. Women are people too
Pro-life:
The radical idea that babies are people.
The radical idea that sex is how we procreate and continue as a species.
The radical idea that every man, woman, & child have a right to life from conception to natural death.
The radical idea that you can embrace being a woman, mother, student, career person, leader, and anything thing else you want all at the same time.
Seriously, do you really think we are trying to hold women back? Currently, the majority of the pro-life movement is led by women. So please get a clue and lose the sign.
7. Don’t tell me what to do, but pay for my choices
Here is how I read this one. Most likely, this gal is upset that people do not want tax dollars to pay for her birth control. Now, wouldn’t the government paying for her birth control be inviting us into her bedroom/womb? If we tell her it’s her responsibility to pay for it herself or maybe take responsibility for her reproductive organs, isn’t that staying out of her bedroom/womb? I want nothing to do with your womb. Use it how you like. Just leave me and my tax dollars out of the conversation. When you want to talk about a better way… when you are ready to discuss biology and how your body works, we can talk.
8. But women will die!!
There are tons of different signs that infer that tons of women will die if they can’t have their “safe and legal” abortions. If I may, can I remind everyone of the long list of women that have died in “safe and legal” abortion clinics? Tonya Reaves, Holly Patterson, Jennifer Morbelli, Alexandra Nunez… The list goes on. Make no mistake, there is no such thing as a safe abortion. Especially when you consider that half the people that enter the abortion room don’t come out alive.
9. Not your body…
Ok, I think we can agree here. I am actually worried about both your body AND the body inside of you. The body inside your body is not your body. They are separate bodies. So, if your baby’s body is not your body, then I guess you can’t choose to kill him/her. This might help.
10. You are underestimating yourself
I am pretty sure you can raise a child. Somehow, you have convinced yourself that you aren’t ready or not good enough or have too much going on… I don’t know why you think you can’t be a parent. And if you really think you can’t parent your child, then there are thousands of families who would love to accept your child into their home.
11. Cancer screenings…or something
Why would I want to take away your cancer screenings? Of course I want you to get cancer screenings. Please, go take care of yourself. But why do you need to get them at abortion clinics? Why do you think Planned Parenthood is the be all end all of women’s health care? They can’t even do all the screenings you might need. They will just send you to a real doctor…because by the way, Planned Parenthood doesn’t have any doctors on staff, except for the doctors who are paid to kill your baby. Just ask my wife.
12. The Classic
This sign is here to stay. No matter how ridiculous and pointless it is, this sign will show up anywhere people are rallying about abortion. Frankly, this one cracks me up. My rosary has never been anywhere near an ovary. Your ovaries are 100% yours and your responsibility. That doesn’t mean I can’t tell you not to murder an unborn baby. Just saying. At least it sort of rhymes.
It is necessary to reaffirm our solid opposition to any direct offense against life, especially when innocent and defenseless, and the unborn child in its mother’s womb is the quintessence of innocence. Let us remember the words of Vatican Council II: ‘Therefore from the moment of its conception life must be guarded with the greatest care while abortion and infanticide are unspeakable crimes.’
–Pope Francis
Lol yes. The last one.
Sad that we as a society embrace decadence as a right. It still amazes me how a mother could chose to kill their own child and be fine with it.
This is the most embarrassing article I’ve ever seen anybody write and I read an article about a tech dude bragging about how he didn’t shit for a week yesterday. Can the author seriously not interpret things in figurative sense, or do they only give the benefit of the doubt to people who want to eliminate cheap healthcare for women and force people to go through life-endangering births to stillborn fetuses?
Read the signs. The crowd is not supporting “cheap healthcare” but abortion. And the one sign that does refer to healthcare (don’t take away my cancer screening) is lacking awareness. Planned Parenthood’s abortion affiliates do not conduct cancer screening (i.e., mammograms). That’s PP’s “mammo-myth.”
No one, let me repeat that, NO ONE is forced to “go through life-endangering [child]births.” This is 21st century America where one may be FORCED to conduct same-sex marriage ceremony against his will, or FORCED to accept that there’s a store selling pot in her neighborhood or FORCED to change our family’s health insurance. But as far as I can tell, no one is FORCING childbirth on anyone. We are however forcing human beings into becoming “stillborn fetuses.” But hey, at least someone is profiting from harvesting their organs.
Planned Parenthood uses zero public funding for abortion services, only private donations. Simply because Planned Parenthood has separate facilities for check-ups and cancer screenings (which poor people would otherwise be unable to afford in our current medical system) doesn’t mean… anything, really.
In South America, anti-choice legislation is forcing a twelve-year-old girl who was raped by her uncle to give birth, which will likely kill her and, if it doesn’t, will permanently stunt her growth, all to allegedly ‘protect’ a fetus that is unlikely to survive to birth. Anti-choice activists don’t care about people, they only care about controlling women’s bodies and punishing them for imagined crimes.
“Anti-choice activists don’t care about people.”
Anti-choose-to-kill-a-person activists actually *do* care about people. It’s why we’re pro-life.
Also, to reiterate one of the paragraphs in the article, why why WHY do people always claim that PP is the *ONLY* health care choice for low income individuals? Where’s the proof? It’s ridiculous to ignore the services offered by community health centers, health departments, and other non-profits that actually provide, you know…care.
Then why do you value stillborn fetuses over the women who carry them, and why do you deny women bodily autonomy?
And Planned Parenthood literally is often the only option for poor people because healthcare in America is outrageously expensive and is treated as a luxery. Planned Parenthood is the only organization that consistently provides affordable care for sexual health throughout the nation.
Besides, if you don’t like abortion, then you should *love* Planned Parenthood, because they prevent a hundred times more unwanted pregnancies than they terminate.
“Then why do you value stillborn fetuses over the women who carry them”
I don’t. I value every. single. life. Period.
” Planned Parenthood literally is often the only option for poor people”
100% false. I’m tired of this bogus fact being thrown around, because it is patently false. Demonstrate to me where in the US PP is the only option for low income families to receive care. Because the thing is this: PP only refers out for much of their “services.” Logically, this means that there is another organization within that community that actually offers those services.
“healthcare in America is outrageously expensive and is treated as a luxery”
I don’t disagree. But wasn’t Obamacare supposed to fix this? Anyway, Community Health Centers run on a sliding scale. You pay what you can afford. There are other non-profits that offer healthcare for FREE if you can’t afford to pay. But think about what $55 million could do for agencies that actually provide care. It’s mind-boggling.
It’s all the same bank account and the same facilities. When My wife worked for PP, yes family planning and abortion services had separate addresses. But all the mail came through the same door and all the services happened under the same roof. You have decided to believe some very pretty lies.
Then I can complain about the federal government funding religious organizations for any and all services outsourced because that money is going to proselytizing.
Then I can complain about tax exempt churches because I am unwittingly paying for proselytizing.
Now that we’ve got that straightened out–can we get Catholic Charities to return the BILLIONS it receives every year from the federal government? (From the Faith Based Initiatives Office) Over half its revenue?
These are great, but you missed one – the picture of the gal holding a sign that read something to the extent of, “If abortion is murder, then I hope you don’t blow your nose because that’s killing cells too.” There was also a reference to oral sex with the same line of argument. I wish I could find the article but it was hard to believe someone could actually make that claim. If I actually heard someone say that, I’d feel a strong need to hand them a human biology book and say, “I think you missed some key parts in the chapter on reproduction.”
I have seen a twist on the last one in reference to religious liberty: “Keep your ovaries off my rosary”. Interesting to turn it back around. Wonder how well that is received.
For 4. Let’s talk about my sex organs and 12. The Classic, Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa of New Wave Feminists has a devastating response.
Thank you Doug! Excellent responses to foolish pro-choice slogans.
#11, t-shirt to the left says in Spanish, neither saint nor [vulgar word for] prostitute, just women. My take: it doesn’t take a saint to save the child in your womb, just the will to do the right thing. And what does prostitution have to do with this issue??
Also the woman in #11 with the Spanish slogan shirt is the same woman in #7 holding the sign. interesting.
Yes, actually I DO think you are trying to legislate women back into the to kitchen with no property or rights of our own. You and the hierarchy of your church pull out all the influence you can buy to pass laws restricting abortion and birth control but vanish when we need help passing laws protecting women’s jobs during maternity or pregnancy leave, ensuring equal pay, protections women against abusive husbands and boyfriends, or anything beyond telling us when and how you think we should have sex. Have you ever moved a finger to get women access to health insurance or do you believe my employer can prohibit me from getting birth control? Do you think it’s okay for my health plan to pay for Viagra but not oral contraceptives?
The Catholic church talks a lot about Mary and Gianna Molla, as though naming buildings after women makes any difference at all in our actual, real lives. Show me you care by doing something about our economic freedom, and please don’t include any stupidities about respecting housewives. Do you believe women have a place in the public world or not.
Though viagra and contraception are really the opposites of each other… one facilitates sex, and the other makes it absolutely meaningless. So yeah, we can support one over the other. However, if you want your insurance to cover drugs to increase female lubrication, that we can support, since it is just like viagra. But viagra and the pill? That’s comparing apples and rocket ships.
It’s a filthy lie that says women can’t be successful unless they’re just like men and don’t have to worry about having children. Women should be out in business, if that’s what they’re called to do, AND be able to follow the laws of the Church in regards to contraception. The answer to empowering women is not to take away part of what makes them women, but to celebrate it even more. I can be a mom and be successful. I can practice abstinence if I need to, because I’m not an animal who needs sex all the time. It’s not that difficult.
So the only way for women to succeed in business is to be single, childless, and abstain from sex? Because without birth control and maternity leave that’s the only possible way. Will your church make it a dogma that no man can ever ask his wife to have sex?
Obviously your dogma allows for the same old tired memes to be tossed around strutting off that old moral and intellectual vigor of yours!
No. We do not even kind of vanish when trying to protect laws that support jobs during maternity leave, equal pay and all that other jazz. At least not the pro-lifers I know. My wife is currently working on taking away parental rights from rapists. Why? because it all fits under the pro-life umbrella. I am a house husband, myself. Maybe it’s time to let go of those old stereo types.
If it’s your choice, then you pay for it.
When religion is no longer tax exempt I will agree with your argument about fungible tax dollars going towards women’s reproductive health.
When insurance companies stop covering ED meds and prostate cancer screenings I will agree with your argument about fungible insurance dollars going towards women’s reproductive health.
Abortion is the killing of a human being, it’s not contraceptive. This has nothing to do with denying women health services.
As for religion being taxed, I agree because while many churches and other religious groups might have to close down, they will then be free to support a candidate for office by name. I not sure you’re ready for that. The separation of Church and State is a gag order.
The separation of church and state is a gag order—sure—and I’ve got a bridge to sell you.
I had a feeling you wouldn’t understand.
Only one church has lost tax exempt status since 1954.
The CC in Portland Maine bundled more than $500K in 2009 as part of an election ban of SSM.
The Mormon Church spent at least $190K on Prop 8.
Both are still tax exempt. Both are still for-profit organizations.
Churches can take a stand on issues, they can’t endorse a candidate from the pulpit or financially. That’s the gag. What’s more dangerous to a candidate?
Yeah–the gag is working (wink, wink). We have NOOOOOOOOO idea which candidate the church is telling the sheep to vote for
There are characteristics of good and of evil, people fall into one or the other, so there is no need to name names.
#1 is the biggest lie. It has been fabricated, and it is the PRO-ABORTION clan that is responsible for planting the idea in girls heads. It is their fault it has been tried, many, many years after Roe V. Wade. https://prolifeaction.org/hotline/2011/coathanger/
Want to know what is truly lame? The battle over abortion when the anti-abortion side is so frequently against the two things shown to actually limit unwanted pregnancy–comprehensive sex education and easy access to cheap birth control.
The real issue for you isn’t abortion. It isn’t “the babies”. This is about wanting to control other people’s actions.