by Jacqueline Stoughton
The country was shocked again following the news of a shooting at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood leaving three dead and nine seriously injured.
Robert Lewis Dear, 57, is the main suspect as the perpetrator of the fatal shooting and is currently being held without bail in Colorado Springs jail. New reports from CNN claimed Dear made comments to investigators about “baby parts” during interviews and also expressed anti-abortion and anti-government views.
More information is now coming to light during this active investigation, including the discovery of propane tanks found near Dear’s car, authorities believe he was trying to shoot them to cause an explosion.
Many political figures have commented on the shooting. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said it’s a “crime against women,” while Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said it’s “a tragedy that is beyond speech.”
Many others are also considering this to be an act of domestic terrorism, which they are right to do so.
“What he did is domestic terrorism, and what he did is absolutely abominable, especially to us in the pro-life movement, because there’s nothing about any of us that would condone or in any way look the other way on something like this,” said former Alaskan Governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, to CNN. “There’s no legitimizing, there’s no rationalizing. It was mass murder. It was absolutely unfathomable. And there’s no excuse for killing other people, whether it’s happening inside the Planned Parenthood headquarters, inside their clinics where many millions of babies die, or whether it’s people attacking Planned Parenthood.”
Although Huckabee is absolutely correct to say this is domestic terrorism. Anything premeditated to execute a mass murder to this extent is domestic terrorism and the reasons and beliefs why is irrelevant because there’s no excuse or legitimate reason why this should ever happen.
However, pro-life extremists do play a role in this. Obviously this man is very brainwashed into believed their terrible, false accusations against Planned Parenthood and why pro-life is the only choice.
I am 100 percent pro-choice. I can list all the reasons why it should always be an option to get an abortion, such as various financial reason, if you’re not ready or able to give that child a proper home, various health reasons and not all of us are okay with having our rapists’ child. But none of these reason mean anything except for one – it’s my body and I can do what I want with it. No one else should ever have any authority over what a woman can or can’t do with her body, especially a man.
When men can get pregnant and have to deal with all the stress, mentally, physically and emotionally that comes along with it, then maybe we can talk. But until they’re able to relate at all, they should keep their thoughts, opinions and beliefs to themselves and stop preaching about issues that will never directly effect them.
Everyone has their own personal beliefs and opinions when it comes to being either pro-life or pro-choice. But that’s just it, they’re personal. We need to learn not to force our beliefs onto others, especially when it comes to something that has genuinely helped other people. Accept that, and move on – and maybe the world would be a little bit better if everyone wasn’t so concerned with what others are doing and the personal decisions they’re making. It’s nobody else’s business and nobody else’s concern.