Anti-choice protest devalues human life
LETTER TO THE EDITOR, May 6, 2004
Dear Editor:
After a night of devastating storms ripped through the Illinois Valley, most residents of the area headed out to work, thoughts of those who had died in the storms and those still unaccounted for racing through our minds. I was in the Uptown Grill when the tornado made its way down the Illinois River, and I know I was fortunate that it skipped over downtown La Salle, sparing the lives of many in the area.
However, the residents of Utica were not so fortunate. Wednesday morning, as I drove from Ottawa to Illinois Valley Community College, I witnessed the heartbreaking devastation surrounding the town of Utica. It felt strange doing a normal activity when so many were suffering.
However, my mood changed from that of grief and sympathy to that of outrage when I arrived at work to find a group of 6-10 anti-choice demonstrators standing out in the college entrance holding oversized posters of aborted fetuses. I will admit that I would not find their presence inviting on any day, given that I firmly believe in a woman’s right to choose; however, the lack of taste exhibited by having this type of demonstration while others were struggling to rescue community members trapped beneath the rubble of the Milestone just floored me.
To whoever decided to go ahead and hold this demonstration on this day of tragedy and mourning, I say shame on you. Those of us who believe that we, personally, cannot sit in judgment of other women’s right to choose still value and respect human life. To juxtapose the tragedy of victims lost to a natural disaster and the feelings of community engendered by the tragedy, as people work together to rebuild, recover, mourn and hope with the graphic, inflammatory and non-analogous protest harms us all. The dignity of lost human life was definitely undermined by your actions.
Amanda Bigelow, Political
Science/History Instructor
Kimberly Radek,
English, Film, and Gender Studies Instructor