What interview questions should I ask an abortion clinic escort?
The other day I received an interview request from Jessica at High on Quacks, who described her self as “pro-choice” right up front.
Jessica wrote she wanted to interview me in part because I have written about the particular abortion clinic at which she is an escort, what we pro-lifers call a “deathscort.”
Jessica reassured me, however, this didn’t mean she was an “extremist.” In fact, she said, she is not. She said she is, rather, an “anthropology/history/religious studies student and fascinated by macro subjects of social interactions.” That, and because she is “an aspiring blogger,” Elizabeth thought interviewing me “would be a great way of getting the mindset of so many people’s worldview about the issue of abortion and life.”
I liked Jessica’s boldness and that she came right to the source. Since Jessica promised to run my interview uncut, I thought this would also afford me a great opportunity to reach out to the other side.
In addition, I thought this opened the door to turn around and interview an abortion worker. As I explained to Jessica, I’m fascinated by her culture and always eager to learn its inner workings.
Jessica agreed. She is currently seeking interview questions from her people, and I’m doing the same. What questions would you like me to ask her?
[Photo via NYCsocialist.org]
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
Has she ever seen an abortion on an ultrasound?
Since access to the front door is amost never physically blocked, what does she perceive her main function to be?
Has she ever reviewed the literature that is distributed by pro-life sidewalk counselors? Has she found it to be offensive, inacurate or harmful in some way?
I guess a good start would be,
So what made you decide to become an escort?
Why are you pro-choice/abortion?
Does she realize that she escorts women to the (violent) death of their child and a procedure that affects their fertility, psychological/emotional health, etc.?
I recently read on an abortion center’s own website the following statement: “I wish we could take away the guilt our patients have about having an abortion. We try to reinforce the wisdom of a woman’s choice not to have a child when she’s not ready for the huge responsibility of parenthood.”
What’s her take on this quote? When she escorts women who are ambivalent and/or guilty, does she “reinforce” the abortion decision?
This may be a bit too philosophical, but I’d be interested in her response to the following thought experiment.
You live in a dictatorship run by an eccentric despot. One day he sends his chief of police to tell you he’s giving you a choice. Here’s the deal. The next nine months you have to carry a backpack, into which up to about thirty pounds of sand will be deposited, day by day; you’re going to be given a few drugs to make you nauseous, with mild psycho-active effects, some positive, some negative; you’re going to have to stop work at some point for a few months; at the end of nine months you can take off the backpack but you have to run a marathon in bare feet, and there’s a small chance there’s a killer bear somewhere on the course.
But after you’ve run the marathon you’re free, and also at that time the despot will do whatever is necessary to make a married couple of your acquaintance supremely happy.
That’s what you have to do.
There’s only one way he’s going to let you out of this deal.
Here’s locked refrigerator standing by a swimming pool. Inside that refrigerator is either a side of beef, or a person. If you push the refrigerator into the pool and walk away, then he’s letting you off the whole business with the backpack and the marathon and everything, and you just go back to your normal life.
What do you do?
How sure do you have to be that it’s just a side of beef and not a person?
Maybe it’s not your fault, and you did nothing, or very little, to provoke the despot to treat you this way.
But this IS now your situation. How sure are you that it’s not a person?
What internal reaction does she have to people who come back for multiple abortions?
Does she really think that all the people seeking free abortions under the ‘rape’ category were forcibly raped? Does she think the clinic should report these ‘rapes’? If not, why not?
Does she think the women who were too drunk/high to legally consent to sex should qualify for free abortions under the ‘rape’ category on the medicaid form? If yes, then should she qualify repeatedly?
Would it be just as easy for her to volunteer at a late-term abortion provider as a clinic that only does early-term procedures? Why?
Has she ever witnessed a woman being harrassed or verbally abused by anti-abortion protesters? Does she think it’s a common occurence?
Has she ever reviewed the literature that is distributed by pro-life sidewalk counselors? Has she found it to be offensive, inaccurate or harmful in some way?
Would it be just as easy for her to volunteer at a late-term abortion provider as a clinic that only does early-term procedures? Why?
Has she ever witnessed a woman being harrassed or verbally abused by anti-abortion protesters? Does she think it’s a common occurence?
I second all of those questions.
Where does the unborn child get his/her value?
If you’re so pro-choice how come you try to get between the woman having the abortion and the people with helpful information?
I would ask her if she is troubled by the fact that so many abortions are coerced? Up to 64% according to sources:
http://www.theunchoice.com/coerced.htm
Thanks!
**What is the youngest perceived age of a female you escorted into a clinic for an abortion?
**Are you there to watch these women leaving after the abortion?
**If it really is all about giving women a choice (& by choice, I mean an EDUCATED choice, because without information, there is only manipulation…not “choice”), why do escorts routinely prevent women from receiving information from the pro-lifers…either not allowing them to physically take the materials, shouting or talking directly in the ear of the woman to prevent her from hearing the offers of help & fetal development info etc…& prevent the woman from having an opportunity to change her mind? I have personally witnessed a woman sitting in their cars (thinking? reconsidering?) & the escort physically removing her & “escorting” her by the arm into the clinic.
**If a woman confided in you prior to exiting her vehicle or on the walk to the clinic that she felt she had to have an abortion…that she had no choice but to make this choice, what would you do personally to give her alternatives to abortion so she would feel she has a real choice? Would you stop right there & try to get more info? Maybe leave work (& risk getting fired)& take her out for coffee to discuss it further? Suggest she think it over & give her self some more time? Maybe give her the numbers for some assistance? Or tell her everything will be OK & keep on walking till she is in the building?
**What do you think the reaction of your bosses would be if you helped an abortion minded woman who was arriving at the clinic for an abortion, but who was not “sure” or who felt she had no choice…to choose life? Either to raise her baby or place for adoption instead of having her scheduled abortion?
If she honestly knew someone coming in for an abortion wanted the child, but lacked the resources, would she direct them to resources whether they be CPCs or Government programs?
Is she aware of new evidence, including studies published in academic medical journals indicating:
1) most women report feeling rushed or uncertain, yet nearly 67% get no counseling … that most (not all, not some, but most) abortions are unwanted or coerced? (http://www.theunchoice.com/whateveryamerican.htm)
2) that forced abortions are happening here? (evidence: http://www.theunchoice.com/coerced.htm Forced Abortion in America fact sheet, flyer & 22-page report, plus stats on coercion in America.)
3) That coercion, though common, is illegal even under current laws? (See Center Against Forced Abortion for letters warning coercers and abortionists of this (http://www.txjf.org/pages.asp?pageid=99931)
4) That coercion takes many forms & comes from all sides, and can escalate, to blackmail, loss of home, family, job or even life, often when women most need but are not getting support?
5) That over half feel rushed/uncertain, yet 67% receive NO counseling, 72% not told about alternatives, 84% felt they were not given enough information to make an informed choice? (Citations: http://www.theunchoice.com/whateveryamerican.htm)
6) That post-abortion “complications” range from life-threatening immediate health issues to infertility, future miscarriages, or death. That maternal death rates are nearly 4 times higher among women who abort? (Sources: http://www.theunchoice.com/unsafedeath.htm including downloadable fact sheets)
7) That a clinic guard in Massachusetts testified under oath that men routinely wait outside to ensure that women keep their scheduled appointments?
8) That there are many resources and people willing to help women, but women and couples seeking help – often at a time of crisis or coercion – are often not informed about this or may even be told that no help is available.
9) That suicide rates post-abortion are significantly higher? http://www.theunchoice.com/suicide.htm and families are affected, too.
10) That there are better ways and that women deserve better.
Resources and sources, including books about post-abortion heartbreak and trauma – well-established in medical literature and very real to women deceptively sold, coerced, falsely informed or rushed. (See Giving Sorrow Words) and more: http://www.theunchoice.com)
She appears to be an “intellectual” type, so I would ask her if she ever thinks about the human remains that go out with the trash.
Dear Jill:
I was reading some pro-life articles from 1990 last night.
We must do things God’s way. There is no other way.
She is created in the image and likeness of God.
We are commanded to love one another as our Heavenly Father loves His only begotten Son, and as the Son loves us.
Show her a beautiful, traditional crucifix.
Explain to her that we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus.
We must pray for the grace and strength to be able to do this.
And as God is Love, so we must, because we are made in the image and likeness of God Who is Love, lay down our lives for others.
So we promote virginity outside of marriage, and are always open to new life within marriage, and God gives new life as a gift, which can not be manufactured, or taken.
Would she please come and inquire of the fullness of the Truth, which is found only in the Catholic Church, and be turned back to God, and have everlasting life.
She is a lost soul, and we are sent to tell her the Truth is a Somebody, not a something.
I am praying for her, please tell her, to turn back to her Creator, and Savior, and be filled with the Holy Spirit, and live the mission of love God has placed her on this earth to accomplish.
Tell her we know what she seeks-seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be given unto you.
Thank you, Jill, for speaking to her the Truth. We are all called to share the Truth when called upon, and we have no control over what is done with what we share about the Truth.
Tell her your interview with her will be watching “BloodMoney” together and discussing the movie.
Thank you for doing God’s work!
God bless you!
+JMJ+Love+Jeanne+
Ask her if her family worries about her safety every single day?
Ask her where she gets the courage to volunteer to protect women’s rights and anonymity while being threatened and worried that some anti-choice person wants to do her harm?
Ask her if she has seen the pictures of the bombed clinics or the bloody pictures of Dr. Tillers murder?
Ask her if she worries that she will see her picture and address on an anti-choice “Wanted” poster?
Ask her if she is afraid she will not survive the type of “Love” anti-choice groups have shown clinics in the past?
Ask her if she thinks one groups set of moral’s and laws should be applied to all Americans across the board like maybe Sharia Law?
Ask her if she would like anti-choice protesters to mind their own business?
How did you come to believe that abortion is beneficial to women?
How do you reconcile this with the anguish that many women — even strongly prochoice women — experience after their abortions?
Many women report being referred for abortions by doctors, only to learn later that there were other options available that they would have chosen had they been aware of them. How would you propose to address this?
Psychological studies, and doctors’ experiences, have indicated that ambivalence and even a desire to abort are common in early pregnancy, and usually resolve when the woman is given an opportunity to bond with her unborn baby. These women are then very grateful that they didn’t follow through on the desire to abort. What measures do you think would make sure that women are informed that the desire to abort often resolves on its own?
My question for her, and for any others who support a woman’s ‘right’ to choose to kill her unborn baby is similar to Joshua’s ‘thought experiment described above: I would like to know at what point, what day of the pregnancy does she believe the baby becomes a human being. Obviously, to support women in this act so strongly that she willingly spends some of her time acting as an escort must mean that she is completely certain in her mind that she is not supporting the murder of a child. So, since she obviously does NOT believe this, would she define precisely on what day of the pregnancy she believes the baby becomes human and therefore worthy of protection from harm. Is it on day 28? Day 56? Day 280? Day 140? And, at what exact moment of that day does the baby become human? Is it at the beginning of the day, at the stroke of midnight? Or, at noon? 6 PM? 1:43 PM?
Please ask her to clearly define and articulate on what day and at what moment does the ‘fetus’ become a baby, and, how did she arrive at her belief.
Thank you, Jill, for all you do.
Show her the pictures of the bombed clinics and Dr. Tiller’s blood , and then show her a picture of the baby bodies in the trash. Ask her to multiple the latter by 4,000. Then, and only THEN, ask her about courage and love and “anti-choice.”
With the exception of Biggz, thanks for so many thoughtful questions. They’re excellent. Keep them coming.
Is a child that is born prematurely a person or a “blog of tissue” as many pro-abortion advocates call it?
How does she feel about Abby Johnson’s flight from PP?
Ask if she knows where she’s going when she dies.
ask her how long she has done this, and what information the clinic told her about the sidewalk counselors. In her experience – does what the clinics told her about those counselors match what she hears/sees herself?
Also – ask her if there were ways to help pregnant women, short of abortion, would she be willing to help women that way? Does she hear the information the abortion providers say/give to women planning an abortion? does it include those items to help women, short of an abortion?
Has she read Abby Johnson’s book? What does her abortion provider say about Abby Johnson and her book?
If there was a plantation in town – would she escort blacks to that so they could be made slaves? Why or why not? If there was a place in town who harmed children – would she escort them in – why or why not? Has she seen the GAP project and what does she think about that.
Basically – does she live a life that has unity of conviction in all circumstances – if she does not help others kill/maim/hurt/ weaker humans, why does she make the exception here?
Ask her if she has ever had an abortion.
Ask her if she approves of sex selection abortions.
Are any of the women you escort happy to see you?
“Tell her your interview with her will be watching “BloodMoney” together and discussing the movie.”
I like this idea. Another good one would be “The Abortion Providers.”
Anita
Regarding the picture of the person in the vest: “Pro-choice Clinic Escort” is rather redundant, don’t you think? I don’t think any pro-lifers are going to be escorting a woman INTO an abortion clinic. And to have that ridiculous, angry “slogan” right on the vest “Abortion on demand and without apology”….that may actually work AGAINST them. It may just give a woman pause to see the words “on demand”. I mean, no matter how much you (think) you “need” an abortion, I can’t imagine anybody marching in to an abortion clinic and demanding “I want an abortion..NOW!”
Just my thoughts…
Does she support the choice to give birth?
Does she support that choice for women in college, women on drugs, women carrying disabled children, women carrying children who will die shortly after birth, and women who already have 19 children? How about Nadya Suleman’s choice? Does she support women who choose adoption (either as a birth mother or an adoptive mother)?
If not, how is that being pro-choice?
Does she support sex-selective abortion? Abortion based on race (for example, a woman aborting her baby because the father is black)? If there were a gay gene, would she support abortion based on probable sexual orientation? How about aborting kids with the fat gene?
What are the reasons behind her support for these things? If she doesn’t support these, what would she do if (say) a woman she was escorting said she was aborting her daughter because her husband wanted a son? What would she think if a mother had insisted her 14-year-old daughter abort or she’d be on the street? How would she react to and support a woman who was ambivalent, who did not want to abort, or who changed her mind on the way in? (I know others mentioned this, but it definitely needs to be in there!)
Does she want a family one day? If so, does she think the experience of pregnancy would change her views on abortion? How would she feel if she or a friend miscarried a wanted baby? Has she ever lost a friend or been estranged from family due to her pro-choice-to-have-a-baby-dismembered view?
How does she feel about taxpayer funding of abortion? Would her feelings be the same about funding a CPC that used only facts she agreed with but encouraged moms to choose life? Does she feel doctors who don’t want to perform abortions should be forced to if no doctor can be found who is willing? Does she feel pro-life women have a right to medical providers who share their beliefs?
Since she is pro-choice, how does she help make sure that women have access to the choices of adoption and parenting? Has she personally adopted any children or helped a woman parent, or is abortion the only choice she actively supports?
And I must second the idea that, for the sake of her soul, you share the Gospel. Perhaps start by asking about her religious beliefs, comment on any similarities to your own and any noble sentiments, and point out how your beliefs differ.
God bless you Jill.
Ask her if she has ever tried asking God if this is what He wants her to do.
Have her sit with you silently in front of the Blessed Sacrament for an hour. Then take her to a friendly lunch.
Anita
Ask her if she truly is pro-choice and not pro-abortion then what is it that she fears the patient will hear from the pro-lifers. If their goal, which they have stated often, is to reduce abortion then you would think they would be happy to have a woman decide to give life so I never have understood why they don’t want them to talk to “the other side.”
http://www.shoutingitloud.com
I would like to know if there was ever a time that she felt differently about the destruction of human life within the womb and if so, whether her sensitivities about the issue hardened over time or if she heard a specific message that made a switch turn on and caused her to believe these women should be allowed and even assisted (by her) to kill their unborn children.
I’d also like to know if she thinks that her beliefs were affected by her university studies and I’d like to know what she believed before she was impacted by liberal professors. I’d like to know whether or not she perceives the world differently in light of her studies or really believes and always has that unborn children are not valuable in any way until a certain date (or maybe never).
I’d really like to know why she chose to be an escort. Abby Johnson chose to help because she wanted to REDUCE the number of abortions and instead ended up discovering that the goal was not to reduce them but to increase them in an effort to increase revenue. Her initial interest had noble intent, and I applaud her decision — not an easy one — to leave once she learned she had been misinformed or that the goals had changed.
Deanna, I think the standard line is that pro-lifers tell women lies. Some of the lies are not things we say, and some of what they say are lies is the truth. Or, if they are poorly informed, they may think that pro-lifers will be abusive toward a woman about to choose abortion.
For the record, I use paragraphing, but the site eats it.
One more: I know so many infertile Catholic bloggers who are ready and waiting (sometimes years) to adopt any baby, any race, any situation. They are in stable, wonderful marriages with lovely homes and hearts full of love. Does she ever encourage these ladies to think about an adoption plan instead of abortion?
I don’t know what happened to my question. It vanished.
So here it is again;
Ask her why if she it really pro-choice and not just pro-abortion what it is that they are afraid the women will hear if the speak to the pro-lifers. They say often that their goal is to see the number of abortions reduced so you would think that they would be happy if a patient speaks to a pro-lifer and she changes her mind and decides to give the baby life.
I’d like to know if she’s bothered by the profit motive of the clinic. There is definitely a vested monetary interest for them in the woman going ahead with the abortion. Does that bother her at all?
I’m curious what her benefits are as an escort? Because I know that the one escort at the local clinic I pray at volunteers to be an escort. I didn’t know if all escorts are volunteers as well.
Does she feel as misunderstood by us as we know we are misunderstood by her? And would she be willing to sit and discuss some of these difficulties in communication and trust with me for a book I’m writing? : )
Biggz: I suggest that you visit SecularProLife.org — abortion is not a religious issue, it’s a human rights issue.
If she thinks that fetuses are babies @ a certain age then ask her to think scientifically & logically and ask her what the product is at the end of a normal human pregnancy(a live human baby). When she answers ask that if that is the product, didn’t it start off as a human baby from conception, after all if you plant a tomato seed and it grows won’t you therefore expect the plant to produce tomatoes and not green beans?
And if she pulls out that fetuses aren’t aware or sentient until whatever age she tells you, ask her if it is possible that no one has yet invented a device that can show the brain waves of a human that small, because we haven’t always had microscopes but does that mean that there weren’t germs before people saw them through microscopes?
Ask her how many woman smile and are happy while she is escorting them into the clinic.
Ask her what the difference is between an abortionist and a serial killer.
Most imortantly ask her if she knows where she is going to spend the rest of eternity.
Can she honestly say that she is there for the woman after the procedure, or are her services only used to get the woman in the building?
How does she feel about the fact that abortion clinics make money off of the procedure?
Does she see fertility as a vital and integral part of womanhood, not something to be suppressed and destroyed, but something to be celebrated and cherished?
I love LIFERs questions! ALso I would ask her has she ever had a real conversation w/women who have been harmed physically or mentally by their abortion? I find most hard core pro-choicers have not.
And I love Megan’s ?: Does she feel misunderstood by us as we know we are by her. I would add “Why do u think most pro-lifers are pro-life and not just personally opposed to abortion? ” and “why are u pro-choice and why are u an escort?”.
COURTNAY great post. :)
Does she believe in God?
If what is growing inside a woman is not a plant, fish, bug or other animal, and is indeed a human being, does she see the hypocrisy in calling for an end to war but insisting that abortion on demand be kept as the law of the land?
After being fed the line about abortion being “good” for women, why we need escorts in the first place? Shouldn’t the women be clamoring to get in if abortion is indeed such a great thing?
If accepting the choice to meet her own aborted child, what would she say/ask?
I’d also like to know if the same escorts at the front door are on hand to escort all the women who have “botched” abortions to the ambulance as they nearly bleed to death?
Is her understanding of unborn life that of life “under construction” (inaccurate but common) or a life “developing” view? … as expertly described in the link below by Richard Stith, Professor of Law at Valparaiso University.
The misleading and inaccurate “under construction” belief held by many explains a lot of the crossed-wires among debaters.
http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2006/11/stith-arguing-with-pro-choicer
I like lifer’s questions!
I would ask her how she reconciles what she does with biologically accurate photos of unborn children? I wonder if she has ever been pregnant and if so what she thought about abortion when she saw her babies twirling on the screen?
Does she support what CPC’s do since they are the opposite side of the equation when it comes to “choice”? And I second the questions others said to ask… are women happy to see her? When a woman going into the clinic wants to talk to a pro-lifer or take a pamphlet does she allow it?
What would she say to a woman who she escorted for an abortion if she came back a year later and said she was suicidal and regretted what she had done?
Is she an escort at Dr Emily’s???
Has she ever sat down and spoken to women hurt by abortion
Would she be equally as willing to escort a woman out of the abortion clinic if she changed her mind before a scheduled abortion?
What if others in that clinic opposed her taking a prospective client out of their abortion clinic?
Has she ever imagined…just hypothetically “what if” abortion really was what the pro-life side “claims” it is?
Does she really find it profitable to indulge an “interview” with someone who refers to her as a “deathscort” and thinks she’s actively facilitating mass murder?
And does she wear a bulletproof vest?
You know what’s interesting, Joan? Only one clinic escort (who was actually an abortion provider’s bodyguard, technically) has ever been shot at an abortion clinic, and that was in 1994 (a little less than twenty years ago). Statistically, it’s very improbable. Why do you think a bulletproof vest would be necessary?
“Ask if she knows where she’s going when she dies”
*As if there is any question about how Christianity controls the anti-choice movement.
“What would she say to a woman who she escorted for an abortion if she came back a year later and said she was suicidal and regretted what she had done?”
*Simple – advise her to seek professional help. (Not a religiously oriented CPC)
“Ask her if she has ever tried asking God if this is what He wants her to do.
Have her sit with you silently in front of the Blessed Sacrament for an hour. Then take her to a friendly lunch.”
*See answer to first question. BTW, Protestants don’t do “Blessed Sacrament.”
“Would her feelings be the same about funding a CPC that used only facts she agreed with but encouraged moms to choose life?”
*Facts – like telling a client that she’s further along than she is. Like giving Christian religious messages. Facts? NY City put the old kaybosh on that one!!!
“Most imortantly ask her if she knows where she is going to spend the rest of eternity.”
*More Christian stuff that’s totally irrelevent to the situation at hand. Oh, right, she’s going to hell if she “kills” her baby. Puleeze.
“Has she read Abby Johnson’s book”
*OH yeah, real objectivity there. But if she didn’t read the book, she could read articles which reference how Johnson was threatened by the nice “pro-life” folks when she was director of her Planned Parenthood – something she doesn’t talk about now.
“Has she ever sat down and spoken to women hurt by abortion”
*Has she ever spoken to women who have no problem with having had an abortion? (Hint, there are lots)
Sex selection abortions?
*Not my business why you have an abortion. If it’s sex selection, who cares!
“Does she want a family one day?”
*Maybe, maybe not. And if she doesn’t, she will hope that abortion will still be legal.
“Does she ever encourage these ladies to think about an adoption plan instead of abortion?”
*Why? If they want to abort, it’s their business. Why would we encourage women to be brood mares for childless couples?
“I would ask her if she is troubled by the fact that so many abortions are coerced? Up to 64% according to sources”
*LOL – statistics for a “pro-life” website. Perhaps we should ask the “lifers” about coerced childbirth and sabotauged birth control - OH, right – that’s in the service of “life” so it’a all good…
And about asking about pay – how bout asking the “counselors’ (not) who pays them.
”
“How does she feel about the fact that abortion clinics make money off of the procedure?
*How about the reality that Planned Parenthood is a non-profit. Like the anti-abortion Catholic church.
“When she answers ask that if that is the product, didn’t it start off as a human baby from conception, after all if you plant a tomato seed and it grows won’t you therefore expect the plant to produce tomatoes and not green beans.”
*A fetus is not a tomato plant. Neither is a human in the same sense as a post born person. Fetuses are not persons. Don’t take my word for it. It’s the law.
“If there was a plantation in town – would she escort blacks to that so they could be made slaves?”
*A woman, forced to bear children, is no better than a slave. A fetus is not a slave.
“Would it be just as easy for her to volunteer at a late-term abortion provider as a clinic that only does early-term procedures? Why”
*No problem for me except my state doesn’t do late terms.
“Would she please come and inquire of the fullness of the Truth, which is found only in the Catholic Church,”
*Way to bring in non-Catholics! LOL!!!!
“Statistically, it’s very improbable. Why do you think a bulletproof vest would be necessary?”
Stastically, it’s improbable that abortion providers would be murdered – but they were. Statistically, it could be improbable that soldiers at a military base in the US could be attacked – but they still take precautions and that’s why, at our clinic, we have drills about what to do if we are charged by a “pro-life” mob. One of our former directors of Planned Parenthood was stalked by an anti-choice psychopath. You can never be too careful.Those who are motivated by religious zeal can oftentimes be the most dangerous as they think that “God is on my side.” The religious nature of the anti-choice movement underscores the zealotry.
Has anyone died to save her life?
LOL – statistics for a “pro-life” website.
Can you prove that the statistics are incorrect, CC?
Not my business why you have an abortion. If it’s sex selection, who cares!
Interesting. You believe, then, that it’s okay to kill a female purely because she is female? How does that jive with your belief that women aren’t slaves?
A woman, forced to bear children, is no better than a slave. A fetus is not a slave.
Interesting. Do you believe that 100% abortions are due to rape? To my knowledge, the number is less than 1%, and the most women freely chose to engage in the act that creates babies. How does that make a woman a slave, if she freely consents to engage in the act that is meant to create babies?
Also, you might want to read this. The arguments used by abortion advocates are eerily similar to those that were used by pro-slavery advocates.
that’s why, at our clinic, we have drills about what to do if we are charged by a “pro-life” mob.
When has this ever happened? Can you provide a link to a news story about such an event?
I think the probability of terrorist attacks at a military base is MUCH higher than a clinic escort being shot, given that there have been many more terrorist attacks then clinic shootings.
How about we take the top ten questions and put them on national television for viewers to decide, a la American Idol?
\sarc
Can you prove that the statistics are incorrect, CC?
*You are aware that ”primary sources” (and this is hardly that) that hew to an agenda might have some credibility issue. Where exactly do they get their data. When women have an abortion, they don’t, usually disclose, if they are co-ereced. But conversely, maybe we should ask those who have blessed babies if they have been co-erced. Oh, right, they did their womanly duty so it’s all good…
“Interesting. You believe, then, that it’s okay to kill a female purely because she is female? How does that jive with your belief that women aren’t slaves?”
“Also, you might want to read this. The arguments used by abortion advocates are eerily similar to those that were used by pro-slavery advocate”
You might want to read Ta-Nesihi Coates article about how bogus the slavery/abortion connection is.
You can “kill” your fetus for whatever reason you want.
“How does that make a woman a slave, if she freely consents to engage in the act that is meant to create babies?”
If she is denied the opportunity to not take the pregnancy to term, it’s bondage because she is not being allowed to excercise her bodily freedom. Forced birth is not just slavery, it’s rape.
“When has this ever happened? Can you provide a link to a news story about such an event”
Emergency plans, for a potential disaster, look at all the possibilites. But you want some proof? Here it is:
Abortion clinic chief: Protesters blocked door
Cincinnati facility among 3 cited in trial
The Associated Press
DAYTON, Ohio — Abortion protesters rushed a door and blocked entrances at a Cincinnati clinic in July 1997, the director testified Friday in the trial of six demonstrators accused of restricting access to Ohio clinics.
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/1999/09/04/loc_abortion_clinic.html
“that there have been many more terrorist attacks then clinic shootings”
Who would have thought that a crazed shooter would have wreaked havoc at the Holocaust Museum. I mean how many other Jewish museums had the same experience!
“I think the probability of terrorist attacks at a military base is MUCH higher than a clinic escort being shot, given that there have been many more terrorist attacks then clinic shootings.”
How many documented military base shootings in the US have happened? I don’t know how you can, based on the relatively small number of such incidents, pooh-pooh the possibility of an abortion clinic escort being shot, and then make the claim that an attack on a military base has a much higher probability of happening, when there are equally few incidents of military base shootings.
Of course, this is all immaterial. It’s true that a clinic escort is not at an exceptionally high risk for being killed, but that’s almost beside the point. They’re interacting with people who consider them accomplices to murder on a daily basis. Considerations of personal safety should be on their minds at all times.
“They’re interacting with people who consider them accomplices to murder on a daily basis. Considerations of personal safety should be on their minds at all times”
Folks who think that the murder of abortion doctors is just “collateral damage” in the war on women’s reproductive rights. Folks who say that although the murder of abortion doctors is wrong, what the doctors did was even more wrong. And in the minds of the zealots, it’s not just the doctors who are “baby killers” but anybody connected to the clinic.
Ask her what she thinks about the push for stiffer inspections and regulation of abortion clinics that qualify as ambulatory surgical facilities (which is any performing surgical abortions). And whether she opposes these things? And what are her reasons why or why not?
CC — re: 1. <LOL – statistics for a “pro-life” website.> … <Where exactly do they get their data.>
The academic medical journal Medical Science Monitor 10(10): SR5-16 (2004)
From their data: 52%/54% reported that they felt rushed or uncertain, 64% said they felt pressured by others; yet 67% received no counseling, 72% were not informed about alternatives and 84% said they did not receive enough information to make an informed choice
See also: “Forced Abortion in America” report – 22 pages with citations, news reports from mainstream media
See also: Detrimental Effects of Abortion annotated bibliography of academic research http://www.amazon.com/Detrimental-Effects-Abortion-Bibliography-Commentary/dp/0964895706
“Has she read Abby Johnson’s book”
CC responded: “*OH yeah, real objectivity there. But if she didn’t read the book, she could read articles which reference how Johnson was threatened by the nice “pro-life” folks when she was director of her Planned Parenthood – something she doesn’t talk about now.”
CC u are wrong. U obviously haven’t read Abby’s book. I have and within the first couple of chapters she details many unpleasant interactions with pro-lifers. U are incorrect by saying she doesn’t talk about it. In addition to writing in her book, she has also written in other articles about how pro-life people should and should not converse w/clinic workers based on how she felt as a pro-choicer at the time.
And she unlike most pro-choicers has an inside view in how Planned Parenthood operates. So yes she is much more objective than most.
And Joan and CC I think u have very selective memory. U R leaving out some information about the violent attacks made by pro-choicers on pro-lifers. Are u forgetting that a peaceful pro-life demenstrator was shot by a pro-choice who has since been jailed?
I have personally been in fear of pro-choice attacks many times. When I was in my early teens, I used to take 4 or 5 of my young friends to picket in front of our local abortion clinic. The pro-choice ADULTS used to swear at us, spit on us, and even intentionally body slam us. We were obviously kids and they were all adults. So please don’t act like pro-choicers are sweet little angels. They are not.
See? I told you they always comment in tandem yet never address each other.
I would ask her: The president thinks that his grandchildren would be a burden and a punishment to his daughters. Do you think YOU were a burden and a punishment to YOUR mother?
CC says: “Fetuses are not persons. Don’t take my word for it. It’s the law.”
Actually u r right about that. U do know that “person” is a legal term and NOT a medical term. Under the law, a building can be a “person”. So the argument that a fetus is not a person is totally irrelevant. At one point black human beings were not “people” because that was the law. That didn’t change the fact that they were living human beings who deserved equal rights.
CC said: ”A woman, forced to bear children, is no better than a slave. A fetus is not a slave.”
No a fetus is not a slave-even worse. An unborn baby is more like a prisoner on death row who has been executed. Only U r the judge and jury. ANd the baby is completely innocent and has committed no crime. And if people on death row were killed in the same way unborn babies are, people like CC would be screaming from the rooftops about it.
CC said: “*Way to bring in non-Catholics! LOL!!!!”
I wonder if u have the same distain for “Catholics for Free Choice” as u do for Catholic pro-lifers.
I would ask her what she thinks of PASS, and is she familiar with the stories of the women of Silent No More? How did abortion “help” or “liberate” these women? Are their experiences considered as less valid (by the ”choice” community) as the “without apology” post-abortive women? Why?
I second the question someone asked above: Does she stay to escort the women out of the clinic? Where I am, the escorts disperse after all the $ is through the door. They don’t see the tears and pain of the afternoon & can go home patting themselves on the back.
If a woman turned to her and asked to be escorted to a CPC instead, would she take her there? Would she know where to go?
Would she direct her to one of the pro-lifers protesting? If so, why leave two thirds of the choice to people who are your political opponents?
This actually happened to me, in some senses of things. Back in college I worked with a volunteer organization to help students get to the local Planned Parenthood, not solely for abortion but also for access to more general reproductive health services. One woman e-mailed me and told me she thought she was pregnant, but she didn’t feel comfortable going to PP; could I still help her, she wanted to know? I told her that PP would give her a pregnancy test and would also get her a slot when the…social services person was at PP, to apply for state insurance if she wanted to continue the pregnancy. But she didn’t want to go to PP at all. I suppose she didn’t want to support them, but I didn’t ask her to elaborate.
I was ashamed, as someone who proudly called myself pro-choice, for not knowing of local options more broadly supportive of giving birth – I had always just kind of thought that, like, if you wanted to continue the pregnancy, you just…did. The more I thought about it the more horrified I was by my own disregard for the immensely unique support needs a woman wishing not to terminate her pregnancy would face – how could I be pro-choice unless I actively supported access to all choices? I rectified the error of my logic – which meant that I still was actively supportive of PP, but I was also newly active in supporting women who wanted to stay pregnant, too. I got in touch with a local CPC and kept some of their information on hand in addition to the PP stuff. It all changed with one question.
If it hadn’t, would I have really been pro-choice? If Elizabeth was escorting a woman who asked her where the nearest CPC was, would she consider it her responsibility to help the woman get there?
Forced birth is not just slavery, it’s rape.
What behavior did I participate in that caused me to be raped, CC? Way to trivialize real rape victims. Why should I be surprised?
CC, you dismiss my question without answering it.
Let’s suppose that there were a CPC that used absolutely no facts you disagreed with.
They provide women with ultrasounds by a qualified technician, help connect them with resources like food banks and low cost prenatal care, and give out prenatal development information taken straight from a biology textbook. They offer women free baby clothes, cribs, and car seats. They also say, “Please choose to not abort your fetus. We will help you in any way we can.”
If this hypothetical CPC existed, would you be okay with them being funded at the same level as the local Planned Parenthood?
“If Elizabeth was escorting a woman who asked her where the nearest CPC was, would she consider it her responsibility to help the woman get there?”
Why would she see it as her responsibility to do that? An escort’s purpose is to safely escort women into the clinic, not to a completely different place. This is like asking if a parking valet would see it as their responsibility to park your car at the restaurant across the street if you changed your mind and decided you wanted to eat there instead.
btw when i asked what she felt her benefits were i didn’t mean financially. i meant that if she is a volunteer then what is her reasoning for doing it? i simply was unaware if all escorts are volunteers or not, because one of the escorts at the clinic i pray at is a volunteer and i wonder why he does it since i cannot ask him.
as far as the pro-lifers “charging”…whenever they blocked the doors they weren’t causing harm to anyone. and have you heard of all the cases lately of pro-choicers vandalizing pro-life cemeteries? in one of the cemeteries pro-choicers turned all the crosses upside down which is a satanic symbol and poured fake blood on them spelling out the words “pro-choice.” also, at a college campus a pro-life club had a cemetery commemorating the aborted babies. three times pro-choicers pulled up the crosses in the cemetary. one of the three times they spelled out “pro-choice” with the crosses, another of the three times they spelled out “LOL babies” with the crosses. i can’t remember what they spelled out the third time.
also, while praying at an abortion clinic, my friend george was run over (on purpose) by a pro-choicer. he has a HUGE scar going all down the bottom his leg. none of the escorts or anyone working at the clinic did anything to stop the person who ran over his leg. they never even called the cops or anything, but God forbid if a pro-lifer steps ONE foot on the property they get all in our faces about how they will call the cops on us.
More questions for Elizabeth:
What is the unborn child? Is he or she alive? Is he or she a human? Is he or she the offspring of the mother? The answer to these things must be yes. So the pregnant woman is carrying her living human child.
Does she believe that a child has a right to child support?
If a single father is raising a child, and that child’s mother makes more money, should she have to pay child support for her son or daughter?
Why then is the child in the womb not entitled to child support from his or her mother? Parents are forced to have responsibility for their children all the time. We must feed them and clothe them and look after them when they are small, all in addition to not abusing them. Why then may a pregnant woman dismember, evict, and not support her unborn child? Explain how upholding the responsibility for a child she is gestating–requiring that she feed, house, and not dismember him or her–is different from requiring that she contribute to the feeding, clothing, and housing of a born child, and not hurt him or her.
CC,
Please tell me why the statistics cited by unchoice.com aren’t reliable. If you are going to claim they are such, then the burden of proof is on you to prove it. Go to the site, analyze the source of their data, and come back and tell me why you think it is unreliable. Otherwise, I will assume you are choosing to be intellectually dishonest by making spurious claims about data of which you have no knowledge.
If you read the article I linked to, then I will read yours. Did you read it? If so, what did you think of the defenses used by pro-abortionists versus the defenses used by those who were pro-slavery?
A woman has the right to exercise bodily autonomy before and during the sex act in which she chooses to participate. If a someone else’s body is created during the sex act in which she chose to participate, then it becomes an issue of respecting the body she chose to have a hand in creating, whether or not her intent was to do so.
Do you believe that I can kill my 6-year-old daughter or my 14-month old daughter if I decide I only want sons? From your comments I assume that you believe that to be a morally acceptable choice.
Why do you think that females who aren’t born yet deserve to die just because they are female? Do you think that feminists would agree with you that unborn females should die just because of their sex?
Joan/CC: here is a list of terrorist attacks in the United States from 1970-present. As you can see, the number far outweighs that of pro-abortion clinic escorts shot, as well as that of abortion doctors shot.
CC, that was an interesting article from 1997. Is your clinic so afraid of an isolated incident that occurred well over 10 years ago, in which no one was hurt and no one was even arrested (and, in fact, in which the protesters left after being warned), that they have regular drills? Does your clinic also have drills in the event that there is a zombie apocalypse? I’m just curious because it seems the two events have about the same likelihood of occurring.
Joan, you seem to forget that 99.9% of the same protester who see clinic escorts as “accomplices to murder” also believe that willful murder of a fellow human being, even those with whom we disagree, is an intrinsic, grave evil.
Given that there are extremely violent pro-abortion advocates (e.g., Theodore Shulman; Harlan James Drake) do you think that pro-lifers should wear bulletproof vests as well?
1) Does she feel these women going into the clinic are in actual danger from pro life sidewalk counselors?
2) Does she ever second guess that what she is doing is right?
3) How does she feel about late term abortions?
4) Has she ever seen graphic images of dismembered fetuses, does she direguard them as fake?
5) Has anyone not gone through with the abortion, how does she handle that?
6) When does the unborn child become a “baby”?
7) How does she feel about young women who are victims of stagetory rape getting secret abortions and being sent back into the arms of their abusers?
“Joan/CC: here is a list of terrorist attacks in the United States from 1970-present. As you can see, the number far outweighs that of pro-abortion clinic escorts shot, as well as that of abortion doctors shot.”
Except the comparison was between military base shootings and abortion clinic shootings, not domestic terrorist attacks and abortion clinic shootings. If you’re going to try and subjectively redefine any shooting attack on a military base as an act of terrorism, then I could just as easily do the same with any shooting at an abortion clinic.
“Joan, you seem to forget that 99.9% of the same protester who see clinic escorts as “accomplices to murder” also believe that willful murder of a fellow human being, even those with whom we disagree, is an intrinsic, grave evil.”
And what percentage of them also feel that killing someone who facilitates what they see as murder is an act of justifiable homicide and not murder at all? There are more than a few people here who fit that mold, and proudly so. I think it’s safe to say that a not-insignificant number of people who protest abortion clinics also feel that way as well.
Alexandra,
Thank you for your comment. Heartfelt and honest as always!!
I appreciate what you wrote very much as women who don’t feel they have any choice at all but to abort find themselves outside PP.
Yes I also wanted u to know that I appreciated your comments to Alexandra. Very thoughtful and pro-woman.
I am sure my question has already been asked by someone but I really am curious how she deals with the women who are crying, sobbing, holding their stomachs, moaning and some hardly able to walk to their cars after their babies have died. Does she ever get a THANK YOU?? Does she wonder if she is REALLY doing the right thing by these women especially the ones in pain and in obvious distress?
How would she help a woman who told her she was being coerced or forced to abort?
What does she say to a woman who just isn’t sure and hesitates?
Jill,
I would be curious to know why she isn’t working at a battered women’s shelter where she would be lifting women up and clearing their fear and confusion. Has she ever considered that as an alternative?
Why does she not volunteer at a CPC instead, honoring and assisting women who are making a very different choice?
Hey joan –
I agree that the escort would be under no professional obligation to help the woman find a CPC. I’m just curious what she would do anyway, not being obligated; and why; and how those two answers intersect with her reasons for being an escort. It’s a legitimate open-ended question, not a trap. If her reasons for escorting are “to help women,” then it would be interesting if she didn’t make any effort at all to help the woman get to a CPC. If her reasons are, however, “to help women get abortions,” then different follow-up questions arise.
Thanks, Carla! I am naturally a pretty heartfelt person but I worry that it doesn’t always translate in writing. :)
Hey Jill:
What’s the format of this interview? Is it going to be offline, where you report to us after the fact, or will it be live via Skype?
I can tell you which one will generate more buzz. :0)
I have always read that in your comments, Alexandra. :)
Maybe too religious, but…
Does she realize that by escorting, she is complicit in the act of abortion (morally culpable)?
(Sorry if this has been already been mentioned as I haven’t had a chance to read all comments here.)
Joan,
I’m confused — you don’t consider a military base shooting to be a terrorist attack? Or is it that you don’t think military bases hold drills and are trained to respond to terrorist attacks, wherever they may occur?
As for how many pro-lifers think that willful murder is a grave, intrinsic evil — I can’t think of a single pro-life organization that says that murdering abortionists or clinic escorts is a good thing or a morally permissible action, nor have I ever met a single pro-lifer who believes such.
On the other hand, every single pro-choice person I know supports the killing of innocent human beings, some for any reason whatsoever. So on the whole, I’d be more afraid of them than I am of pro-lifers.
I’d ask, “What IF?”
What if it really IS a baby? A new human and unrepeatable life?
I miscarried my last baby at almost 5 weeks gestation; he was beautiful and perfect, utterly without blemish. He looked exactly like people are supposed to at that age.
How does the pro-choice mindset sort out the fact that not all children have inherited an equal right to life? How do they square the philosophy that not everyone has equal rights, and that one’s right to life depends entirely on their mother’s fears, emotions, and circumstances? Why is their only absolute the right to Choose, and not the right to Life? Abortion can’t ever be undone, and that person and all of their descendants are gone forever…
Many thanks to your interviewer for starting this discussion. May God be with you all, every thought, word and deed.
Sorry for your loss, Jenn. Praying for you and your family.
Is there anyone you have not told about your being an escort for PP? If so – why.
What had you decide to do this? Why do you think escorts are needed? And if there is a reason – have you seen the reason for such a thing personally?
I’ve found so many of the most strident pro-aborts are also big advocates of animal rights and outspoken about animal abuse, etc. How would she feel about working for a veterinarian who strictly performed puppy abortions? Would it bother her to see so many puppies killed before birth? Would she find it violent and cruel? Would she want to protect the puppies and allow them to be born and given to good homes?
Are not human beings worth much more than dogs?
Does she screen for suspected abuse of the prospective abortion patient?
What advice does she give if she suspects that a patient is being coerced in some way to abort?
Does she/ would she report pregnant tweens (statutory rape) coming in with older men for abortions?
“Does she screen for suspected abuse of the prospective abortion patient?
What advice does she give if she suspects that a patient is being coerced in some way to abort”
It’s not the job of the escort to “screen” for suspected abuse during the short walk into the clinic which would certainly not allow time to judge “coercion.” And even if there was visible coercion, there is nothing illegal going on except if an adult is actually beating a child in which case the police and DCYF should be contacted. My clinic has a police person standing outside the clinic so if the aforementioned situation happened he or she would intervene. So the idea of an escort, as “screener,” is ludicrous as their job is to provide support and safety for those entering the clinic – not all of whom are even having abortions.
And yes, I have been thanked many time in both English and Spanish.
Anti-abortion terrorism is still happening:
Since Obama’s inauguration, federal lawsuits have been filed against a woman who blocked a car from entering a clinic in West Palm Beach, Fla.; a Texas man who threw his body across the door of a patient waiting area in San Antonio; and a Pennsylvania man who posted on the Internet the names and addresses of abortion providers and extolled his readers to kill them
http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2011-05-04/justice-department-taking-tougher-stance-against-anti-aborton-activists
CC said – Forced birth is not just slavery, it’s rape.
CC – we actually agree!!!
Abortion is forced birth, and indeed, it is like rape.
Abortion is “birth control”, which is also a controlled birth.
This is why most legal statutes talk about “live birth” – because being born simply means moving outside the uterus, which happens, whether naturally, or unnaturally or even in pieces.
I don’t usually say this, but given that this thread has a very specific purpose and is also time sensitive, might I respectfully request that the mods make it a “troll-free zone?” While certainly there are contributions from the opposing side that could be helpful here, both CC and joan have been doing nothing but trying to derail the question suggestions.
CC
It is illegal to force a young girl to get an abortion. The decision to abort or NOT abort is hers alone to make. I have seen girls being dragged in for abortions by their parents and clinic escorts doing nothing but watching and silently holding open the door.
What if the young girl says, “Hey, I want to listen to what they have to say!” The escorts job is to get her in the abortion mill door. What if she is unsure? Why the insistence to babble incoherently so that the young girl can’t even hear what others are offering?
The intent of the “protestors” is to offer her a different choice than killing her own child.
Having one choice(ABORTION!!!)is no choice at all.
Alice,
No worries. Jill will wade through the muck and get to the real questions. :)
Where are the unconscience and moral instincts that dwell within our hearts and soul of someone who chooses to embrace being a Bad-Samaritan versus a Good-Samaritan? And why would anyone choose to be held morally accountable in helping someone that you don’t even know in making the biggest decision of her life? I was sidewalk counseling here in Cincinnati this past Wednesday and a woman with two small children joined us in prayer. We began a nice conversation as to the hopes of ending abortion and she very sadly looked in my eyes with tears flowing and responded that she was post abortive. I listed to her sadness and witnessed the overwhelming regret within her heart ~ and the abortion had taken place 20 years prior! And yet, she is still grieving her loss…. Ask the deathscorts to spend a day on the side of LIFE and see what this is really all about. Let us pray for conversion of those who are prochoice and let us pray that those of us who choose to defend life will have the support and courage to continue … God Bless you Jill!
‘a woman who blocked a car from entering a clinic in West Palm Beach, Fla.; a Texas man who threw his body across the door of a patient waiting area in San Antonio; and a Pennsylvania man who posted on the Internet the names and addresses of abortion providers and extolled his readers to kill them’
I find it interesting that you can only find one example that qualifies as terrorism even remotely. Blocking cars or doorways, while probably illegal, is scarcely terrorism. As for the man publishing identifying info on abortionists, yes, if he is advocating their being killed, he is wrong. According to dictionary.com, that would be terrorism–the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce. However, blocking entrances or driveways is not violent, threatening, intimidating, or coercive.
Assuming that her study of anthropology/history/religious studies is at the undergraduate or graduate level, what does she think about polls showing that people in her age group are more pro-life?
Carder, the interview questions and answers are in written form.
Actually, I would be curious to see her answers to the questions being posed here.
Ask her:
1) What does she do when a woman is obviously being coerced into the abortion? If she’s been “escorting” for a while and honest, she will admit to seeing that.
2) Why do they go to such extremes to keep our literature out of the women’s hands. When I’ve asked, I’ve been told “it’s a bunch of lies” – to which I replied “let the women decide for themselves – or don’t you trust them with that decision”? This tends to evoke silence.
3) What do they do when an underaged girl is being taken in?
Jessica,
When your mother was pregnant with you, what species of embryo/fetus was present in her uterus?
Where are the unconscience and moral instincts that dwell within our hearts and soul of someone who chooses to embrace being a Bad-Samaritan versus a Good-Samaritan? And why would anyone choose to be held morally accountable in helping someone that you don’t even know in making the biggest decision of her life?
Theresa Cz @ 8:49 am,
I’ve wondered the very same thing. Perhaps most escorts are post-abortive and trying to bring more women into the “I’ve-had-an-abortion-club” to help justify their own abortions. They are most definitely pro-abortion, not pro-choice. Do they think the are like the person who helps the little old lady cross the street?
Does she know that many of us pray for her and the other clinic workers to see the truth and turn away from what they are doing? If so, how does she feel about that? If she should feel the need to ask for prayer, would she feel comfortable asking us, if we committed to keep it confidential?
Ask her to clarify what “choice” she is protecting. In my experience, they are very reluctant to say the choice is abortion, and just keep circling back to talking about ”choice” as though it were somehow generic.
And of course, what if what’s in the womb really is a living baby human?
Has she ever escorted one of the babies’ remains to a proper buriial?
1. Since abortion is a procedure like a tonsillectomy or wisdom teeth removal, would she care to see certified photos or actual video documentation of the “tissue” that is removed from a 10 week, 16 week and 20 week pregnancy?
2. Does she believe in the concept of “fate” or the adage “everything happens for a reason”? If she does, then what is a mother doing when she terminates her pregnancy? Is it the baby’s fate to not be born (as perhaps in a natural miscarriage) or is she taking “fate” into her own hands and altering a future in which her child was supposed to live?
3. Does an unborn child have a soul? When does a person acquire his or her soul?
4. Why don’t we see more abortion surgeries on TV when we see nearly every other type of procedure?
5. Hypothetically, let’s say her daughter was happily married in a stable environment with a good income. Her daughter becomes pregnant, but finds out she is having a girl when she really wanted a boy. She decides to have an abortion. Would she escort her daughter into the clinic to abort her granddaughter?
Young Christian Woman, since this site uses a block style, you have to press Enter to skip a line for a new paragraph. While I’m at it, cranium told me you have to skip a space or two for the smiley face to show up. My computer knowledge is now complete. :)
Is a fetus a living human being?
Does a parent have a duty to provide the necessities of life for their child?
Should a person with a conflict of interest be permitted to make life and death decisions about another person?
?Well, I’m not one to brag — no, I take that back; I am — but mine is my favorite.
“If your mother wanted to abort you, what would you say to talk her out of it?”
It has a number of advantages over some others presented here.
FIRST, remember that these are not reasonable people. Their belief system rarely extends beyond sentiments expressed on their bumper stickers.
SECOND, in part because of the first, you are in a situation that is not conducive to elaborate polemics. They are not there to engage you, they are there to help people avoid you.
THIRD, to make your point based upon the soundest of premises, and to eliminate any need for exchange (or at least minimize the prospect of verbal abuse), you submit a question which they could not possibly answer.
FOURTH, and last, it will be more likely than the other suggestions to silence them, so that you can continue praying for them and their victims.
Have you ever stayed long enough to escort women out of the clinic AFTER their abortion?
Does the clinic have wheelchairs to help women who are in severe pain or heavy bleeding get to their cars?
Does the clinic advise women not to drive themselves home in case they are in emotional or physical pain?
Is there valet parking or handicapped parking at the clinic?
I don’t know if this question is too late, and I’m not sure if it’s already been suggested because I didn’t read through all of the suggestions. However, one question I always think is important to ask a pro-choice person is this:
Which pro-life approaches seem to be most effective in preventing abortions?
It’s always good to learn what’s working.
Ask her if she feels at all bad for escorting me to make a decision that makes me have nightmares almost every night. Ask her if she feels bad for preventing me from hearing information given by a sidewalk counselor that would have helped me make a more informed decision.
Girl, that is really sad. That just made me cry! I hope you will hit Carla up (the moderator). She also had an abortion and she can show you how to have healing after abortion.
And thanks for your comments, btw. Its good you are speaking out!
Girl,
I just read your comment and want to say how truly sorry I am! I am so sorry that you weren’t given love and support and help in your time of need. Neither was I.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!
I can help you find abortion recovery in your area and would love to talk to you more about it.
Please email me
carla@jillstanek.com
When did your own life begin?
Biggz has the best questions! We all need to love one another enough to respect one another. Living in fear (something only sentient beings are capable of) because you care about Women’s rights is unacceptable. Period.
I realize that fetuses have the ability to respond to stimuli, so don’t come at me with old news.
Respecting one another begins with respecting life, Ashtar.
Joan, I read this article this morning and thought of you!
Is there any information she could learn, whether scientific facts or solid philosophical reasoning, that would change her mind about escorting girls in for their abortions?
After reading all these comments one thing has come through very loud and clear, none of you want to ask her anything. You all want to ask her questions that lead to you teaching her something, none of you want to listen to her and actually learn something. You have no interest in learning anything because you already know your truth… You have no intention of listening to a single word she says. So if these are the questions you want to ask her it will be more of an interrogation than a discussion since you have no intension of listening, or giving her opinions any thought or even slightest respect at all.
The smugness in here is so thick you can’t even see your shoes…..
Biggz –
There’s a proverb about people who live in glass houses…
Biggz, thank you for acknowledging that we know the truth.
I am guessing you came here to learn from us, because it clearly wouldn’t be to smugly bombard us with your own opinions you have no intention of changing. You wouldn’t do that sort of thing, being better than us and all.
Have you learned anything from us other than how smug and self-righteous we are?
And by the way, you’re wrong. We do want to learn about her point of view. That doesn’t negate the fact that we are right.
Biggz, are you sure that you are right?
Am I certain that I am right? No. However I have yet to hear a compelling argument that refutes what I think is right. The difference here is that I am not trying to project my point of view or set of morals into your lives “this is a discussion forum”, where as your only purpose is to subject other people to your set of morals and harass women of a different point of view. I am not asking you to stop doing anything or trying to make you think a certain way. I am simply saying mind your own business and stay out of other people lives.
I am simply saying mind your own business and stay out of other people lives.
Am I to understand, then, Biggz, that if you were walking down the street and saw a woman stabbing her child, you’d simply mind your own business and stay out of other people’s lives?
“I am not asking you to stop doing anything or trying to make you think a certain way. I am simply saying mind your own business and stay out of other people lives.”
Hmm. We are trying to stop people from killing their children and we think it is important to do so. You want us to mind our own business. Sounds like you do want us to change what we’re doing and how we think.
Biggz, there’s a nuanced distinction here that you aren’t seeing. We are the ones who have been misjudged and written off, not the pro-choice, pro-abortion folks. And you have come to a pro-life website. Don’t expect to see many opposing views here.
Jill is looking for ways to connect with people within the abortion industry to save more children — especially late-term abortion clinic staff since she, as a nurse, held a dying aborted infant in her arms until the end came. There is no place here for smugness or forced morality. What we believe, and I think I speak for most pro-life women, is that the majority of women do not know the facts about abortion, the stats about future infertility, the lack of regulation of abortion clinics by regulatory agencies who choose to look the other way when they see a podiatrist serving as an abortionist, etc. We wish that the abortion industry was regulating itself, but people don’t do what you EXpect, they do what you INspect, especially when money is involved.
It isn’t fair to label us as holier than thou when we know there is always the possibility that you or a woman entering a clinic for an abortion are ignorant of the very basic facts about the procedure and we know we can help. No one here is trying to manipulate a vulnerable woman facing a crisis pregnancy. We are trying to tell the truth about it. There are no hidden agendas other than saving children. We aren’t all Republicans. We aren’t all Catholics. We aren’t members of the moral majority with our noses in the air. Among us are gay and lesbian pro-life activists, members of Democrats for Life, Feminists for Life, etc. This is a human rights issue that has long gone unnoticed except by really militant conservative Christians. Well, that season is now over. It’s a nationwide, worldwide really, problem that is being exposed more and more each day. Watch a Live Action film and see for yourself what is happening within Planned Parenthood clinics. Go to a clinic yourself and talk to the people outside who are gathered with business cards offering free medical care, free babysitting, free help getting jobs, housing, free counseling, free baby clothes and maternity clothes, a free baby shower with gifts covering every need a baby may have for the entire first year. We are not extremists as you suppose but moms, dads, businessmen and women, nurses, doctors — I met an anesthesiologist in front of a clinic the other day. We all want to help women in need.
I think you may have been misled by what you’ve heard about pro-life people. And when it comes to what we want to know from an escort, the questions I have are sincere. I want to know if she was always pro-choice and if not, when the shift in thinking came and I want to know if going to a liberal university had anything to do with it. I want to know this because I have noticed a tendency among college professors toward being liberal Democrats. I find it a bit one-sided since not all students who attend university come from families of Dems. I’d like to know if there is any brainwashing going on at schools and if that’s affecting the next generation of students because they will be the ones serving the unborn who can’t speak for themselves after I’m gone. It’s a concern I have. And no, I’m not a Republican. Just still concerned. Concerned, not smug.
Also, the whole “mind your own business and stay out of other people’s lives” argument doesn’t stand up when you think about the other times throughout history people looked the other way. Civil Rights Movement, Holocaust, and there are many more instances going on right now, today. Allowing TSA to force people to be searched in new and interesting ways at airports. These are all things that we should stand against. But a TSA agent is not killing a developing baby, so let’s leave that on the back burner.
I think Biggz is trying to say we should trust women, that we should let this decision remain between a woman and her physician and stop interfering. The problem with that argument is that there is money to be gained — big money, actually — in the abortion industry. And it is made by shaping arguments to their advantage, convincing women abortion is safe when it isn’t always safe, and out and out lying for monetary gain. Calling a baby in utero “contents of the womb,” or a “blob of tissue,” Lying to women about gestational age, about fetal development is rampant. This is not an industry filled with medical professionals who care about women. If that were the case, we could all breathe easy and rest assured of the fact that doctors will help decide what’s best for their patients. That isn’t any more true than suggesting masters knew what was in the best interest of slaves back in the 1700s.
Okay, wait, I just read Quack’s questions… This is really strange stuff, and very detailed. For example, Numbers 5 is in no way referring to the womb. They are talking about forcing her to partake of something, to drink a concoction, that will wreck her digestive system and swell her abdomen, giving viewable proof of whether or not she’s lying. It’s like a witch hunt. If the witch sinks, she’s this. If she floats, she’s that. And nowhere in the verses in question does it mention that she was already pregnant, even if it did refer to the womb and not the digestive tract. Very strange reasoning this girl has, though I see nothing new. Comparing apples to oranges and trying to trap Jill into answering questions with only a yes or no mostly. I suspect this girl has a secret (okay, not so secret) agenda. The questions are intended to entrap Jill. And to entrap her waaaaaay more than anything we have come up with here that might lean toward teaching Quack rather than information gathering. Wow. Glad I studied debate. I need to come up with new questions for Jill now… If you’re reading this, Quack, I’d love to talk to you!
Megan, I consider my self a good writer, but I have to say girl, you are a REALLY good writer! Well done with the last few responses!
Ha! Thanks. I actually am a freelance writer, so I consider that a great compliment! Now if only I could scrounge some work out of it in this crazy economy of ours. lol!
“What interview questions should I ask an abortion clinic escort?”
Is it easy, being orange?
Joanna – See this is what I am talking about, a mother stabbing her child to death on the street in no way equates to a legal and moral medical procedure that is approved of by the American Medical Association and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Your type of hyperbolic rhetoric is pure over reaction and the perfect definition of a false equivalence.
Megan – You guys have a different version of the facts of the procedure than the rest of us. Nothing personal, but I got my facts from the American Medical Association, and the U.S. Supreme court. I think they know more than you guys do.
I was just wondering who certified you guys to give out this medical information to people considering a medical procedure? What college courses did you take to learn how to advise people on medical decisions? Do you guys give advice about any other type of medical procedure like treating lung cancer or is your knowledge centered on this one subject? What in short qualifies you guys to give out medical information that contradicts what these women are being told by the certified doctor that they choose?
I will be waiting for an answer…
Biggz, do you know the difference between legality and morality? Do you think all legal activities are therefore moral, and vice versa?
Hypothetically, if it were legal to stab one’s child, would you stop her?
Let’s put this another way. Let’s say you lived in the pre-Civil War era America, and you walked down the street and saw a slave owner beating one of the children of his slaves to death. Would you consider that action moral, given that it was legal at the time? Would you have tried to stop it?
Biggz, can you give a concrete example of Megan’s alleged inaccuracies?
Biggz, go to http://www.realchoice.blogspot.com and look at the documentation regarding women who have died from complications of botched abortions since 1973. Then go look up the facts about these women for yourself to make sure the blogger is correct. She is an abortion researcher. After that, go join her Facebook page and once there, you can learn the stats about abortion becoming safer and more rare over the years. She has diagrams there on her website that she got from people YOU would trust (Guttmacher Institute) that show that abortion safety has improved steadily but not since Roe in 1973, since around 1921 — directly corresponding with how medicine has improved in general, and not corresponding to how much “safer” abortion became after being legalized. Because of underregulation, there are no blips in the charts, no dips from dirty abortion clinics where malpractice is rampant. There are also no signs of it becoming safer after 1973. There are scientific variables to the data — certainly we don’t have ALL the information about abortion prior to 1973, since those involved were, understandably, more secretive. They were, after all, participating in an illegal practice. But you would expect the number of abortions to decline sharply since our goal after 1973 and the mantra of Planned Parenthood and the president of the United States is that we aim to make abortion safe, legal, and rare. There was nothing in the data to indicate that after 1973 anything much changed. You could not pick 1973 out on the chart and note a marked increase in safety, nor could you note a decrease in abortion — or an increase for that matter. Check out Realchoice, then check her facts, and after that, we can talk about safety. You should also remember what happened in Philadelphia. Kermit Gosnell’s actions were known and ignored for many, many years. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/01/24/kermit-gosnell-drugged-tied-up-woman-before-forced-abortion/ And Realchoice has documented other clinicians who HAD been regulated but the inspectors looked the other way and continued to allow, for example, a podiatrist to serve as an abortionist. It will take you a while to read through all the stories at Realchoice. It’s a massive site. Take your time, though. Do the hard work of learning what has really been going on right under our noses.
I came at pro-life activism from a secular place. I didn’t believe in abortion for myself, but I figured if someone else wanted one they should be able to get one. This is America, right? Land of the free, home of the brave? I had no idea the clinics weren’t being regulated, that they would fight tooth and nail to NOT be labeled ambulatory facilities rather than abortion facilities because an ambulatory facility has to be more tightly regulated. What did I know about these things? I figured abortion was safe, legal, and rare. But I was wrong. It wasn’t. It was a nightmare of underregulation. I suspect one of the reasons is that the brightest and best coming out of med school are not terribly keen on making a name for themselves in the field of abortion. It’s only my own speculation, but I can understand how it might be the other way around.
I can’t defend the allegations you made toward me about the field of medicine. I just reread my posts and I don’t see any place where I stated that I am a medical practitioner or that I, personally, have all the facts about abortion. I know, however, that the pro-life volunteers who stand in front of abortion clinics do provide the facts. They tell the truth. And the women who change their minds are always shocked to discover it, thus leading me to believe that they did NOT have the facts before they made the decision to go to the clinic for an abortion. And the factual information is readily available online.
What I did say is that many women who get abortions are ignorant of the facts surrounding the procedure. I know this through reams of anecdotal evidence provided by Live Action Films and my daughters’ friends. I teach high school and I have three in college at the moment, all of whom have told me that their fellow classmates know virtually nothing about fetal development. They talk about abortion as if it’s birth control. They are willing to get as many abortions as they feel are needed. They have casual sex and are ambivalent about using condoms or getting on the pill. I have a teenaged daughter who is a mom herself. She is out in front of the local abortion clinic to counsel women who muster the courage to stop and talk to her. She carries a huge sign that says, “We’re here to help, not condemn.” She has a table with maternity clothes, baby clothes, diapers, and business cards from doctors who will treat patients in crisis for free, women who will offer free baby showers and provide every item, large or small, that is needed for a baby’s first year, adoption agencies, psychologists who will treat them for free. These are caring people who show up every week to try to save babies. And the women who DO change their minds have one thing in common. They all say, “I didn’t realize… I never knew…” If an RV is at the clinic with ultrasound machines inside and a woman goes in to see her baby’s likeness, she rarely gets an abortion.
The other travesty of justice is that many of the women, I’d say 80%, at our local clinic appear to be poor (judging solely by the age of car and type of clothes which is, admittedly, not best), Hispanic or African-American, and not making the best use of grammar when speaking. You may think I’m stereotyping people. Well, maybe I am. I’m observing and reporting what I see at the clinic. And what I see is that a company, a medical facility according to Biggz, was founded based on Eugenics principles and has locations primarily in low-income areas of large to mid-sized cities. You may think that’s because they want the poor to have easier access to abortion, and I could believe that if Margaret Sanger hadn’t been such a fan of Eugenics. As it stands, I’m not convinced.
Also, before abortion was legalized, women WERE getting medically necessary D & C’s and ectopic pregnancies were terminated as a regular practice in order to save a mother’s life. They were being performed by the woman’s regular obstetrician in a hospital. There was never a time in the 20th century when women’s health matters were not of supreme importance. Women’s rights weren’t, but doctors were under oath to serve both men and women as best they could. And from the evidence recently uncovered in Philadelphia, the so-called back alley abortions have not been eliminated by legalizing abortion. Certainly there are safer facilities than Kermit’s, and more of them than pre-Roe presumably, but it’s Russian roulette to try and discover which ones are really “safe” and which doctors are going to perforate your uterus and infect you with equipment that isn’t sterile. So the idea that “it’s legal and moral (which it’s not) so why all the fuss?” just doesn’t hold water for me.
I DO try to remember at all times the immense pressure women are under. We have wombs. Men do not. It seems so unfair that one careless night must leave us with nine months plus 18 years and onward worth of childrearing. And many times that must be done without the benefit of a partner to help in the caregiving. It is an unfair balance. I get that. But killing the fetus is unfair, too.
Is it easy, being orange?
LMBO
You said, “I got my facts from the American Medical Association, and the U.S. Supreme court. I think they know more than you guys do.”
That’s a judgement call. But suppose I agree with you. You have the facts from the AMA and so do I. The real question, though, is not whether those facts are correct or not but whether those are the facts that abortion clinics are providing to women. I submit to you that they are not.
Here is some medical information that you might not know:
http://realchoice.blogspot.com/2011/05/abortion-risk-disseminated.html
Biggz says, “Nothing personal, but I got my facts from the American Medical Association, and the U.S. Supreme court. I think they know more than you guys do.”
LOL! You couldn’t have chosen two groups with less credibility on the subject if you had tried.
I saw a woman being interviewed — and I wish I could remember her name — she was one of the researchers who worked on the experiments and data surrounding whether there is an abortion/breast cancer link. She said she went to the head of Susan G. Komen Foundation (they support Planned Parenthood) with her findings and begged them to tell the truth about there really being a link, saying it was too important to women. Instead, they skewed the data and made it look like there was no link. She was mortified. I think maybe her name was Dr. Angela Lanfranchi, M. D. http://www.bcpinstitute.org/physiology.htm With things like this happening, why trust the AMA and Supreme Court?
And I think another woman who found out SGK supported PP resigned her position. I think her name was Eve Sánchez Silver, who now is Medical Research Analyst Executive Director Clear Research LLC. I’m trying to verify that now, but I have to go study.
Can anyone find out who it was that resigned her high-level position over the donations to PP? Thanks!
Here you go
http://www.lifenews.com/2004/09/29/nat-834/