TRIVIALIZE THIS!

We at Birth Pangs are pissed off. Looky here.

I believe that similar rhetoric, that attempts to trivialize pregnancy and the decision facing women considering an abortion, from those that support the Pro-Choice movement, is just as deplorable and does not help the movement in maintaining credibility and broad public support. What I find to be particularly disgusting is the use of the terms “fetus fetishists” and “fetus fetishizers”.

This follows a post from yesterday supporting choice, which starts like this:

As a male, whether to have an abortion is a decision that I will never be faced with. It is also a decision that I would hope no one would be faced with.

Were you surprised that this is a male writing? Nope, us neither.

Now, since we at Birth Pangs weren't named, we can't be absolutely sure that that finger is wagging our way. But we do use the terms 'fetus fetishist' and 'fetus fetishizing' and variants quite a bit here.

So, we thought we'd have a go at straightening this fellow out.

First, this fellow should be told that the authors at Birth Pangs have given birth to -- um, I ran out of fingers -- more than ten actual babies. In fact, the author of Why Stop at Alcohol? was actually preggers (and a little pissed off too, evidently) at the time of writing.

The author of this excoriation of forced abortion is a mother several times over.

Our infrequent author, but thankfully more frequent commenter, BLANCHE, is a mother and a grandmother.

And our often scathing, but often lyrical deBeauxOs is also a mother.

The present author, who took some exception to one woman a minute dying of pregnancy-related causes, while not a mother, considered abortion twice. And decided in favour of if both times.

An accusation of TRIVIALIZING pregnancy or abortion lobbed at us is a bit rich, yes?

He ends his little snit with this:

I wish to disassociate myself completely from the use of such terms.

Consider it done. (Can you believe the fucking arrogance? And this guy is on Progressive Bloggers? Go figger.)

(First published at Birth Pangs.)

Pro-Choice Terrism

Let it not be said that Birth Pangs is biased in our reporting.

Yesterday, we posted a story about arson at an abortion clinic in New Mexico.

Today, we ran across this.

When veteran pro-lifer Ed Snell was counseling women entering the Hillcrest Abortion Clinic in Harrisburg, Penn. from atop his car, he was thrown to the ground and seriously injured. He suffered internal hemorrhaging in his head, four compression fractures of vertebrae, a broken shoulder and two broken ribs. Doctors even feared he might die.

Despite these injuries, a receptionist at the abortion clinic angrily responded: “He got what he deserved!” when asked for a statement.

After the attack, the police arrived and although Mr. Snell was unconscious and being rushed to the hospital, they allowed his assailant to go free. A police officer then argued with and threatened to arrest Mr. Snell’s fellow pro-lifers, who asked them why the assailant was let free. So far the media has been silent about the incident.

Mr. Snell’s assailant was apprehended days after the attack, when the full extent of his injuries became known, and will be charged with a felony assault.

Well, as the phrase goes, this tiny media outlet is 'silent no more'.

There was a link there to the full story.

At 6:30 am on Saturday, December 22, while most were snug in bed, resting up for Christmas activities, veteran pro-lifer Ed Snell was arriving at Hillcrest Abortion Center, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Apparently, this gang of fetus fetishists have been so annoying that the clinic put up a 7-foot fence. So, the fetus fetishists started bringing ladders. But not Ed.

Mr. Snell, age 69, preferred to stand on a more solid foundation, so he constructed a plywood platform on the roof of his car to elevate him above the fence.

“This platform gives him a real steady base and a commanding view,” said fellow activist and eyewitness John McTernan. As Ed stood on his platform that morning, a man and woman exited a car in the parking lot and proceeded towards that door of the abortion mill.

When Mr. Snell tried to counsel the woman, his words were cut short when the man became furious, jumped the fence and, in the words of Mr. McTernan, “leaped on the vehicle with Ed and catapulted him off of the vehicle and onto the ground.” Mr. Snell hit his back and head on the pavement and was knocked unconscious.

Let's recap, shall we? A 69-year-old nutbar is so committed to harrassing women that he constructs a platform on top of his car. From there, he 'counsels' women. Counselling from the top of a car over a 7-foot fence would probably require a raised voice, yes?

So, basically, this old fart is yelling at people accessing a perfectly legal, albeit somewhat stressful, medical procedure.

The man accompanying the woman reacted to the stress. And the loud busy-body.

Just like our fetus fetishizing colleagues, we at Birth Pangs never ever no how no way countenance violence of any kind. The stressed-out man should not have bounced the yelling old fart off the roof of the car. That was BAD.

(But the receptionist's reaction we kind of understand. Imagine going to work every day with a bunch of nutbars yelling at you. Though it was very BAD of her too, we can imagine the satisfaction of seeing the yelling old fart hit the dirt.)

So there. Fair and balanced reporting, just as loyal BP readers have come to expect.

Oh, and that bit about dying? Well, not so much.

Doctors expect him to make a full recovery, although it will take a long time. “Ed is very sore,” said Mrs. Snell in a telephone interview, “he is black and blue and the doctor said that it will be a full eight weeks before his bones heal completely.”

(First published at Birth Pangs.)

Yeah. Right.

Yeah. Right. The crisis pregnancy centre voluntarily withdrew from receiving one-third of a projected $100,000.

Well, that's what the Fetus Fetishizing News would like to believe.

A Canadian pregnancy center that helps women in difficult pregnancy situations has withdrawn from a fundraiser organized by the wives of the Ottawa Senators hockey team. The move comes after Planned Parenthood officials publicly attacked First Place Pregnancy Centre and falsely accused it of misleading women.

And, of course, LifeShite chimes in (dig the headline):

Pro-Life Crisis Pregnancy Centre Bullied out of Fundraiser by Vicious Abortion Crusaders

Ottawa's First Place Pregnancy Centre has told the charitable foundation of the Ottawa Senators hockey team that it will be pulling out of a fundraising scheme because of negative publicity after attacks in the press on its pro-life position.

Well, we at Birth Pangs are shalled and appocked. We want credit!

As our pal matttbastard said here:

Dammit, it was you and
JJ who lead the unfair persecution!!1

We are the Bullies! We are the Vicious Abortion Crusaders! We are the Unfair Persecutors!

Sheesh. What’s a feminazi got to do to get any respect?

(First published at Birth Pangs.)

Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, GOO-OODBYE!

The CBC is on it.

An Ottawa pregnancy centre has pulled links to controversial opinions and assertions about birth control and abortion from its website after media coverage about the funding it receives from Ottawa Senators hockey fans.

First Place Pregnancy Centre made the changes to its website after articles such as one by CBC.ca columnist Heather Mallick, who reported the links included a story comparing corporations that make birth control drugs to the Jewish Holocaust and a story by an anonymous author with the headline: "One baby in 30 left alive after medical abortion."

The centre, which describes itself as a "non-profit and non-political" agency that offers support to people facing unplanned pregnancy, is among three charities that will receive funds raised from raffle tickets sold at Ottawa Senators hockey games between Nov. 29 and Dec. 22.The fundraiser is put on by the Sens Better Halves, the hockey players' wives and girlfriends. The proceeds raised will be matched by the Ottawa Senators Foundation.

Both the centre and the Sens Better Halves declined to be interviewed by CBC News Wednesday.

As jj at Unrepentant Old Hippie said:

Sing it, pro-choice hockey fans: Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, GOO-OODBYE!

UPDATE: The story at that CBC link has been updated with even better news.

n Ottawa charity facing controversy over its anti-abortion philosophy says it does not want to hurt the positive image of the Ottawa Senators Foundation, and will therefore turn down funding raised at Ottawa Senators games.
First Place Pregnancy Centre said it recognizes "the incredible work and generosity" of the Sens Better Halves, the wives and girlfriends of the Ottawa Senators, who chose the centre as one of three charities they would support by selling raffle tickets at Senators home games between Nov. 29 and Dec. 22.

(First published at Birth Pangs.)

Lying Liars Recant (Well, a little)

Well, looky here: It seems that First Place Pregnancy Centre has updated its controversial links page. And check out the date of the update.

Resource Disclaimer:
The list of referral agencies is intended solely for your convenience. None of these agencies are affiliated with First Place, and no express or implied warranty is made concerning the quality of services or goods offered by them. You are therefore cautioned to make your own determination as to the fitness of any such agency and of any services or goods offered by them.
We hope you'll find these links helpful.

Last Updated: 2007-12-03

What controversial links? you ask. The ones Heather Mallick went through with Senators Foundation president, Dave Ready.

We went through the First Place site links together. There's a standard disclaimer but First Place hopes we'll find them "helpful." I told Ready that some of the news headlines appeared to be libellous, particularly the ones linking corporations that make birth control drugs to the Jewish Holocaust and one drug itself to Nazi death camps. Others were grotesque: "One baby in 30 left alive after medical abortion" turns out to be an absurd, unsubstantiated anonymous "news story" in a British entertainment magazine.
You're also guided to a donation page for the American Life League, a hardline group based outside Washington. There's a shop, admittedly very funny, that sells "Abortion is mean" T-shirts for two-year-olds.
They offer booklets explaining that abortion is wrong even in the case of incest. They tell members to scare away raped children outside abortion clinics. They call RU-486 "the anti-human pesticide." They offer sample letters to the editor to send to outlets that employ, I imagine, columnists like me. One begins: "Planned Parenthood is not 'a good guy.'"
Ready gets more and more quiet as we track this. Soon he is desperate to get off the phone. He will not let me talk to a Better Half, who might well explain that she hadn't known that First Place is financed by the Bethel Pentecostal Church in Ottawa and its mission — declared on the Bethel website but nowhere on the First Place site — is not just anti-abortion but anti-birth control.

So, as we reported yesterday, while the Sens are still treating their fans as somnolent cash cows, there has been at least one good thing to come out of this PR fiasco -- a little less lying bullshit on the Interwebz.

UPDATE:
More bloggers weigh in: Feministing and Shameless.

(First published at Birth Pangs.)

Sens to Fans, Women, and Fans of Women: PFO

All right, all right. If Unrepentant Old Hippie can do it, so can we.

First Place Pregnancy Centre, one of the recipients of the Ottawa Senators' wives and girlfriends' holiday fundraising efforts is a registered charity, but under another name. (And we wonder as does jj WTF is up with that.)

So, there.

But there are other developments. Over here, we reported on our undercover activities at SensNation, a fan site.

Today, one of the posters there added this from Planned Parenthood Ottawa:

Got some chain email going around now:
----
This morning we learned that the wives and girlfriends of the Ottawa Senators – the Sens Better Halves – have launched a holiday fundraising campaign that will benefit three organizations: First Place Pregnancy Centre, Kids Help Phone, and Harmony House. While not wanting to undermine the tremendous contribution the Senators have made to this community or the wonderful, empowering work of the Kids Help Phone and Harmony House, we are concerned that they have chosen to support First Place Pregnancy Centre. First Place Pregnancy Centre is an anti-choice organization that will not provide women facing an unintended pregnancy with referrals to abortion services. When we contacted the Ottawa Senators with our concerns, we were told that they chose this organization "knowing the values they espouse" and that they "understand what this organization does and does not do as far as services to women".

While we respect that the Sens "Better Halves" have their own set of values, we are concerned that the public may donate to their fundraising campaign without having a clear picture of where their funding will go. We are asking for your help in raising awareness. If you feel compelled to act, please forward our press release (below and attached) to your contact list and/or join our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6194818286 . We also encourage you to share your concerns directly with the Ottawa Senators by contacting Danielle Robinson, Director of Corporate & Community Services ( robinsond@ottawasenatorsfoundation.com or 613-599-0174).

To which, another poster says:

I wonder if that is going to be the extent of the team's response.

And the original poster replies:

Ya - that was definitely a big PFO from the organization.

Let us repeat what the Senators organization said:

When we contacted the Ottawa Senators with our concerns, we were told that they chose this organization "knowing the values they espouse" and that they "understand what this organization does and does not do as far as services to women".

Got that? PFO!

(First published at Birth Pangs.)

Sens still suck, but their fans are pretty nice

We at Birth Pangs felt that deluded loyal Senators fans should be alerted to the shocking situation that we reported here. We got out the pancake make-up to cover up the Maple Leaf logo tattooed on our forehead and infiltrated the enemy camp.

We had initially added to an existing thread (the link is in the first post) on the 'Better Halves'. A couple of fans took exception to the 'Sens suck' in the title, but some seemed prepared to discuss the matter. One person though asked us to start another thread since the topic of the Sens' support for a fetus fetishizing organization was distracting from the important subject of the upcoming marriage of some player or other. So as a polite noob, we did.

In the discussion there, you'll see that some didn't care that the Sens are lending support and recognition to a fetus fetishizing gang. Others said that as long as the fetus fetishizers weren't actually bombing abortion clinics, it was OK with them too.

It did seem to bother some of them, bless 'em.

We wait on further developments and will report.

UPDATE:
UnrepentantOldHippie weighs in, in her inimitable fashion. And she has an email address for the Sens. Which I could not get to work. :rant:

UPDATE 2:
Beijing York in the comments here brings us the news that Heather Mallick is on the case. And guess what. She finds that First Place Pregnancy Centre is not only, um, economical with the truth to its clients, but also to its supporters. FPPC apparently told the Senators Foundation that it is a registered charity. Well, Heather checked and it is not.

(First published at Birth Pangs.)

Not only do Sens suck, their 'Better Halves' support fetus fetishists

Sports is usually outside the purview of Birth Pangs. But this litle item caught our attention.

The Ottawa Senators' Better Halves are holding a fundraising Tree Raffle.

Tickets will be on sale at home games on Nov. 29, Dec. 1, Dec 15 and Dec. 22. All funds raised through the sale of tickets will be matched by the Sens Foundation and directed to the following charities: First Place Pregnancy Centre, Kids Help Phone Ottawa and Harmony House.

So, what are these charities? Harmony House is a women's shelter. OK. Kids Help Phone, as its name might suggest, offers help to kids in various kinds of distress. Fine. And
First Place Pregnancy Centre is a
Crisis Pregnancy Centre.

Uh-oh.

Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), also known as pregnancy resource centers, are non-profit organizations established by pro-life supporters that work to persuade pregnant women to give birth rather than have abortions, with a focus on women facing unplanned or "crisis" pregnancies. CPCs may advise women regarding parenting and adoption. Some CPCs provide non-medical supportive services to pregnant and parenting women. Most CPCs do not provide medical care.

CPCs are typically supported and staffed by pro-life Christians. Individual CPCs are usually affiliated with a larger pro-life Christian CPC organization, or with a specific Christian church. Some CPCs operate as parachurch organizations. Most are in the United States.

And, it seems, Canada too.

We at Birth Pangs are not the only ones with a teensy problem with this.

A news release from Planned Parenthood Ottawa says:

One of the organizations set to benefit from the money raised is the First Place Pregnancy Centre, an organization in Ottawa that claims to “want you to be empowered to make your choice”, but which will not provide women facing an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy with referrals to abortion services. As a pro-choice organization, Planned Parenthood Ottawa is concerned that generous Senators fans contributing to this fundraising campaign may do so without knowing that a portion of their donations is going to support an anti-choice organization.

So, wittingly or not, the 'Better Halves' (*snerk*) are supporting fetus fetishists.

Generous Sens fans (*snerk*) take note.

(First published at Birth Pangs.)

Girls and Women, Girls and Women, Girls and Women

We at Birth Pangs are heartily sick of this bullshit meme.

From the recent throne speech:

Our mission in Afghanistan is a noble and necessary endeavour.

It is making a difference in the lives of men who were victims of Taliban oppression, for children forced to live in ignorance, and for women who had no human rights.

From Peter MacKay:

We are supporting women who, under the Taliban regime, were forbidden to go to school, to work or to vote. . . . We are building a future for children, so that they can all be educated, have access to medical care, and have the freedom to grow up in a climate of security and hope rather than in fear.

And from Bev Oda:

"After years of conflict and insecurity, Afghanistan’s education system is one of the weakest in the world. This has deeply affected the country’s ability to rebuild and sustain itself,” said Minister Oda. “But progress is being made, and Canada continues to reinforce its role as a leader for education in Afghanistan, particularly for women and girls."

Well, thank Gord for the Canadians.

Um, well, maybe not. Today, UNICEF released a report on Afghanistan's children.