I've heard a lot about the signs. I didn't see them. The general concensus is that they were very graphic. Some say they shouldn't be allowed. What do you all think? Don't they put those signs up every year?

Don't they have jobs and morgages?Don't they stand in line to adopt the unwanted babies?Or the children thats been in the system all their lives?
Bunch of "Dudley Do-Rights" shovin their opinons down everybody's throats whether they want it or not.

I guess the price we have to pay for free speech.
Anyone can go out in the street and show what they dam well please without regard for the sensibilities of others.
Yes, how many of them HAVE adopted an unwanted child?

I happened to see the signs that were being displayed and yes they were graphic, but I didn't see anything wrong with it. I have seen movies that are more graphic as I am sure most of you out there have one time or another! Those signs will allow someone who is contemplating abortion to make an even more informed decision. There is such a thing as freedom of speech something we should all cherish. That doesn't just cover things we personally believe are ok. For all we know they do adopt children. that statement is just an assumption to try to prove a weak point, whereas at least the things they were showing were facts. BIG DIFFERENCE. As for people shoving their opinions down everyone's throat they are doing nothing more than what each one of us are doing when we post to these boards that is give our opinions. In either case if you don't want to see it don't look!!! That happens to be another one of our freedoms.

I don't care whether they want to put anit-abortion or pro-abortion signs on the highways, but it's going a little to far to make them graphic. Seeing a movie is one thing because you can choose to see, but you are going to see a billboard no matter what!

You are correct you have a choice to see a graphic movie or not.. but the people who were holding the signs also gave you a choice. They had people ahead of them holding signs that read GRAPHIC SIGNS AHEAD. At that point everyone had the choice to keep going or take a different rout so as not to see them.

That's something that didn't make any sense to me. People moving ahead of the signs with signs warning people of the graphic signs. All well and good, assuming people were all moving in the same direction. But what about people not going in the same direction. What about the young children seeing those signs.

You want to talk about irresponsibility? Consider thine own ways, first. And why should I take a different route? Don't I also have the right to move along in a public thorough fare as every one else without the expectation of confrontation?

You anti abortionists really confuse me. You say everyone has rights. What about the rights of everyone? I've never seen a prochoice advocate throw a bomb into a crowd of anti abortionists. I equate you with many of the other militant extremist groups that history has had to contend with and thus discount with extreme prejudice any thing you have to say.

What about people who don't live in the area, or know the area well enough to take a different route. Besides the anti-abortion people make themselves look bad by putting up graphic signs that could be unsuitable to young children!

Have the anti-choice people adopted the "impossible" to place child? The severely handicapped? The older child with social problems? The anti-choice protesters that I know, only want to multiply and replenish the earth. They look at every pregnancy as a gift from God. One very strongly opinionated male told me that a female will never get pregnant from a rape because her body will reject the sperm when raped! It is a very hard decision to have an abortion. I feel for the female who has to go through the turmoil of such. And, the male in some cases also goes through a difficult time.

This will be my last post on this whole subject: MY BODY,MY CHOICE,MY BUSINESS.KEEP YOUR NOSE OUT OF MY WOMB.

I agree wholeheartedly with yossarian and many of your posts are right on as far as I'm concerned. They have no place in the public (?) square of our wonderful (!) downdown. Of course there are a lot of other hoodlums running loose down there, what's a few more.

I do not appreciate the signs nor intrusion into my life with their thoughts on this. I feel really sorry for our children with the stress they have on them now a days. I agree that it is nobody's business. I also believe that our freedom of speech has gone way too far in a lot of aspects. It is destroying the moral of this Country. (Too much sex and violence on tv, too many people flaunting their sexual preferences, etc.) How many times did we get to hear about Clinton's crooked you know what and his oral escapades . There was no reason for all this embarassment and did the public need to know this. I'm disgusted. We are the laughing stock of other countries I'm sure. Sometimes I am really embarrassed for America. We've come a long way alright, but I don't know if it's for the better. There needs to be a turn off point with this crap.

Yes, freedom of speech is our American way. Yes, I'm glad we have freedom on speech. Yes, it has gone way....to....far.

I am all for the signs on the square. I believe that anyone who makes the decision to have unprotected sex, makes the decision to accept the consequences which include pregnancy. In the case of unwanted sex (rape, incest) if you report it right away a DNC is done. You will not get pregnant. ABORTION IS MURDER. The only choice needed is whether or not to have unprotected sex.

People in this country are quick to say that shootings, stabbings, etc. are murder and should be punished but when someone kills an innocent child just because they make the wrong choice, I think that is wrong. Could you go out and kill a child that has already been born?? I think it should be thought of the same way.

As far as handicapped or "not perfect" children, I think that these children are gifts to the parents. God doesn't give you more than you can handle.

Also as far as adoption, some of us have tried and if you are not wealthy, you are not what these adoption agencies are looking for. I have tried. I was told that I was a great candidate to be adoptive parents but that we didn't meet the financial requirements.

So if people would start taking responsibility for their actions, we wouldn't have abortions.

Those signs are sick. They have no business setting up in downtown Hagerstown to push their ANTI-CHOICE beliefs upon people. Just like WVDragonlady said - MY BODY, MY CHOICE. Period. How many countless children are born to unwanting parents and end up living in an un-loving environment? These people don't put children up for adoption - they bring them up in a bad environment. Until there's a shortage of children needing a loving home, I don't think that abortion should be an issue. There are already WAY too many children that need a home to live in.

As far as people taking responsibility for their actions, that's never going to happen. People will never stop having abortions either - legal or not - they'll just go back to using a hanger - then you'll end up with two dead people. People (including the government) need to stop pushing their beliefs on people's bodies. You don't like abortions? Don't have one.

I totally agree with Phish.

As I stated I am not ANTI-CHOICE. You make the CHOICE when you have unprotected sex.

But you are anti choice. You want to decide for me.

Or, you make the choice when you're raped, right? Or you make the choice when the condom breaks, right?

Or, when not in the case of rape, the situation in which someone has unprotected sex is their choice and nobody else's business. Trust me, most people having abortions are not irresponsible with their sexuality. Many are married couples that are smart enough to realize they just cannot afford to have a child - financially, emotionally, etc. - at the time. It doesn't make them irresponsible. If anything, it makes them more responsible for realizing the reality of their situation(s).

I can't wait until they return next year!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hopefully they will NOT be returning next year. Who wants to look at that crap anyway?

If those signs made one person rethink their decision, then it was worth it.

That really depends on the situation.

Just a hypothetical question.... how many of those people who hung the signs, or how many of the most rabid pro-lifers in general, are happy when they prevent an abortion that results in an unwanted and unaffordable child, and that child grows up welfare-dependent and a street urchin that turns to crime? It just seems ironic to me that those individuals who harp and piss and moan that every 'baby' should be born are the same individuals who harp and piss and moan when their taxes go up because more and more people turn to welfare because they can't afford to raise the kid. (Excuse me for the rambling... I just woke up.)

Melaniekt: I know the answer to that question.
They all are happy when they prevent an abortion. They don't have the foresight to expect what will happen at a future time. They are close minded individuals with little one track minds that don't plan for consequences of their actions.
They have no idea what the term "quality of life" means and will not accept the fact that abortion is, at times, necessary.

I don't agree. I am not a close mined individual. I do look at the big picture. I understand that our community is overrun with underloved and undercared for children (for whatever reasons). There is no single answer, whether abortion, adoption or some other means, that will solve that problem.

But I believe that abortion is murder. I also know that not everyone shares my opinions. That is fine. But the people with the signs have the right, under our laws, to display and voice their opinion. Just like people who don't agree with their stand can voice their opinion.

So this is in my opinion is something that will be debated forever. You cannot make everyone happy all of the time whether it is about the abortion laws or anything else. Right now the law is what it is and there is no change in the near future. So we have to agree to disagree.

It's called tact. That's what those pro-lifers lack when they display those signs of aborted fetuses. Of course they have the right to freedom of speech and to protest. I would never want that freedom taken away from anyone, no matter what message they're trying to send. But for them to display those images is gross. How do you suggest explaining to an innocent child, who has no idea what he/she is looking at - and who probably has not even been exposed to something that grotesque, that those are dead babies? And then how do you further explain why those people are showing those images? I just don't think it's necessary to try to send a message in that fashion. How would the people of Hagerstown feel if the porn industry wanted the right to show movies on standard cable television? How would they feel if there were graphic pictures of people having sex? I bet THAT would never be allowed. I don't think the pictures of the festuses should be allowed either. It's just not necessary.

Why do they need to use graphic signs to display their opinions anyway, it just turns people against them even more.

Bump.

I think this is what they call baiting.

Yes.

Ya think?!?

Baiting? AH come on not on this forum

I have to agree with Phish. It will never stop.

What'd you bring this back for, Mod? Are you pregnant?

No.

We had a new Abortion thread started and I wanted to bring up the old ones for an historical perspective.

Interesting. Many forums I have been to have rules AGAINST bumping threads without adding substantive new comments.

Just FYI, I think the problem most places have with that is it tends to cause discussions to spread over multiple forums and threads which kind of drowns out other discussions. Maybe I've just been conditioned by my experiences elsewhere, but I'd rather see one thread on abortion, or really preferably these days, none at all because I am tired of rehashing the same old arguments that really will never change and never come to any kind of resolution except to say that people on both sides are VERY passionate in their opinions and unlikely to bidge one inch no matter what the other side says nor how nicely or nastily the arguments are put forward.

There not really anything new to be said about the topic. I referenced the topic to point out Obama's stance on it and point out that his unusually extreme devotion to it caused him to take a position to the far left of even many of his fellow Democrats and the laws they have passed on the IMO only slightly-related issue of infants born alive. I didn't do so in order to open debate on abortion, though some tried to turn it that way, but to show that Obama is not he mainstream messiah that the press is trying to convince us should have widespread appeal. He is an extremist. But mention abortion even in passing and some folks cannot help but drag out their soapboxes.

I agree that there isn't much point in discussing this, no one's point of view or opinion is going to change.

Close it

After they tried to revive it.

Yeh, I'm with McGee, close it.

UN where are you?

It won't be long now.