Opinion Piece:
By: Breianna C. Russell
Abortion.
As I have
said before, the argument over abortion has gone on too long. It has gone for so
long in fact, that people from both sides of the metaphoric fence are dying over
it. As if it is not enough that infants(or fetus'/babies/embryo) are being cast
aside. Abortion has lost it's main focus. whether or not it is right to abort a
conceived entity. The problem now has shifted towards violence upon those who
believe differently than others. Instead of peaceful meetings of the minds or
opinions, family members of those who actively persue their judgments on
abortion are becoming locked in a cage of fear for those loved ones that
protest. You may be aware of Dr. Tiller, who lost his life to a "pro-life"
individual. It is quite contradictory issue. In what way is this "pro-lifer" in
favor of keeping people from dying when he took a vigilante act in committing
murder? But this issue is not left for the Pro-life movement alone. The
Pro-Choice movement is guilty in the same way, as a Pro-life gentlemen (James
Pouillon) was killed during protest for his belief. "The
rhetoric has been lost, it has turned to the last resort, which is violence"
(Owen Williamson, 2010) It is a sad realization that our civilized country
cannot argue meaningfully and peacefully over an important issue.
This is why I
have thought of a simple yet effective policy on how to end these crimes on
opinion. There are three parts to this plan but I will begin with the safety
aspect. First of all, for those who choose to protest, I believe it would be
wise to set up an agreed time and location with city officials to have their
organization's protest known about. This way not only will more people (who may
not regularly be in the area) may hear of the event and attend, but they
may possibly decide to support the effort as well. And also, city officials will
be able to cooperate with the group so that both the protesters and their
audience will be civilized and respectful of the community's safety. Whether
this employs the use of security guards or city police officers would be up to
those groups and city officials judgments. My second inclusion on this policy
would be to include guidelines on those organized protest as for content. For
example, instead of allowing overly graphic photography (which may not be
appropriate for younger children and religious people), but rather mutually
accepted illustrations or photos. In this manner the protesters will still be
able to project their message without harmful effects on the surrounding
neighborhood or industrial complex. And my final aspect of this policy
will be that each protesting event should have a person or small group of people
who will be specifically open to answering questions about their viewpoint for
the entire group. This should minimize over-arguing and the intensifying of said
arguing by organizing the conversation to individuals that will give concise and
mature answers in a calm ad effective manner. And if the conversation never
becomes escalated than violence can surely be avoided.
I strongly
believe in my opinion that this policy will not only lessen the violence which
is on-going, but it may also allow for more interpretation of both sides of the
abortion movement. And in the future, if we are able to speak with confidence
and true maturity on the subject it is very plausible that the overall problem
may be solved. Of course it is very contradictory, but again there is always an
end to everything. And this policy may be a quickened boost for such event.
Violence within our country however will solve nothing, in fact, it only ends
more lives.