'I had an abortion' T-shirt stirs debate

Some offended, others empowered by declaration  |  By SCOTT WILLIAMS; Aug. 2, 2004

For abortion-rights advocates, the latest strategy in bringing that element of women's health care out of the closet involves something from inside the closet.

A T-shirt emblazoned with the simple message "I had an abortion" is becoming a hotly debated method of helping women overcome the stigma often associated with ending a pregnancy.

Designed by a political activist with roots in Wisconsin, the T-shirt is being marketed by Planned Parenthood, with about 400 sold.

Abortion opponents in Milwaukee and elsewhere are horrified by what they perceive as women boasting cold-heartedly about ending the lives of their unborn children. One local group bemoaned the tactic in a recent newsletter to its followers.

But abortion-rights supporters say the T-shirt is a statement to critics who heckle and belittle women for taking advantage of a health care option that has been legal for 30 years.

"It's not a cavalier declaration," said Lisa Boyce, vice president of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. "It delivers a message that is intended to confront and subvert the sense of shame."

Originally designed for an abortion-rights rally this year, the T-shirt later went into production and has stirred backlash in recent weeks from opponents of abortion.

"It's a sad day for humanity," said Barbara Lyons, executive director of Wisconsin Right to Life.

At Planned Parenthood headquarters in New York, officials said they have sold more than 200 shirts in the past week, on top of about 200 sold previously by the designer.

Designer is Lawrence grad

The designer is an abortion-rights activist who once exercised her political activism on a Wisconsin college campus.

Jennifer Baumgardner, a 1992 graduate of Lawrence University in Appleton, is now a New York author who writes frequently on women's issues and has co-authored a book called "Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism and the Future."

Baumgardner, 34, who grew up in Fargo, N.D., said she got tired of hearing stories about how having an abortion left women feeling embarrassed or scorned because protesters had called them "baby haters" and worse.

The T-shirt, she said, is a bold statement that having an abortion is a medical procedure for which no apology is needed.

"In any town there are women who've gotten abortions," she said. "It's probably people we know and love."

Brady Nichols of Madison, an old college friend of Baumgardner, was not surprised that she would be involved in something so controversial. He remembers her demonstrating outside women's health clinics during college, confronting abortion foes who were trying to disrupt the clinics.

Nichols, a high school teacher who is supports abortion rights, said he was impressed by her T-shirt design.

"I think it's a pretty brave thing," he said.

Baumgardner says her next project is a documentary film featuring women telling about their decisions to have abortions.

The Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973 in the Roe vs. Wade decision.

Abortion-rights supporters say the T-shirt, in a way, answers the shock tactics of opponents who demonstrate outside health clinics carrying large images of bloody, dismembered fetuses.

But even some women who applaud the empowering message of Baumgardner's T-shirt are hesitant about walking down the street with the words "I had an abortion" on their chests.

Robin Ringleka, 30, of Chicago said she bought a T-shirt recently and plans to wear it to a women's issues rally. But she fears that wearing it to the grocery store or the mall would provoke a harsh response from critics, maybe even physical violence.

"This is so new, who really knows," she said. "I imagine I will wear mine."

Planned Parenthood officials said they have received no T-shirt orders from anyone in Wisconsin. The organization sells the shirts for $15 on the Internet.

Peggy Hamill, executive director of Pro-Life Wisconsin, said she hears far more stories from women who regret having abortions than those who are comfortable and willing to broadcast it publicly.

Hamill said the T-shirt made her feel disgusted, although she said it probably represents an effective political tool in the ongoing battle over abortion rights.

"In trying to rub our noses in something that is very distasteful, yeah, they're doing it," she said. "Looking at something like this, I think we've still got a long way to go."

Job 31:13-15, “If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me;  What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?  Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?”

WEBMASTERS NOTE

       It is just plain evil to murder a child.  Whether a child is born or unborn, it is still a growing child.  Only God can give life and only God should take life.  It is not for us to decide who lives or dies.  The truth is that we are an utterly irresponsible nation which refuses to exercise personal discipline and responsibility.  98% of all unwanted pregnancies are the result of sexual promiscuity without any regards for the consequences of such irresponsible actions.  The government is indirectly to blame for this evil in America.  The direct responsibility for this evil rests upon the head of each and every  mother who CHOOSES for her child to be murdered.  Yes, it is pro-choice, and it is cold-blooded murder.  Every doctor, every nurse, every judge, every politician, every law enforcement official, and every company involved with abortion will stand guilty before God as an accomplice to first degree murder!

Abortion is all about population control.  Statistically, it is poor women who have the most abortions (specifically black women).  You can visit www.blackgenocide.org for more information).  Women in China weren't as willing to murder their babies so the Chinese government did it for them.  The founder of Planned Parenthood (Murderhood) was Margaret Sanger.  She had a goal to genocide the negro population.  She was a mass murderer.  You'll never hear this on the liberal-controlled media, but check into it yourself.  She hated black people.  Now her followers want your baby dead too.  Ladies, if you don't want to have a baby...DON'T. 

I am so sick and tired of society and the government trying to help irresponsible people stay irresponsible.  Listen folks, without Christ anyone can become a monster.  Society is filled with monsters, like the murderous abortion crowd.  It is an industry of death, selling the aborted body parts from once healthy little babies.  Yes, they are selling the body parts. 

If someone claims to be a Christian and has an abortion, it is a sure indication that they are very, very far away from the Lord (or they're no Christian at all).  I agree that it is a horrible thing to bring an unwanted child into this world, but EVERYONE has a right to be born!!!  It is not the mother's decision whether or not her child should live, she is NOT God.  The bottom line is that those little children have RIGHTS too!  I've heard numerous court cases where someone was charged with murder for killing an unborn child.  One woman in particular comes to mind.  She had a serious drug-addiction problem.  She took enough illegal drugs while pregnant that her baby died.  The court system found her guilty and the judge sentenced her to life in prison for 1st degree murder. 

Prosecutors in the Scott Peterson trial are charging him with TWO alleged murders.  Isn't that hypocrisy within our legal system?  It sure is hypocrisy!  Why is it that a doctor can legally murder a child, but no one else can?  It is insanity to say the least!  Doctors are not gods, but many think they are.  As long as they have the power of the government backing them, they will continue to murder little children for filthy lucre's sake.  Oh the evil, oh the wickedness.  Great are the sins of the American people!

Even worse, the evil doers mock God by selling shirts that brag about it.  It is no different than if you went around town with a shirt that read "I killed Jews in the Holocaust."  You would be arrested!  I pray that God would bring swift judgment upon the evildoers in America and spare the righteous for the sake of our children.  Great are the sins of the American people and it's silent churches! END