# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/161 "2010-04-30T16:01:54Z")
[sigh] Sexlexia… ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/162 "2010-04-30T16:12:40Z")
I love this board. ---
**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 30, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/163 "2010-04-30T16:27:40Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > So you honestly think it’s wussy to get upset when someone tries to prevent you from doing something by forcibly grabbing you? This isn’t an abortion thing to me–it’s a “I don’t want strange people laying hands on me to prevent me from going somewhere” thing. If one of those “Save the Children” people grabbed me to make me hear their spiel, I’d be equally pissed. And I do think it’s weird that you’re more annoyed by the people getting grabbed than by the people doing the grabbing. I did say that the grabbing was over the line. The protesters should be condemned for that. However, that doesn’t let off the hook all those people that are calling it “assault” and “attack”. Come on. That’s stretching things a bit. The mental imagery that the OP invokes, to me, is rude people, not assaulters. Can’t I be annoyed at both? > [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > More social support programs and more flat out charity to the poor would be a better way of reducing abortions in those situations. But the anti-abortion movement seems to think it’s a better use of their time to scream insults at women rather than volunteer at low-cost day care centers or build homes. Bullshit. You know what demographic makes up most of the protesters? Catholics. You know what demographic is known for its charity? Catholics. You can criticize the Church for many things, but the amount of volunteer work, ministry to the poor, and home-building sure ain’t one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/164 "2010-04-30T16:31:24Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Bullshit. You know what demographic makes up most of the protesters? Catholics. You know what demographic is known for its charity? Catholics. What other children’s issues are Catholics known for? Hmmm… I mean, if we’re going to give whole groups credit or blame for the actions of some of their members, let’s not stop short. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/165 "2010-04-30T16:37:37Z")
Members vs. priests here. Not a valid comparison. What \*is \*valid to point out is that there’s no way to tell if the annoying-clinic-protesting people intersect with the clinic-protesting Catholics intersect with the other-related-volunteer-work Catholics. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/166 "2010-04-30T16:41:36Z")
Kinda gives you a whole new perspective on why they’re anti-abortion to begin with. ---
**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 30, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/167 "2010-04-30T17:06:19Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Members vs. priests here. Not a valid comparison. > > What \*is \*valid to point out is that there’s no way to tell if the annoying-clinic-protesting people intersect with the clinic-protesting Catholics intersect with the other-related-volunteer-work Catholics. They don’t have to intersect for my point to stand. Presumably, both groups are pro-life. The charge was that “anti-abortioners stand in front of clinics and harrass people instead of doing charity”. This statement is false, since a sizeable group of anti-abortioners actually DO do a lot of charity. Now, you _could_ say that protesters don’t do charity (in which case I’d have to prove intersection), but that wasn’t the claim that was stated. Although I’ve known a few Catholic clinic protesters and, believe me, they do a lot of charity too. And **Bryan** , I can’t believe I have to point this out, but clerical pedophilia has nothing to do with pro-life movements. You’re _ad hominem_-ing all over the place. ---
**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 30, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/168 "2010-04-30T17:28:57Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I did say that the grabbing was over the line. The protesters should be condemned for that. However, that doesn’t let off the hook all those people that are calling it “assault” and “attack”. Come on. That’s stretching things a bit. The mental imagery that the OP invokes, to me, is rude people, not assaulters. > > Can’t I be annoyed at both? I don’t see why thinking that a hysterical person, in a group with other hysterical, frenzied people, yelling at me and then putting hands on me isn’t an assault. Doctors have been killed by so called pro-lifers for performing abortions. I don’t think it’s so out of line to consider being grabbed by one of these people a threat or an assault. I do think it’s bizarre to be annoyed at someone for being frightened enough to perceive it as what it is: a threat. They’re not grabbing you because they’re afraid you’re going to fall or because you dropped your wallet–they’re doing it to intimidate. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/169 "2010-04-30T18:05:19Z")
I would like to see a site that most of the anti-abortion protestors are Roman Catholic and that Catholics do that much charity (as opposed to missionary). I’m in the South where there are large numbers of fundie-christian anti-abortion protestors. Our local anti-abortion fascist leader is a Baptist minister and at most anti-abortion rallies the predominate bumper stickers are for Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin. Plenty of the anti-abortion movement does nothing for the poor while voting against every social program conceivable. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/170 "2010-04-30T18:10:13Z")
Chessic Sense, imagine there’s a large group of screaming people blocking the entrance to the gun store, trying to prevent you from entering, to the point of grabbing your arm. Pissed yet? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/171 "2010-04-30T18:11:42Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > I prefer “anti-abortion” and “abortion-rights”. I prefer “none of my business”. What you do with your body or your life is none of my business. I have no right to tell you whether to have a kid or not to. I know nothing of your circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![little\_bit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@little\_bit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/little_bit)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/172 "2010-04-30T18:39:51Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > Chessic Sense, imagine there’s a large group of screaming people blocking the entrance to the gun store, trying to prevent you from entering, to the point of grabbing your arm. Pissed yet? I totally have a girl-crush on **DianaG**. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/173 "2010-04-30T18:52:25Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > I prefer “none of my business”. What you do with your body or your life is none of my business. I have no right to tell you whether to have a kid or not to. I know nothing of your circumstances. So, what, if you \*did \*know her circumstances, that would give you a right to determine whether or not she could get an abortion? I’m sure that’s not what you meant, but the phrasing is questionable at best. ---
**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 30, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/174 "2010-04-30T19:00:02Z")
I think he meant he’s not judging because he doesn’t know their circumstances. You’re really going out of your way to take offense in this thread, **Shot From Guns.** ---
**Author:** ![luvrbcs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@luvrbcs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luvrbcs)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/175 "2010-04-30T19:03:47Z")
> [@Sue\_White](#): > > I’m 5 1/2 months pregnant and I so want to do this, but I’m afraid it’ll cause more trouble/danger than it’s worth from any overzealous protesters. I also thought it would be darkly funny to walk the gauntlet of protesters and say, “Hey! I was just coming here for some pamphlets for a friend but that’s it! The baby gets it! You just caused an abortion biotches”… > I am not a well person… I’ve always wanted to get some friends together, set up some lawn chairs by the protesters and while munching on popcorn, verbally abuse the protesters like we were commenting on a movie. Pointing and heckling and laughing, having a good ole time. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/176 "2010-04-30T19:04:06Z")
@ **Cat Whisperer** Exactly. When you’re not judging \*\*\*because \*\*\*you don’t know their circumstances, that pretty much implies that you \*\*\*could \*\*\*judge \*\*\*if \*\*\*you knew their circumstances. Which isn’t a very pro-choicy attitude to have. IMO, you should have the right to abort a pregnancy even if you’re just doing it for shits ‘n’ giggles. Even if you just got pregnant on purpose for the express purpose of getting an abortion. That doesn’t mean I can’t consequently consider you as a disgusting person, but it in no way gives me the right to remove that control from you. Is what I’m getting at. It was a valid question, and I straight-out said that I was pretty sure it wasn’t what he meant. Why are your panties all up in a wad? And how am I “going out of my way to take offense in this thread”? ---
**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 30, 2010, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/177 "2010-04-30T19:10:11Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > I prefer “none of my business”. What you do with your body or your life is none of my business. I have no right to tell you whether to have a kid or not to. I know nothing of your circumstances. See, _this right here_ is the entire reason that this thread annoys me so much. Gonzo should just have posted “Hey, just so you guys know, I’m part of the club. Pat me on the head, please”, just like the OP. > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I don’t see why thinking that a hysterical person, in a group with other hysterical, frenzied people, yelling at me and then putting hands on me isn’t an assault. Doctors have been killed by so called pro-lifers for performing abortions. I don’t think it’s so out of line to consider being grabbed by one of these people a threat or an assault. I do think it’s bizarre to be annoyed at someone for being frightened enough to perceive it as what it is: a threat. They’re not grabbing you because they’re afraid you’re going to fall or because you dropped your wallet–they’re doing it to intimidate. Let me throw [this](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8076906.stm)out there. Namely, this part: > [@](#): > > According to data gathered by the National Abortion Federation, a pro-choice group, there had been at least eight killings in anti-abortion protests, 17 attempted murders and 400 death threats. So, yeah, it is bizarre to interpret someone going “Please, for the love of God, stop and listen to me!” as being threatening or assaulting. These protesters rarely actually commit violent acts. I’d bet money that this woman wasn’t trying to intimidate the pregnant lady. Does that make it OK? No. But it does make an idiot out of everyone in this thread that’s going “She was attacked! Call the cops!” > [@DianaG](#): > > Chessic Sense, imagine there’s a large group of screaming people blocking the entrance to the gun store, trying to prevent you from entering, to the point of grabbing your arm. Pissed yet? That’s not an equal comparison. A protest at a gun shop would be a rare sight. As it is, crossing a protest line to get an abortion is to be expected. If I came to the Pit and wrote “Hey, guys that all agree with me, today something totally typical and unsurprising happened. People that disagree with us were mildly rude to this other person!”, I would hope any right-minded person would mock me for it. > [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > I would like to see a site that most of the anti-abortion protestors are Roman Catholic and that Catholics do that much charity (as opposed to missionary). The first seems hard to find, but I found [this](http://www.jstor.org/stable/3511762?seq=4). Unfortunately, they don’t separate “Fundamentalists” (which they define as basically Baptist) from Catholics. But they do find a .11 correlation coefficient with the religion and pro-life membership. Not great, but it’s some evidence nonetheless. I’ll oblige your second request [here](http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1715). Look at the “At a Glance” pdf, linked to in the first section. Looks like the charities that participated in the survey helped 8.5 million people in 2008. ---
**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 30, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/178 "2010-04-30T19:13:56Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > So, yeah, it is bizarre to interpret someone going “Please, for the love of God, stop and listen to me!” as being threatening or assaulting. These protesters rarely actually commit violent acts. I’d bet money that this woman wasn’t trying to intimidate the pregnant lady. Does that make it OK? No. But it does make an idiot out of everyone in this thread that’s going “She was attacked! Call the cops!” Actually, I said ‘Snap her arm off’, but, y’know, no big. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/179 "2010-04-30T19:51:20Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I think he meant he’s not judging because he doesn’t know their circumstances. You’re really going out of your way to take offense in this thread, **Shot From Guns.** You don’t know the 1/2 half of it. ---
**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 30, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-asshole-anti-abortion-protestor-i-do-not-want-her-to-have-an-abortion/537624/180 "2010-04-30T19:52:21Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > So, yeah, it is bizarre to interpret someone going “Please, for the love of God, stop and listen to me!” as being threatening or assaulting. These protesters rarely actually commit violent acts. I’d bet money that this woman wasn’t trying to intimidate the pregnant lady. Does that make it OK? No. But it does make an idiot out of everyone in this thread that’s going “She was attacked! Call the cops!” Oh, well, only four hundred death threats. I’m relieved. And they are trying to intimidate. They’re trying to intimidate women into not aborting. There are ways to peacefully get your message across. They probably won’t be heeded, but getting up in someone’s grill when they’re in a vulnerable time IS intimidation. Either the pro lifers are so stupid that they don’t think grabbing and screaming is intimidating in which case someone should probably dangle a cookie in front of them and throw it so they go running off into the distance, or they actually are trying to control what women do with their bodies. Either way, if a screaming protester lays hands on me, no matter what their cause is, I’m calling the police. They have the right to assemble peaceably and they just messed up the peaceably part. [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=8) [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=10)