Choice : The New Best Thing

Many of us have noticed, and often feel a bit of disgust toward right-wing nutcases protesting abortion in front of schools and clinics. They boycott, pester, insult, assault, and act out violently towards clinics, women who have had abortions, and anyone who has had any association with abortions (even companies that deliver office supplies to clinics). It's really quite gut-wrenching to hear about these events and absolutely uncalled for actions. These protestors will go so far as to list names, phone numbers, and emails of individuals associated with abortion clinic in order to entice others to call and email these people to voice a complaint.

On the Rachael Maddow Show this evening a victim of these right-winged extremists was on the show with a bit on what he started to counteract these annoyances. Tom Stave is a business man who rents a property he owns to an abortion clinic, and had his name and number presented at a protest. Following numerous calls and emails he got a few friends to help him with a project. That project is called the Voice of Choice.

The Voice of Choice is a volunteer campaign that, so far, 5000 people globally have joined. These people exchange through their networks the names, numbers, and email addresses of any individuals who have called or emailed people, companies, clinics, communities, and families with an association to abortions. Then they call and email them constantly to voice their opinion about the option of choice (peacefully and politely).

This makes me so happy. Like, really happy. I can barely contain my excitement. Not so we can continue killing babies (let's admit it, we're killing babies), but because now we can start to have the choice again of having a child or not, without the fear of being victimized by these nutcases. It's okay for them to have the opinion of Pro-Life, but do they have to harass people for it? Do they really want women to bring back the coat hanger abortions? ("Alleyway" abortions were one of the highest causes of female deaths in the US before Roe vs. Wade). Many of these Pro-Lifers are asking to be taken off the call and email lists, but don't know that the list is viral and can't be stopped.

Not only that, but we can use their scare tactics against them. It's kind of like those Atheists who went around a predominantly Jehovah's Witness neighborhood at 7 AM to tell them about why there is no God. It's the Golden Rule turned on its head : do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Apparently Pro-Life activists follow that rule (which Jesus taught them), that is up until it is actually done back to them.

This is all really a matter of choice. It is something fundamental to the happiness we all search for in our lives. To have any choice taken from us is an impediment on our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, which is precisely why it is in our Constitution. (Of course, too many choices can impede our ability to make choices, but for that stuff you can just read Barry Schwartz's Paradox of Choice). Roe vs. Wade illustrated to us that it was absolutely inhumane to force a woman who cannot support herself, much less a child, and doesn't want a child, living in a poor, African American neighborhood surrounded by violence and drugs. Thus, abortion became legal (and consequently, 20 years later, crime levels plummeted; read Super Freakonomics).

Now we just need to find a way to fight against the abolishment of Social Security, end wars, fight terrorism, and many other silly things using the same tactics they use, but against them. To fight fire with fire, because it seems to be working for Stave and the Voice of Choice.

Voice of Choice, can be accessed here :
http://www.vochoice.org/

Life is sacred, until that life exits the vaginal canal.