Yesterday the crazy abortion types were out. We have this bridge that connects Lewiston with its sister city Auburn, and the route is heavily trafficked. They were lining both sides of the bridge, standing somberly, holding up signs saying things like “abortion = murder,” etc. etc. I happened to be traveling to and from Auburn, so I had to deal with them twice. First time I gave a thumbs down sign while honking across the bridge. Coming back, I just gave them all the finger, including a “preacher” who was waving his bible at oncoming traffic… Maybe my acts were childish, but to stand on the side of the road displaying such signs is, in my opinion, one hell of a nasty thing to do on a Sunday afternoon. Of course it was a “family friendly” event, meaning that I ended up flipping off some kids, but hey, if their parents are going to force them to propagandize their own zealotry, then they better be able to deal with the reaction. I even found their display to be a tad cowardly. As there are traffic lights at both ends of the bridge, they could have stood there, thereby allowing idling motorists to engage in conversation with them. But wait, what am I thinking, those people couldn’t care a lick for any sort of conversation because their ration is irrational. I even went to far as to consider pulling to the side of the road and giving them an earful, but I didn’t, which was likely a good decision. The rampant stupidity in this country never ceases to amaze me. With a war going on and an economy being sunk all these “christians” can manage to do is protest abortion on bridges? Please. These people need to get out of all of our faces.
I can remember going to Planned Parenthood on a day when people were demonstrating outside. I had two nuns flanking me, one trying to push a pamphlet in my hand, the other praying on a rosary for my soul. It happened to be Mother’s Day weekend, and one man shouted “Nice Mother’s Day present, killing your baby!” right in my face. So many people misunderstand PP; I was going for a pelvic exam, not an abortion. PP provides good reproductive care for women, and many protesters overlook the fact that PP also provide pre- and post-natal care for women as well as abortions.
I agree with you Kate. I wish the Planned Parenthood clinics were not referred to as abortion clinics, they provide many services in addition to abortion.
Below find a news report that is forever etched in my mind. It is from 1994 so most who visit this site were very young at the time. When I was young and lived in the neighborhood I would visit this clinic for care.
DATE: Saturday, December 31, 1994
DATELINE: BROOKLINE, MASS.
ABORTION CLINIC GUNMAN HUNTED SHOOTINGS IN BOSTOM SUBURB LEAVE 2 DEAD AND 5 WOUNDED
BROOKLINE, Mass. – A man dressed in black pulled out a rifle and opened fire at two abortion clinics Friday morning, killing two female staff workers and wounding at least five other people.
The attacker, who may have been wounded by a security guard at the second clinic, eluded a massive manhunt by local and state police and FBI agents, a hunt that included helicopters and police dogs.
It was the third fatal shooting at an abortion clinic in the past 22 months. The other two occurred in Pensacola, Fla., where two doctors who performed the operations were killed along with a volunteer escort.
A law enforcement source in Boston told The Associated Press police are trying to find a 23-year-old man named John Salvi, whose last known address was Hampton, N.H. The source said a handgun, some ammunition and a store receipt found in a duffel bag left at the second clinic led police to Salvi.
In Hampton, N.H., Salvi’s boss at a beauty salon, Richard Griffin, described Salvi as “a very odd character” who proclaimed his opposition to abortion with a photo of a fetus on the back of his pickup truck.
Police said the gunman used a semiautomatic .22-caliber rifle in the assaults on the clinics, which are about a mile apart on Beacon Street, a busy thoroughfare in this suburban community just outside Boston.
The investigation by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms then led to a gun shop in Hampton, N.H., where the suspect had previously bought a handgun and a .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle.
Law-enforcement officials said Friday night that the gunman was believed to have escaped with the rifle, but may have used the pistol at the first clinic, operated by Planned Parenthood.
Witnesses said the gunman first stormed into the Planned Parenthood clinic shortly after 10 a.m., getting in despite the fact that the door is locked and opened by buzzer. A woman who did not identify herself said the man was asked if he needed help.
“He asked, `Is this Planned Parenthood?’ ” she said. When told it was, he pulled out a gun and opened fire, hitting receptionist Shannon Lowney, 25, in the neck. She died at the scene. A female counselor and two male volunteer escorts in the waiting room were wounded in the barrage.
About 10 minutes later, the gunman entered the nearby Preterm Health Services clinic and stopped at a reception desk. “A man came in with a black duffel bag. He took out a rifle,” a witness who would not identify himself told reporters at the scene. “He said, `Is this Preterm?’ The woman answering the phone said `yes’, and he dropped the bag and opened fire.” The man shot the woman, then shot another woman standing at a nearby copying machine.
One badly shaken witness, Deborah Gaines, said the shooter never hesitated. “He just started shooting and shooting and shooting. He was very angry.” She said she would have been shot if a woman in front of her had not been struck instead.
Receptionist Leanne Nichols, 38, who was shot at least five times, died at a nearby hospital. Another woman was wounded, as was a male security guard, Richard J. Seron, 45. He told investigators he had fired four or five shots at the gunman before ducking behind a door, and said he may have wounded the man.
Several witnesses said the man fled the clinic on foot, still firing. Others said he climbed into a small, pale-colored car parked nearby and took off. Police discovered the abandoned duffel bag and recovered rounds of unused ammunition.
At first, police were not certain whether one man had carried out both assaults. But after interviewing scores of witnesses, investigating officer Robert Allen said Friday night, “I would say it’s the same shooter.”