Abortion Tour?
 

http://thenewsherald.com/stories/061...50619002.shtml

Graphic signs stop traffic

Traveling anti-abortion group aims at emotions for its cause

By Jason Alley, The News-Herald

PUBLISHED: June 19, 2005


Larry Caruso/Photo Editor
About 75 members of the Wisconsin-based anti-abortion group Missionaries to the Preborn stopped in Lincoln Park Thursday for a rally. The group is known for the large, graphic photos it uses of aborted fetuses to get its message across. "When something is so horrifying we can't stand to look at it, perhaps we shouldn't be tolerating it," its four-page brochure says.

Purchase a copy of this photo

LINCOLN PARK — Some honked their horns in support. Others rolled down their windows and spewed obscenities.

But everyone who drove by Dix-Toledo and Southfield early Thursday afternoon got an eyeful from about 75 anti-abortion protesters holding up graphic photos of aborted fetuses.

"The pictures are so people can see exactly what a preborn child looks like after he or she has been in the hands of an abortionist," the Rev. Matt Trewhella said. "A picture is worth a thousand words. People need to know what abortion really looks like."

Trewhella heads up the Wisconsin-based group Missionaries to the Preborn, which has members throughout the United States.

The group was on a nine-day mission, dubbed the American Atrocity Tour, in Michigan last week when it made a 90-minute stop in Lincoln Park. Areas are chosen because of their high-traffic volume, Trewhella said.

Men, women and children of all ages lined the streets, passing out the group's four-page color brochure to anyone who would take it. The flier is just as graphic as the posters, showing pictures of aborted fetuses ranging in development from 2 to 7 months.

Walking into the Rite Aid Pharmacy at the corner of Fort and Dix, Paula Carr of Allen Park stopped for a minute to read some of the signs.

Holding her 20-month-old and walking with her 4- and 7-year-old children, she said the signs were a little graphic for younger children to see.

But she said she supports the cause and was happy to see "the truth being spread."

"It's kind of hard to look at, but it's reality," she said.

Not everyone agreed with the event, however.

Stopped at a red light, some motorists used those few seconds to scream at the protesters. Using many vulgarities, one woman rolled down her car window and asked the group who planned to pay to raise all the children whose mothers were unable to.

Another woman, riding by on her bicycle, cussed out the group, telling the members that "it's all about choice, not about murder."

Group members are used to attracting people who disagree with what they are doing, Trewhella said.

In the 10 years they have been displaying the graphic posters, he said, group members have been pegged by eggs, spit on and shoved. Trewhella, a 44-year-old father of 10, said he was beat up once in Illinois and hospitalized.

The majority of the group's protests are done in Wisconsin, where most of its members live.

Since their crusade began, Trewhella said, abortions in his home state have dropped 46 percent. The number of abortions performed last year was at an all-time low since the state began keeping those statistics in 1974, he said.

"I've got to think we are responsible for that," he said.

So far, Trewhella said, his group has traveled to 31 states and recently decided to concentrate heavily on Michigan because it is one of a handful of states where abortions are on the rise.

Eighteen-year-old Michael Raatz of Wisconsin said he can't remember a time he hasn't been involved with the group. His parents introduced him to it at a young age.

"Abortions are wrong, but not many people are doing anything about it," Raatz said. "By not doing anything to help, I'm just as guilty as the doctors who kill the babies."

Besides the people standing along the roadside, the group also had two small trucks plastered with abortion photos that drove up and down the streets in the neighborhood during the protest.

Police Chief Thomas Karnes said his office received several complaints because of the graphic nature of the posters.

Two police cars were dispatched to the area "to make sure they were behaving in an orderly, safe fashion," Karnes said.

The event was mostly peaceful, he said. Two protesters were ticketed for minor traffic violations, Karnes said.

Contact Staff Writer Jason Alley at jalley@heritage.com or at 1-734-246-0867.

I'm sorry, whether you are pro-choice or pro-life, it is just WRONG to be showing these images to children. If I were walking in to a store with my 4 year old niece, I would have covered her eyes. That's not something children need to see. Or even adults. I'm so glad I didn't drive by this cuz I probably would have been one of the people yelling obscenities. And the neighborhood they speak of that the trucks were driving through have a lot of younger children. I wouldn't want that shit driving down my street.

A display along these lines went up in front of the student center at UGA one semester. It was met with serious opposition as well as serious support. While most of the people walking by were college-aged, there were still children and older adults seeing it as well.

I wasn't on either side really. I appreciated that people were able to see what was really going on - people glorify abortion and try to twist it with words like the person in the article who said it's about choice not murder...that's bull - and I'm against censorship. But, I wouldn't have been in the group putting the photos up.

The article's picture shows a partial-birth abortion. Choice? I think not. That's 100% infanticide.

LOL @ them being from Wisconsin. What's in the water up there, kids?

Frankly I could give a rat's ass if someone wants to show me a picture of an aborted fetus. Go ahead -- it's not going to bother me or make me think abortion is wrong, and if I ever wanted to have one, it's not going to change my mind.

Sorry, I should have stated that I wanted the discussion to go more in the direction of the pictures being shown and children seeing them and stuff. There are tons of threads on abortion and I don't want this to turn into a pro-choice/pro-life argument.

Re: Abortion Tour?
 

Is this guy making enough money doing this to feed his 10 kids? Somehow, that line caught my attention most out of the whole article.

Like I said - children saw the display at UGA and I wouldn't have been the one to put it up, but I wasn't against it.

Co-sign.

There was a tour of some sort that came to campus this year. It caused a bit of controversy and words were exchanged and so were fists.

If you want your children to take on your beliefs, fine. But bringing them to a rally where people are so passionate either way can be quite dangerous. I would think that seeing mommy and daddy getting beat up, spit on, cursed at, and so forth doesn't do much to their mental status either.

How's the lot scene? Any camping before the show?

Heady brah.

I don't miss these fools at all, I hope they go on tour all summer.

And if you live in the Midwest, they could be coming to a town near YOU!!! I can't wait to see the reception they'll get in Madison.

Re: Abortion Tour?
 

So is sex between really heavy people . . . but hey, we don't try and outlaw it.

These freaks came to UT-San Antonio this spring.

Most students on campus wished they were real, life sized photos of Abortion Protesters instead of the actual protesters. It would have been in better taste and not disruptive to the academic environment (protests, media, etc).

They were also real pushy with their literature.

Anyway I can make money of them? Maybe a T-shirt tour?

I agree that these people should be able to put up their posters because I believe in free speech. If kids see them that sucks, but it's part of the price we pay to have free and open political demonstrations. Sometimes anti-pornography groups show pictures of very graphic porn to bring noteriety to their cause. I don't think that's good for kids either but I don't want to silence these groups, even though I don't agree with them.

Personally, the pictures don't make a difference to me. Abortion is a medical procedure. And pictures of medical procedures are "gross" to most laypeople, particularly if you blow them up and distort them the way many anti-abortion groups do. I think I would probably explain it to my kids that way. It makes my stomach turn when I watch Dr. 90210 and I see him hammering somebody's nose into place. That doesn't mean I think nose jobs should be illegal or that they shouldn't be shown on TV.

Re: Re: Abortion Tour?
 

But we should. lol

http://www.southparkstuff.com/images...i701/701-6.jpg

Kids always belong in protests, it helps educate them about issues they have a say in...

I am currently interning at a pregnancy care center that is Christ-centered. It is a wonderful ministry, and while I still consider myself pro-choice, I feel that the work that we are doing in this center is absolutely needed and helps so many women facing crisis pregnancies. It deeply saddens me that people like this and organizations with a complete lack of professionalism taint everything associated with the pro-life movement.

Planned Parenthood and the pro-choice movement has found its voice by emphasizing their commitment to women and their choices. The pro-life movement continues to shame itself with its focus on babies. Babies are indeed adorable and no one wants to be a baby killer, but they sure as hell don't vote. Using gory, graphic pictures and being so in-your-face never works- very few people are interested in supporting something radical or controversial. That is why I think the pregnancy care centers across the country have found so much success... we focus on the women who are dealing with unplanned pregancies and their CHOICE, which surely can include the choice of life.

I'm gonna have to agree with you here!

Will they be at the same venues as the Rolling Stones this summer?

-Rudey

When I saw the title of this thread, I had this vision of T shirts the abortion tour folks could have printed up and sell like they do at rock concerts.


"Phabulous Phoetus Tour '05 - Phrolic with the Phanatics"

And don't forget to let your children pose in front of our lifelike 10 foot tall aborted fetus statue! Perfect to send out in the Christmas cards!!!

:rolleyes:

Yes, this post is uberoffensive but these people offend me. I wish my party hadn't aligned itself with these weirdos.

Heady brah. I've herd the flaming lips and primus will be opening.

It's going to be huge! Like the HFStival only huger! I understand some of the other featured groups will be Medicaid Mommies, the Shooting Sperm, Excellent Embryos and (my personal favorite) the celebrated duo Welfare-Queens-with-Fourteen-Kids-by-Fourteen-Daddies.

Rock on.

Dude, you're going to tour with them? Do you think they'll let me tape it?

LOL@ that picture.

In all seriousness, kids don't really have a say. There aren't any political platforms aimed at children because children do not make their own decisions just yet nor can they vote.

This anti-abortion group has a right to do what it does. It's like a "scared straight" tactic. The only problem is that "scared straight" tactics often have the opposite effect. For example, people will adamently be anti-abortion UNTIL they have to make the decision for themselves. Also, people will view these protestors as fanatics and, particularly children, will be traumatized. Traumatized people often go in the opposite direction than what is desired/expected. Same applies to people who are traumatized by their experiences in organized religion, etc.

I tried not to laugh...LOL.

Great post.

Thats reminds me of my favorite saying on this issue.

"Everyone's pro life till they're in that situation."

Eeew, I just saw a little blurb in the paper that the Phabulous Phoetus '05 tour has a stopover in Baltimore today.

Phoetuses rock, dontcha know!

Are you going to tailgate before the show? Get me a t-shirt?

And, I'm still pro-life...for me. Pro-choice for everyone else. I would rather die than kill my baby, and I almost did.

The Boston Herald reports that Bay State regulators are taking food out of the mouths of infants:

Beginning soon, hospitals will no longer be allowed to give free infant formula to mothers taking new babies home. Regulators want to promote breast-feeding, even if it means making Massachusetts the first state to ban the popular freebie.

Every time anyone proposes some modest restriction on abortion, outraged feminists shriek that women are perfectly capable of making up their own minds and it's an insult to suggest otherwise. But if women get to decide whether their children live or die, why can't they be trusted to decide what to feed them?

Free formula is a privilege that is not guaranteed. I have no problem with that. However, I have a HUGE problem if they're seriously saying that they're doing it to promote breastfeeding! Oodles of women can't produce enough milk or can't get their babies to latch properly. I'd rather not have babies starve just to promote breastfeeding. Ridiculous.

I also recently heard that Georgia is banning public breastfeeding. I CANNOT believe that ANY southern state would do such a thing. This country is sick. We are so disturbed that we can't separate sex from anything else and we would put new mothers at a disadvantage....

It's too much for me.

Pro Life Trucks are now driving around in Kansas City.

To say the least, it is sickening. Bloody Fetus on a large truck!:mad:

This makes me really upset.:mad:

There are some reasons for Pro Choice. There are some reasons for Abortion.

Keep an open mind to these situations. Oh, never mind, let underage women have babys or leave them in dumpsters or in churches!:( Let Babys who will never be right because of Motehrs being on Drugs. What about the right of a Baby who comes out of the Womb who is screwed up for life? Who Cares, it is a Pro Life Choice and they are not taking care of them or paying for them!

All We see is the Cute ones!:confused:

Yeah we are so disturbed when a woman can walk into a bathroom and do it but chooses to do it in a park. If I am not allowed to piss and doo doo in public, you're not allowed to breast feed. Both are natural and none are sexual acts.

-Rudey

Apparently Rudey eats where he shits. If he doesn't, why would he expect a baby to? ;)

If we insist on forcing women to find the nearest bathroom (which isn't that "near" depending on where you are) then companies might need to update their restrooms to ensure sanitation, space, seating and whatever else these mothers may need. Companies won't want to make this change without Federal mandates and they will still complain depending on the additional costs.

Easy solution for many mothers and fathers is to bottle breast milk.

The major problem with bottling is that it encourages babies to have lazy mouths. It can make breastfeeding very difficult. I'm certainly going to bottle, at least occasionally, when I can't be there or when my husband wants to feed. But as much as possible, I want to use the breast.

To Rudey: The breastfeeding ban includes feeding with a towel or other cloth to conceal the breast. And, it is a sexual thing - otherwise it wouldn't be a problem.

Great So The Federal Govt is now saying How To Do Baby Feeding!:mad:

Fanfucting Great!

:(

Next, The Will be able to Tell Men and Women How To Piss!:mad:

Once again We are taking it in the Shorts!:rolleyes:

Re: Abortion Tour?
 

The children don't need to hear people yelling obscenities either.

Well we can pee in corners, or alleyways, or behind bushes so nobody sees our no no parts.

-Rudey

I prefer to climb up a tree, where no one can see me, and then rain down my business.