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AIBU?

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Original poster

To really want to say something to these abortion protestors?

999 replies

Crocodileclip · 07/03/2014 18:10

Firstly, I know I will probably never say anything as I appreciate that the protestors have the right to protest but it really pisses me off.

A small group of people have been protesting outside the Marie Stoppes clinic in Belfast since it opened in 2012. They stand outside the door on the days it is open holding anti abortion posters and trying to gather signatures for a petition. I pass them on my way to get to the station at home time and every time it annoys me. I can't imagine how offputting they would be if you were young and scared and just wanting some advice. Lots of pics of aborted foetuses etc. I find it intimidating enough myself and I am just walking past. I actually put my head down and walk quicker so that nobody asks me to sign the petition.

I'm currently pregnant with my second and am lucky never to have been in a position where abortion was an option but am of the opinion that there are situations in which it may be the best option available.

The clinic itself operates within NI law so only offers abortions up to 9 weeks and as far as I know is the only such clinic in Northern Ireland. I think I would be ok with the protestors doing their stuff elsewhere in the city centre it is the fact that it is just outside the only entrance to the clinc that makes me irrationally angry. Does this happen at other Marie Stoppes clinics elsewhere in the UK?

OP posts:
MrsDeVere · 08/03/2014 21:03

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Dawndonnaagain · 08/03/2014 21:08

Exactly MrsDeVere

anothernumberone · 08/03/2014 21:12

Oh so Bumbley you reckon the protesters differentiate between the vulnerable and non vulnerable women going into the clinic. How nice of them.

anothernumberone · 08/03/2014 21:14

Now Bumbley read gordys post and defend you vile friends again. Do rape victims deserve that treatment?

UnknownGnome · 08/03/2014 21:18

Is there generally an equal mix of men and women at the protests or is it more of one than the other? Just wondering because i'm lucky enough to have never encountered any.

And i agree that any woman attending a clinic for an abortion can be described as vulnerable. Especially when outnumbered by protesters branding her a murderer Sad

bumbleymummy · 08/03/2014 21:24

My vile friends? Hmm Why do you think it was my friends who were spitting, yelling abuse and hitting her with placards?

I'm just wondering why people continue to call them vulnerable. I think that's a bit patronising tbh. Do they not know their own mind? Have they not made their decision? It's within the law - why should they all be 'vulnerable'?

MoominIsWaitingToMeetHerMiniMe · 08/03/2014 21:27

bumbley

They are going into and coming out of a clinic where they have just had a medical procedure. However major or minor, I tend to feel a little bit vulnerable and under the weather after most medical procedures.

What your friends are doing is tantamount to standing outside a chemotherapy clinic or ward, protesting against the use of chemotherapy drugs.

Are you sure it's "your friends" who are doing it? You seem very defensive of them...

UnknownGnome · 08/03/2014 21:32

Vulnerable:

  1. capable of being physically or mentally hurt
  1. open to criticism or censure
  2. open to attack or damage

I think most women choosing an abortion fit into one or all of those categories.

And, really, any individual having to walk past aggressive protesters probably pretty vulnerable.

gordyslovesheep · 08/03/2014 21:32

Bumbly I guess your friends tell you that women who have terminations skip down the road singing happily because they don't care as they are just evil baby killing sinners...

however most women - no matter how certain they are - will feel a degree of sadness - which makes them vulnerable to rabid twats stood outside a legal clinic offering a legal service to women who are legally entitled to use that service

seriously most women having to force themselves through a baying mob shouting abuse at them and spitting would feel vulnerable

you should try it - find out where your friends hang out and try and get in - see how they treat you

bumbleymummy · 08/03/2014 21:33

Well it's not me if that's what you're implying. I just happen to know a few people who protest against abortion. They are not cunts, abusers of the elderly or perpetrators of domestic violence. They are not vile and they do 'give a shit' about the babies that are born. I think someone needs to stand up and say that they're entitled to protest against things they disagree with and defend them against some of the ridiculous accusations that have been made on this thread. They aren't all the same - stop tarring them all with the same brush.

Littlegreyauditor · 08/03/2014 21:35

My relative is one of those delightful people who like to protest and shout abuse in Belfast. She believes that anyone who has an unwanted pregnancy should be forced to have the child even if especially if they have been raped because they are "tramps" and were "asking for it".

She is a vicious and bitter bastard who operates as a self appointed military wing of the Catholic Church. Her views on the child X case were so horrific that I had to walk away or never tire of lifting my fist out of her face.

I have no problems believing that her "friends" are just like her. Women hating, repressive, lemon sucking scum who protest outside the clinic to inflict the maximum amount of harm on women daring to believe their bodies and their decisions are theirs and theirs alone.

As has been said above, if they truly wanted their protest to be politically effective they should be directing it at agencies who could effect change. Them asshats at Stormont for example. Instead they are merely the modern day equivalent of the villagers who made Hester Prynne wear a Scarlet letter.

I am not pro choice or pro life by the way. I just believe that it is not for me to force my beliefs on others. I admit though that I can comfortably hold that neutral ground having never found myself in a position where such a wrenching decision has to be made. I am thankful for that every single day. Sad

Sorry, that was a bit of a rant.

MoominIsWaitingToMeetHerMiniMe · 08/03/2014 21:36

Well neither are all people having abortions 'sinners', 'murderers', etc. Maybe if your friends took your own advice and stopped tarring people with the same brush, others would return the favour.

But no, they're allowed to say this to vulnerable women because "It's their opinion". In which case, I'm perfectly entitled to say that it's my opinion that they are vile cunts.

biscuiteater · 08/03/2014 21:37

I used to be pro choice about abortion until I had DS2 at 26 weeks. To think it is legal to have an abortion at 24 weeks is horrifying. There were babies born at 23 weeks in NICU. This experience really opened my eyes and made me realise that abortion is killing a baby not some blob :-(

Not sure about the protesters though but if they have been through similar experiences then can understand.

RevoltingPeasant · 08/03/2014 21:37

Bumbley here is a straightforward question: would you be happy for me to stand outside a Catholic or evangelical church on a Sunday, as people are going in to the service, including elderly ladies and small children, holding a placard with a graphic picture of a naked woman dead after a backstreet abortion, with a legend "you are all complicit in this woman's murder - repent!"?

Would you be happy with that?

Fwiw no one I think is really talking about making clinic protests illegal. I am a passionate defender of protest and free speech. However, a civilised society can also agree to find certain manifestations of free speech morally repugnant and tasteless, and to express as much those engaged in them.

So yes I'm sure it would be legal for me to do what I suggest, but would you defend me for doing it? If not I think you are inconsistent.

TheOriginalSteamingNit · 08/03/2014 21:38

If those people were anything but cowardly scum, they would be protesting to the people who make the legislation, not women about to have or just having had an abortion.

Women who do that are cowardly scum.

gordyslovesheep · 08/03/2014 21:40

oh come on - very few babies survive at 24 weeks or less and they require a lot of medical intervention

it's crazy to say the 2 things are the same

abortion can be carried out until term anyway - but like post 20 week abortions it very rarely happens

RevoltingPeasant · 08/03/2014 21:41

Biscuit have you read Assassin's posts on this thread? Angry

I really hope you just missed them by mistake.....

bumbleymummy · 08/03/2014 21:44

Moomin, it depends on what your definition of 'sin' and 'murder' are. They may all be sinners and murderers as far as the protesters are concerned - that is their opinion. I have already said that people are entitled to think they are all 'vile cunts'. I just happen to disagree with you on that.

biscuit, yes, some MNers think that they are just bundles of cells/not really alive/not a life at that stage. It's a bit baffling tbh but each to their own.

Revolt, why would they be complicit in it? They think she shouldn't have had the abortion at all. It wouldn't matter if I am happy about it or not - you can do what you like. I don't think it really makes sense though so you may want to work on your placard a bit.

RevoltingPeasant · 08/03/2014 21:47

Right well as we've established, not everyone going into a Marie Stopes is having a termination. They still run the gamut. And not all the placards are accurate either, depicting full term babies in clinics which only do abortions up to nine weeks.

Glad we've settled that, anyhow.

MoominIsWaitingToMeetHerMiniMe · 08/03/2014 21:49

bumbley - But do I have a right - legal or moral - to stand outside their home, or their workplace, or anywhere they're supposed to feel safe, for several hours a day, waving a banner calling them a vile cunt and shouting it at them? Can I photoshop pictures of their children to look dead, and wave it around outside their front window?

TheOriginalSteamingNit · 08/03/2014 21:49

I can think of someone who is a bundle of cells but not really alive.

MadAsFish · 08/03/2014 22:01

They think she shouldn't have had the abortion at all.

No, she's an evil slut who suffered the wages of sin, so she deserved everything she got.
This is everything to do with control and puritanical control of women, who should suffer if they're slutty enough to have sex. Ever.

HadABadDay2014 · 08/03/2014 22:09

What fucking right do they have to tell someone else what they do with their bodies.

Tattooing is against god and mutating the body is against god, why don't I ever see these twats out side a tattoo shop.

UnknownGnome · 08/03/2014 22:54

Do they mainly protest due to religious beliefs? If so what about 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone'?

It's not their place to judge. Its not their place to try to change a woman's mind. No good can come of what they do so what's the point? It can only be to intimidate and harass vulnerable (because i believe they all are) women.

differentnameforthis · 08/03/2014 23:28

Obviously some of them don't given the use of the 'bundle of cells' description time and time again

I have never heard a woman terminating a pregnancy call the foetus inside her a bundle of cells. Infact many I know, can't even name it.

I called it a parasite. Because in my head, that is exactly what it was.