A few days ago at school, I walked out of the cafeteria to see a group of students distributing beautifully decorated cupcakes. Naturally, I headed towards them because, hey, who wouldn't like a cupcake? Looking at the people at the table I recognized many faces. Friendly men and women who would smile at me when they saw me around the school. I walked closer to the table but retreated quickly as soon as I saw a sign that read "#StandForLife".
These students met that day to hand out cupcakes to celebrate the lives of all those who had been aborted. Yes, these students were using the money raised to be donated to a pregnancy center, but these students were also literally sugar coating a way to make a woman feel terrible about herself.
I've noticed many pro-lifers' first instinct to convince someone to migrate to their side is to use guilt or fear. Some begin by telling you exactly all the mental disorders or diseases you will get after you have an abortion. They may even begin to state all the celebrities who wouldn't be there if they had been aborted.
They may also put a cross in their yard to represent "the child you killed", have a funeral for the fetus, or like my fellow classmates did, hand out cupcakes to celebrate a would have been birthday. These ways of "awareness" are becoming a common thing on many college campuses.
To all my fellow pro-life classmates, I would like to say that I am not writing this article to argue against you, or to tell you why I believe in a woman's right to have a choice. I understand the importance of freedom of speech and acknowledge the fact you are allowed to stand for what you want.
I am simply writing this to tell you that your way in trying to make women feel guilty is insensitive and disgusting. I do not understand why you think the best way to promote your message is to use fear or guilt tactics. What message are you trying to get across by creating an environment that makes people feel uncomfortable?
The way you decide to show your views to the public shouldn't be emotionally manipulative. Creating things in a sense which targets women who have gone through an abortion to make her feel terrible is a poor way to bring others to your understanding. Why do you choose to shame instead of trying to understand?
I come to school to learn, to be more informed, and more educated. No girl who is trying to pursue her education should have to go through a day where others build a platform in which she feels ashamed for a personal decision, a decision they know nothing about.
What saddens me most is to see other women partake in these guilt-mongering activities. These same women will speak of "girl power", but then stand for things that take the power away from the girl. "Fetus funerals" or "cupcakes for life" are ways that are created to simply shame a woman. I do not understand how you can have no remorse for designing an activity like that.
Pro-lifers, if you really want to stop abortions maybe you should listen as to why women have abortions in the first place.
The reason many people get so aggravated with you is that you show no empathy for any feelings but your own. You dismiss a woman's perspective on the issues, ignore her voice to speak out on why she should have a choice, and decide it's all up to you on what goes on with her body. This gets you nowhere. Instead of using your energy to come up with ways to make others feel guilty and ignored, use it to understand.
Because at the end of the day, if your beliefs can't be taken seriously without making someone feel emotional guilt or fear, then maybe they aren't so right after all.
