The other day I got an automated priming phone call from an unidentified group that asked me one simple but skewed question:
"Do you consider yourself pro-life?"
Now, how can there be but one right answer to that? Thinking of cats, kids, flowers, birds, etc., of course I chose the loaded response.
Which evidently placed me on the list to receive a real-human-being followup call from Alta Vista Research located right here in Dubuque, Iowa. One peculiarity of this heavily Catholic city is that the phrase Planned Parenthood carries threatening overtones, at least to those individuals whose religion and privilege (I'm making assumptions here) has blinded them to quality of life issues. Ever since a Planned Parenthood clinic moved into town last year, there have been spurts of protest.
Myself, I can't understand the idea of reproduction without limit. To me, this is elevating quantity over quality to the great detriment of those of us who are already living. Not only women's rights are at stake (not to minimize their vital importance, being one myself). Can't these so-called Pro-Life people recognize what human overpopulation is doing to harm the natural environment?
Habitat is diminishing, species are at risk, suburbia is crushing woodlands and waterways everywhere, and vehicles are proliferating, to name a few negative effects. Plus, human activity and over-consumption are directly linked to climate change. Why would any thinking person wish to deny others reproductive choice when there are so many stories and facts in the news about the impact of earth's overgrown human population?
I believe that planned parenthood, birth control, and sometimes even abortion are essential -- not only for women's well-being and self-determination, but also to maintain a healthy, liveable planet for all of us, both humans other living creatures.
The young woman on the other end of the phone line sounded nice, albeit naive, so I told her my views straight off, before she even started on her canned survey. I figured it was best to be upfront.She read me a disclaimer about her organization's supposedly unbiased stance, but I noticed she had difficulty pronouncing the word ethical. Hmmm, bad sign.
The first survey question was something like, "What descriptive words do you think of when you hear the phrase Planned Parenthood?" My response included "blind, short-sighted," and a reiteration of my ideas above. It was followed by a non-comprehending pause on the line before the young woman blithely proceeded to her next question.
Aware that I was facing a pseudo-survey whose true intent was to scrape the dregs of public opinion in order to further harass workers and clients at the local Planned Parenthood clinic, I asked, "Did you write down what I just said?" The naive but honest young woman admitted, "Mmm, No."
Because she couldn't hear me amidst her muffling desires to support one-sided results for the "survey", I declined to answer the rest of the questions. In my own mind, this phone call solidified my determination to lean more strongly the other way, towards pro-choice.
It's not enough to believe in an idea. Your actions must support it. Especially when forces of ignorance seek to oppress the freedom and knowledge of everyone else in the community, too. You must fight to preserve choice. The well-being of the Earth depends upon it.
- While some of these projections may look gloomy, remember: we can change the future. We can create a new vision, a new dream for the planet. It is in our power to humanely slow and stop population growth and solve the many problems that growth is creating. (source)
