I believe we live in a society that has become liberal enough that individuals should not be shoving their personal preferences down each other’s throats. According to the office manager of the Family Planning Clinic located at 2500 H St., protesters are consistently in front of the clinic every Monday and Tuesdays on a weekly basis.
This is an invasion of privacy. The women entering this clinic have utilized their right of pro choice. Don’t these “protesters” have jobs? Where are their children while they are camping out? According to Sgt. Bill Maxwell of the Bakersfield Police Department, the sidewalk is public property and the protesters have the right to assemble. That’s fine and great, but what about the safety of these women entering the clinic?
“They are as safe at that point as they are walking in the city,” Maxwell said.
Safe? In 1993, a man ran his truck through the wall of the facility. In 1997, the facility was burned down at its former location on Old Stockdale Highway.
I visited the clinic to see what it would be like to be exposed to these protesters. I was appalled to hear such things as, “They’re doing it for the money” and “This is murder, think about it!”
I couldn’t help but think of the word “radicals.” Regardless of my own religious belief, I would never consider violating someone else’s sense of privacy in such a personal matter. Remember, there are many reasons why women choose abortion, including medical reasons and age, as some of the young women are in their teenage years, which is a good reason to think about safe sex or abstinence until marriage. Whatever the reason, it comes down to a matter of personal choice.
If we allow protesters to continue this type of harassment, what’s next? Perhaps we should allow atheists to camp out in front of churches with signs telling Christians that they have made a poor choice to believe in God?
Yes, the protesters in front of the clinic have the right to assemble, but they are trying to force their religious views on others. Let’s not forget that our country was established so people could be free of religious persecution.