I’ll be honest with you- I’m a liberal. I’m registered as a democrat. I voted for President Obama in the election. But I can always see the perspective that differs from my own (typically the conservative view point) because usually, it’s perfectly logical... I just don’t personally agree with it. And the pro-choice/pro-life argument is no different. I’m pro-choice, but I have always understood the pro-life side.
That is until I heard about a local North Dakota Right to Life group putting fetus dolls in candy bags that would be given to children at a fair. But this isn’t even really an issue between pro-choice and pro-life; it’s between sane and absolutely crazy.
According to the Huffington Post, pro-life and pro-choice parents alike were concerned their children were given fetus dolls, as they should be. The editor of the conservative blog “Say Anything”, Rob Port, told ABC News his 5-year-old daughter doesn’t even know how babies are made, so it was disconcerting seeing her hold a detailed fetus doll.
Which leaves me wondering, “What the effff are these people thinking?” Children can’t vote; if someone had explained abortion and the entire pro-life versus pro-choice to 5-year-old me, I would’ve been really confused and probably really sad. (I was a really sensitive child.)
This has big implications though for abortion, politics and children. Children are fragile, and things like this will impact them more than they would an adult. There is a possibility that one of the little girls given a fetus doll will become pregnant as a teen, and even if she decides she wants to abort her baby, the image of the fetus doll may stop her from going through with an abortion. Now, I know that is exactly what that group wants.
But using fear and small children to sway others’ opinions is totally wrong. The group’s moral compasses must be totally broken because there’s no way in hell, that’s OK. That scenario is definitely a what-if one, but what about the far more likely consequences? It was reported that a lot of the children were confused by the dolls; these kids will probably have nightmares, and some might even contract deeper psychological problems because as we all know, children are fragile and should be protected not targeted.
Now, politically speaking, this opens up the doors for politicians and any group to bombard children with their messages, something that is just wrong. And as college students, I believe it’s our job to speak out about our outrage because our voices are strong and do hold a lot of power.
