# No, you asshole anti-abortion protestor. I do not want her to have an abortion@ **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 28, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624 "2010-04-28T14:31:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/21 "2010-04-28T17:29:34Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Leaving open the possibility of the woman screaming “I’m going for a pap smear, bitch!” and then waving photos of a cervix with cancer in the protester’s face. > . IME, they would not believe you. Thank you for what you did, **Annie**. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/22 "2010-04-28T17:36:35Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > IME, they would not believe you. > > Thank you for what you did, **Annie**. I doubt they’d believe me, too, since I’m a guy. . ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/23 "2010-04-28T17:42:45Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > It also provides low cost birth control. You know, the thing that hopefully lets you avoid unwanted pregnancy and thus abortion! I’m thinking some subset of the protestors are anti-BC as well. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/24 "2010-04-28T17:49:53Z")
I never really got the outrage over abortion protesters. Okay, so the touching is crossing a line, but jeez, have you people never been lied to before? Never been insulted? Are your egos so fragile that someone yelling “She wants you have an abortion!” ruins your whole frickin’ day? For your lame pitting of a Doper favorite target, I award you 22 Doper points. Congratulations, that’s enough for a Creative Loafing travel mug! Assault? Really? Christ…:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/25 "2010-04-28T17:56:28Z")
I stumbled upon (and forgot the name of) a blog written by a clinic escort. Their job is to help the people get into the clinic without being grabbed, shoved or otherwise treated rudely by the protesters. Some of the protester’s tactics are just terrible. The issue is, if someone is going for an abortion, they have already been through some difficult and deep thoughts. The outrage is about the protesters who won’t leave these people alone to make a difficult decision and then they try to make access to a legal procedure more difficult than it needs to be. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/26 "2010-04-28T17:59:04Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Assault? Really? Christ…:rolleyes: Legally, yes it is. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t make it not so. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/27 "2010-04-28T18:07:10Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I never really got the outrage over abortion protesters. Okay, so the touching is crossing a line, but jeez, have you people never been lied to before? Never been insulted? Are your egos so fragile that someone yelling “She wants you have an abortion!” ruins your whole frickin’ day? > > For your lame pitting of a Doper favorite target, I award you 22 Doper points. Congratulations, that’s enough for a Creative Loafing travel mug! > > Assault? Really? Christ…:rolleyes: I know at least one close female friend who would have snapped off the protester’s hand at the wrist. Which would have been funny later. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/28 "2010-04-28T18:12:30Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I never really got the outrage over abortion protesters. Okay, so the touching is crossing a line, but jeez, have you people never been lied to before? Never been insulted? Are your egos so fragile that someone yelling “She wants you have an abortion!” ruins your whole frickin’ day? If I’m a 15 year old girl going into Planned Parenthood for whatever personal reason that may be, yes. Yes, they can be that delicate. It isn’t easy for folks to just walk right into a clinic, especially when people are outside screaming and judging them. I remember being terrified going in as a teen because of the protesters yelling at me. Now, I don’t give a fuck and find it funny, but these things effect the more delicate among us (often teens) different than us big mouthed adults. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/29 "2010-04-28T18:18:20Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I never really got the outrage over abortion protesters. Okay, so the touching is crossing a line, but jeez, have you people never been lied to before? There are all sorts of lies. The anti-abortion rights movement’s lies are dangerous to the mental and physical health of women, so yes, a certain amount of outrage is justified. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/30 "2010-04-28T18:20:46Z")
How is unwanted touching _not_ assault? And yes, I get that if a stranger grabs my shoulder and says, “Hey, you dropped this,” it’s not assault, so let’s not go into all the cases where someone might touch me without asking where it’s not assault. When someone is screaming at you and then takes it upon themselves to touch you, that is assault and it’s certainly a threatening action. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/31 "2010-04-28T18:21:30Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I never really got the outrage over abortion protesters. Okay, so the touching is crossing a line, but jeez, have you people never been lied to before? Never been insulted? Are your egos so fragile that someone yelling “She wants you have an abortion!” ruins your whole frickin’ day? **Chessic** , I get the sense that you would not even cross a line to go into McDonalds. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/32 "2010-04-28T18:43:49Z")
I’m not generally in favor of open carry laws, but perhaps they would be useful in this situation. Perhaps the morons would show a bit more respect for a woman going into PP if she was carrying. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/33 "2010-04-28T18:45:47Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > I’m thinking some subset of the protestors are anti-BC as well. Definitely. There was article in the Times Magazine about how the religious right, which includes Catholics, was already setting up for an attack on birth control, spewing out some lies about health impacts etc. If they ever succeed in eliminating a woman’s right to choose, that is next. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/34 "2010-04-28T18:50:02Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I’m not generally in favor of open carry laws, but perhaps they would be useful in this situation. Perhaps the morons would show a bit more respect for a woman going into PP if she was carrying. That would be priceless. You’d want to wear a poncho, though, cause both liberal and conservative heads would be 'sploding. ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/35 "2010-04-28T18:51:48Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > But I am mad at the pro-life protesters because my children go on the school bus near a ‘women’s health’ clinic and have to regularly see those bloody pictures of mangled fetuses. The little guy in Kindergarten is greatly distressed by them. My granddaughter as well has to pass these awful signs on her way to school. It makes me so mad. It’s really hard to not react when I drive past them, but I know that only feeds their smug persecution complex so I ignore them. Gaahh! I used Planned Parenthood when I was young and poor. I’ve never needed an abortion, much thanks to them for that. With those signs I always wonder how they impact on women who’ve miscarried. My mother and daughter each have done, and those signs make me furious. They have no decency and no right. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/36 "2010-04-28T19:02:45Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > I won’t call myself pro-life or pro-choice, as I think both labels are stupid and self serving. Sorry, what’s wrong with the “pro-choice” label? > [@niblet\_head](#): > > I always like to point out that not wanting to have an abortion and not agreeing with it are one of the choices that pro-choice people should support. People are always shocked when I say this. Who is shocked? A woman I know has always been strongly pro-choice. When she found herself with an unplanned pregnancy, she _chose_ to have the child. No conflict. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/37 "2010-04-28T19:03:57Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > How is unwanted touching _not_ assault? And yes, I get that if a stranger grabs my shoulder and says, “Hey, you dropped this,” it’s not assault, so let’s not go into all the cases where someone might touch me without asking where it’s not assault. When someone is screaming at you and then takes it upon themselves to touch you, that is assault and it’s certainly a threatening action. Absolutely. Context is everything, and people (and judges) get that. In this context, of a young woman crossing a picket line, the grabbing her arm was way over the line, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the protestors had been warned not to do that, because there are any number of lawyers who would love to make an example of them and make this a Big Deal. After reading this thread, I had to google to see if there was a Planned Parenthood office in Calgary - I never hear anything about protests there. We did have a protest at our local university a little while ago, where students were showing graphic pictures of abortions on campus. They were told to turn their signs in so the graphic pictures weren’t showing to the public. ETA: In searching for a local Planned Parenthood, I came across [this site for a local clinic.](http://www.kensingtonclinic.com/resources.php) Those are some good resources there, it looks like. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/38 "2010-04-28T19:32:06Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > The anti-abortion rights movement’s lies are dangerous to the mental and physical health of women See, that’s just it though. They’re not dangerous. They’re easily cast aside. Easily ignored. Easily refuted. No threat whatsoever. > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > How is unwanted touching _not_ assault? And yes, I get that if a stranger grabs my shoulder and says, “Hey, you dropped this,” it’s not assault, so let’s not go into all the cases where someone might touch me without asking where it’s not assault. When someone is screaming at you and then takes it upon themselves to touch you, that is assault and it’s certainly a threatening action. Because if you called the cops and said “She assaulted me!” and then told the cop (truthfully) what happened, they’d go “Seriously? You called me for _that_? Excuse me, I have real work to do.” From the OP, it sounds like the touching was more of a “Hey, stop and listen to me,” not a “I’m going to hurt you now” gesture. So it gets downgraded in my book from criminal to rude. > [@Duke](#): > > **Chessic** , I get the sense that you would not even cross a line to go into McDonalds. I have no idea what that means. I’m trying to imagine a scenario where I’d have to cross some line in order to go to McDonald’s. I mean, other than a picket line, which wouldn’t make sense in this context. Consequently, you’re right. I’ll do just about anything to not have to eat at McD’s. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/39 "2010-04-28T19:40:01Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > I absolutely support your choice to not have an abortion. I don’t support your mistaken notion that you have the right to choose for me. See, that’s what I’m saying. But most people when I tell them I’m pro-choice, are shocked and suprised that it’s perfectly ok with me if you don’t believe in abortion or that you couldn’t do it yourself. It’s even more shocking when I tell them I can understand why they believe life begins at conception. I don’t judge if you believe differently. But I do judge if you actively work to misinform and take choice away. People think pro-choice means I think there is only one acceptable belief about abortion. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/40 "2010-04-28T19:42:58Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I never really got the outrage over abortion protesters. Okay, so the touching is crossing a line, but jeez, have you people never been lied to before? Never been insulted? Are your egos so fragile that someone yelling “She wants you have an abortion!” ruins your whole frickin’ day? > > For your lame pitting of a Doper favorite target, I award you 22 Doper points. Congratulations, that’s enough for a Creative Loafing travel mug! > > Assault? Really? Christ…:rolleyes: If I’m a rape victim going in for an abortion, and I have people screaming at me, grabbing at me? Hell ya!!! You’re never going to have to experience an unwanted pregnancy, so what the FUCK do you know about it? So shut the fuck already. But then, remember people, this is a guy who thinks it’s okay to mock a mentally unstable kid and can’t understand WHY everyone was so disgusted. :rolleyes: (IIRC, he claims to be proud to have no sense of compassion or empathy) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624.md?page=3)