Rachel Maddow: American Life League Planning Protests for Day of Tiller's Funeral
By Heather Saturday Jun 06, 2009 2:00pm
Rachel Maddow reports that the DOJ is going to step up its investigation of Dr. Tiller's murder and make sure that anyone who played a role in the crime is held accountable. They're also going to bring back the National Task Force on Violence Against Health Care Providers. So that's the good news.
The bad news. The anti-abortion, anti-birth control group ALL, the American Life League is planning to hold protests at abortion clinics on the day of Dr. Tiller's funeral for "Protest the Pill Day".
Jeff Muskus at the HuffPo on the protests...Right-Wing Protesters: Birth Control Will Kill You:
Unable to turn the public against sex, the pro-life movement will be on the march Saturday trying to convince women that birth-control pills will kill them.
The right-wing American Life League and a handful of regional organizations will stand around outside U.S. pharmacies and Planned Parenthood chapters this weekend for the second annual "Protest the Pill Day." Dispatches from last year's protests, posted at thepillkills.com, offer a sense of what to expect.
"About two dozen prayerful witnesses testified to the facts of death about the pill," reads last year's ALL report from the protest at a Planned Parenthood in Napa, Calif. "For one hour the prayers were offered for the many uninformed patrons who come asking the staff of Planned Parenthood to provide chemicals, hormones, and sex-education as an answer to their problems with the natural consequences of abuse of sex."
"We experienced a lot of thumbs up and approving honks," gushed a protester who stood outside the Planned Parenthood of South Texas for an hour last year.
The American Life League blames birth control -- all birth control, conflating the pill with less time-tested contraceptives -- for abortions and a wide variety of deadly health problems. The group's Web site also helpfully provides a nationwide map to facilities and protests. More ominously in the wake of George Tiller's murder, it includes some ambiguous language about who should use it.
I thought I'd heard it all but apparently not. I'm waiting to see if they start protesting masturbation next. I'm not all that wild about Bill Maher's criticism of religion and think he goes over the top at times until I watch things like Rachel's reporting or read articles like the one at the HuffPo. There's more than what's quoted here for a full dose of the crazy on these protests.
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The Westboro Baptist gang are there at the funeral.
Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist gang are the lowest of the low. It is disgusting and appalling that they were allowed anywhere near the funeral.
banned these assholes from Britain. They were going to protest at a school in my borough because it was celebrating famous LGBT people.
Jeez, protesting the pill. I am 8 months preggers with my second and my husband and I are pretty sure we aren't having another biological child. I'm in my 30s, he is almost 40, and there is already 6 years between these 2. The first thing we did after finding out we were pregnant was decide on birth control after it is born. Don't statistics show that it is women like me, married, 30s and with children that have the most abortions?
Annaleigh below is so right-- these people are anti-women. I have the right to choose whether I want more kids or not. I do not consider having more kids than I want or provide for are blessings, and I live in a country with universal health care. I wonder if the men from ALL have had vascectomies. I mean, they are reversible and that way no women would need the pill.
but I was put on the Pill when I was 11 years old ... my menses were uncontrollable with lots of bleeding ... taking the Pill regulated them. Truly, the Pill saved my life.
I can`t believe there are still people out there so clueless about such things ...
You raise an excellent point. I haven't seen anyone bring that up yet.
Thank You Calgary Lady.
-G. Gordon Liddy
says the immature G.G. Liddy... *le sigh*
I know I considered the pill at one time to help with menses-related anemia. So I'm glad you pointed this out!
Yep, you betcha. I think it was common. But I wouldn't know too much about that.
:)
I wish they had the pill when I was 11 since I had the same trouble as you. I got married when I was 18 and the first thing I did was go on the pill. What a relief it was. I had my first child at 27 and had my 2nd at 30 and I stayed on the pill until I was in my 50's and couldn't get pregnant anymore.
People kill people (like right-wing terrorist people).
Well religion isn't bad but abuse of religion is BAD. It is scary just how many wackjobs there are in this world, that can believe this crap. Thank you very little Catholic Church for coining the phrase original sin, you pack of sex phobics.
What's the difference?
Religion without abuse is like war without killing.
Religion without abuse is spirituality.
disobedience. But, some think it was speech. Perhaps it is only obeying your god's laws when it is convenient for you.
Take careful note everybody that the American Life League is misogynist.
By wanting to deny women the pill they are wanting to force women to become pregnant regardless of whether we want it or not, whether we are ready or not, whether we should or not.
These people are misogynist. These are probably the same people who don't want girls to be vaccinated against HPV. Men don't get cancer from HPV, but women do.
Thus they want women to suffer the "natural consequences of sex," meanwhile men won't have to take responsibility for any of it.
Sickening.
HPV vaccine. Another farce perpetrated on a public by the pharmaceutical companies who try to convince women that they are protecting their children. Now they are advocating it for boys, too, and want to require, if they already have not done so, any immigrants to this country to have the vaccine--and pay for it. Do you know that people have died from the vaccine? That it protects against only a few of the virus forms out of 90 plus? Teach them to use a condom. Much safer and way more effective.
suffered a cancer type of which HPV is a major causal factor, I say I'd have to disagree about not getting the shot. That said, I agree with your assessment of the greed of Big Pharma and the collusion of the US govt with the same. And condom use.
People die and suffer ill effects from ALL vaccines. But the illness and death the vaccines spare us from is a much greater number.
And singling out certain groups to be compelled to get the vaccine -- not right at all.
"We experienced a lot of thumbs up and approving honks,"
Those weren't thumbs...
are these braintwisted fools. I think that this is what you get when mothers-to-be don't get prenatal care. Sometimes these loons make me wish that abortion could be retroactive. Totally un-PC, but, that's just me, I guess.
ROFLMFAO!
I'm picturing the parade of protetors down Elm Street in the middle of the afternoon, when those latchkey kids are doing their thing at home. "We know what you're doing in there!"
Some are suggesting just that!
It follows the twisted logic of the absurd, disturbed minds that must protect others from their own sin:
The pill leads to easy, worry free sex.
Masturbation leads to increased desire to actually have sex.
Stop masturbation and you therefor can decrease the use of the pill.
Decrease the use of the pill and decrease sex.
Any logical or historical evidence to the contrary is dismissed.
I can imagine the three of them marching up and down the block. You can't possibly think that this kind of thing has traction.
I thought it was funny ... thanks for giving me a big laugh, Heather!
That anyone would still be protesting the pill in this day and age!
How can anyone claim to be anti-abortion and still be against birth control?
biblical.
Pre-pill, unsanctioned sex--outside of marriage--was transgressive.
The Pill legitimized transgression, and the patriarchy never, ever forgave that affront.
Eyes on the screen.
I am so wasteful!
......me too, Demo.......and at age 70, I'm STILL being wasteful..........:)
if EVERY sperm was to become a human being, the Earth would already be wobbling off it's orbit from the sheer weight of the masses.
I already feel so much better knowing that I've been helping stabilize the earth...LOL
is that conspiracy to commit murder? Or just plain murder? Or just plain stupid?
I live right up the street- one short block- from the Planned Parenthood offices in very conservative Kent County, MI (I'm in the blue city-proper of Grand Rapids, surrounded by red 'burbs), and no one has been out there protesting today.
The Planned Parenthood building is right next to one of the paint stores here. I keep my eye on it. 4-6 months ago, there was a small group of church ladies holding up sings. But they were quiet and were only there for a few days. Maybe a week at the most.
Nothing on the local news here . I'm going to drive by tomorrow to see whats up. It's only a couple of miles away. plus, it gets me out of the house for a few.
away, so I won't be able to check things out myself, but I'm certain they've got protestors. This is Central California after all. Plenty of religious wingnuts here.
You're in the Central Valley aren't you?
I've always said, once you get east of 101, it's a different place. That's why I live on the coast.
Not to mention the beach.
on another planet when I get to visit the coast or SF/LA! :)
I'm not sure of the spelling on that.
It's close to Visalia I think.
My wifes grandparents owned the theater there that showed the Mexican movies there. In Spanish of course. This was back.............long ago.
late 50's- 60's and into the early 70's
Dinuba! :)
Seriously.
You took the words right out of my mouth.
I'd join in on that, not because I agree with them, but just to be an asshole.
scaring the bejesus out of some poor teenager they think is a regular wanker with a bullhorn...
acceptable public rhetoric, such violence is an inevitable consequence.
Folks who believe in law, rather than in "God," don't usually go blowing their antagonists away.
These are the same type of wackjobs as my wingnut brother-in-law. They are all pious and emphatic about not hurting a fetus or a single sperm. But once the baby is born and its time to stick a crowbar into their wallet and cough up a few bucks to help support the child - well, then its all Darwin baby! "Why should I have to pay for those losers?"
As you can see, irony is completely lost on these people.
with the wet spot?
"Love the fetus, hate the child".
Any regular lil ol' gal can 'take' ALL any one of lil ol guys can give, and still want--and be able to take care of--more.
Men who have 'trouble' with that truth seem to gravitate toward 'churches,' 'cults,' and sects which ALWAYS seek ways to contain female sexuality.
This is the foundational understanding that underpins ALL partiarchy.
they're not protesting "ed" medication (a la bob dole)? football revenues are safe as is the church of fb.
consistent w/misogynist viewpt.
are these not the amer taliban?
teach that masturbation is a "selfish" way of channeling ones sexuality, but of course, if you want to be "altruistic" and "help" someone in this area, they'll tell you to only do that in the confides of marriage. It's as if the church wants their parishoners to be sexually frustrated.
Oh and then there's that one church that was trying to get its married couples to have sex at least once a day, everyday for 30 days.
Mixed messages I tell ya!
I can think of one reason where that becomes almost impossible.
No wonder you hear of so many fundie teens getting the Clap and syphillis in their throats. No masturbation, no birth control combined with being a pulsating hormone makes for a bad situation.
And I'd forgotten that the pastor also tried to get single adults to be abstinent during the same 30 days.
And yes, I think that evangelical and Catholic views on sexuality often are very unhealthy for teenagers.
Church dogma about sexuality...it was first developed a long, long time ago, in a place far, far away. In those days, people got married in the early teens and had many babies - because a lot of then died at birth or from diseases soon thereafter. In fact, most folks didn't live past the ripe old age of forty.
This is the the problem with 'religion' - it is archaic and not relevant - especially where human sexuality is concerned. Life spans are almost three time longer, and no one should want to be reproducing regularly well into middle age.
But enjoying sex is another matter. I figure if gawd created us with the pleasure receptors in our brains, we should not be ashamed to make use of them --- and the birth control methods we also created with those brains.
*
Is that kind of pressure just supposed to make it so un-enjoyable that you just give it up for good?
Kind of like making your kid smoke a whole pack of cigarettes?
"prayers were offered to the uninformed".........WOW.........I bet that really helped control those "urges".........:)
I seriously am in love with Rachel Maddow. She says everything perfectly. If she wasn't banging this story like a freaking gong, it would be off the front page by now.
HELLO, ACE OF SPADES, MALKIN, LITTLE GREEN FOOTBALLS, THESE PEOPLE ARE FREAKING TERRORISTS.
And you don't have to look hard for them. I bet Bush would trip over one of these guys every day in his fucking office.
Terrorists. Arrest them. Arrest Stormfront. Arrest anyone who terrorizes/stalks/threatens/plans to blow up or blow away anyone.
I'm all in favor of political expression, but there is a line.
Unfortunately, I guess I mean, it would be off of page A13.
What's next? If the pill is murder, then anyone producing eggs or sperm is a murderer for not making sure that each one of them becomes a human being. Every decision to not have sex is murder. Being a virgin or abstinent is committing murder. Every miscarriage is a murder. Every wet dream.
Man, this could go on forever...
*
Many people (undoubtedly all the right-wing religious wackos we're discussing) don't seem to realize that MANY zygotes (pre-embryonic) go down the john when a woman is maybe just a day or two late with her period. Unless conditions are PERFECT in the uterus the zygote CANNOT implant.
So, since these people believe so strongly in "God", do they blame "Him" when these poor little zygotes get flushed away into the sewer system? Does this make "God" an abortionist??
What I fail to understand about this entire debate is this. If these zealots don't believe in birth control pills, IUD's, the morning after pills, mifipristone, masturbation, sex out of wedlock...whatever!!!, then DON'T FREAKIN' BE INVOLVED WITH ANY OF IT!!!
Ain't nobody's business!!!
Period! (No pun).
They would die out. Bummer.
Yeah, it's kind of hard to keep a sect growing and thriving if no one's allowed to have sex. So much easier to indoctrinate children from birth than it is to keep making adult converts.
then all those priests are not only child molesters, but murderers of the 'coulda, mighta' been babies...by the millions!! Scandal!
That these faux Christians don't give two shits about the unborn.
Here they are protesting something that prevents unwanted pregnancies and therefore prevents the situation that an abortion is brought about in.
If it were up to them, they'd get rid of one of the very things preventing what is they claim to oppose. For them, an unborn is nothing more than a political pawn in their game of maintaining political influence.
If I see any of these faux Christians on my daily routine, they'll see my hand all right, but the digit that's up won't by my thumb.
"Here they are protesting something that prevents unwanted pregnancies and therefore prevents the situation that an abortion is brought about in."
Exactly. Yet I doubt they would get the irony.
I think this whole anti-pill thing is just really an elaborate performance art. Next they will try promoting burkas as a fashion statement.
Did anyone notice that Rachel does not fall in line with almost all of the news media by using the terms "abortion clinic" and abortion Doctor?" She is the only one who gets it. There is no such thing as either. The more we here these incorrect descriptions, the more it feeds into the hands of all the Fox News, right wing, ditto head morons.
Also,when discussing abortion, the issue is "pro choice" and "anti choice," not "pro life!"
Don't let the these foolish "anti choice" activists control the conversation.
Using the term "Pro-Life" insinuates that every one else is against life, against pro-creation, against babies, for gawd's sake. That just isn't so. But, the media is by and large owned and controlled by the coporo-fascist right -wing, repug types, so I doubt we'll be able to change that matra any time soon.
And the pill prevents conception. WTF are they talking about?
According to these folks "life" begins with the "twinkle in the eye".....
That comes (no pun) waaaay before "conception".
Most birth control pills work by creating a hormonal environment that prevents a fertilized egg from implanting - they don't actually prevent the fertilization from occurring.
According to these dimwits, life doesn't begin when the fertilized egg implants and becomes an embryo. They've decided that life begins at the moment the sperm touches the egg. Never mind that the majority of fertilized eggs never get to embryo stage even in the best of circumstances.
planned parenthood does excellent work. is a great resource for medical and educational needs and referrals. they provide access to services related to reproductive health, diseases and information for women and men of diverse ages and orientations. . they really have been an important pillar in the community health service despite very serious opposition, threats and actions.
maybe by rachel's covering the inflamed christianists and their tactics--and the law, things will begin to turn in the direction of informed choice and good reproductive health...well, we can hope.
I was just discussing this with my ex-girlfriend. Scratch the surface of any pro-lifer, and you'll soon discover they are really "anti-sex" (which explains their inconsistencies; pro-life, but also pro death penalty, pro Iraq war & oblivious about things like Darfur).
IF they were concerned about abortions, you'd think they would be for comprehensive sex-ed and would be handing out the pill to third-graders!!!
They view pregnancy as the "price you pay" for having sex (as if a child were punishment, and only women should pay) so anything that prevents or ends pregnancy allows women to "get away with it" ("it" being sex). Most pro-life men are just sexually frustrated & repressed.
"They view pregnancy as the "price you pay" for having sex"
Exactly. Which is why some will make the exception for rape or incest--because those women/girls don't deserve the punishment of a baby, since they didn't choose to have sex. Remind them that the product of rape or incest is STILL a human being full of rights, according to their definition, and watch their heads explode.
I guess that's why they don't protest at fertility clinics, either--all those special little babies staying frozen for years and years. Sex wasn't had so no one has to be punished with them.
"price you pay" for having sex" but not lawsuits for clergy sexual misdeeds.
Cristofascists! The lot of them. Honk and give them the finger. What a despicable thing to do, protesting at a funeral. Morals my arse!
Bah!
They are so good - their evil. They are just to stupid to realize it.
Heather: "...I'm waiting to see if they start protesting masturbation next..."
Please don't give these lunatics any ideas! Also doesn't help since I'm single :-p
Illegal in some states.
Yep. Here it is. Good ol' Alabama:
http://www.cottonmouthpress.org/?p=40
But Meth is cool.
They didn't protest here in Wichita, only the Phelps came to protest. Usually Operation Rescue or the local hate church, Spirit One Christian Center comes to protest funerals. They didn't show up today.
and the more attention anti/no christian amer taliban get re anti-contraception the better.
and btw, advocating against condoms in subsaharan africa given HIV, a big tsk, tsk and a real killer (of babies, their mothers, dads, brothers, sisters, etc) ...
keep the light shined on these people
The guy looks like party boss Limbaugh. Can we see him mock a cripple just to make sure it's not him?
I don't think it's about sexuality as much as it's about hanging on to patriarchy. A woman who can decide her own reproductive life is a woman that is much harder for both the paterfamilias and the religious father to control.
When people have gratuitous sex together, it makes Baby Jesus cry.
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