Protestor's 'Excellent' Question To Anti-Planned Parenthood Man Cheered: 'Well Done!'
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A woman is being applauded online for her "excellent" question during an anti-Planned Parenthood demonstration.
On Reddit, the woman and original poster (OP), user BlondeOnBicycle, recounted an interaction that took place roughly a decade ago during an advocacy day at a state capitol.
The OP had taken the day off from work to support an environmental cause, but found an anti-Planned Parenthood group that had set up for the same event.
'Makes me mad'
"I have multiple friends who are alive today because of the health care, like cancer screenings, that Planned Parenthood provides, and have family in rural parts of the state who already have difficulty accessing basic health care," the OP wrote.
"Trying to shut down all of PP because you disagree with part of it makes me mad."
So, the OP decided to ask one of the group a question.
Stock image of a sign at an abortion rights protest.
Stock image of a sign at an abortion rights protest.
ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS
"A bearded white man with white hair was there encouraging defunding Planned Parenthood," she explained. "He only wanted to shut down Planned Parenthood to prevent abortions.
"I asked him about the health care that they provide beyond just providing abortions, and he could not speak to that.
"So I asked him, 'Sir, how far are you willing to drive to have your prostate examined? Because if you shut down Planned Parenthood, you're making it harder for people all over the state to get the basic health care that they need to stay alive, so I'm curious - how far are you willing to travel if you lost easy access to your basic health care services?'
"He just about jumped away from me. If he's willing to talk about the reproductive parts of any human, clearly his own need to be fair game."
Reddit Reacts
Reddit users took to the comments to applaud the OP's actions, with one writing, "THAT is an excellent question! Well done!!"
Another added, "This is actually a gem. Putting it on their health instead of random hypothetical 'others'. Honestly, using this!"
"I am personally against abortions, but I don't believe in forcing my opinions on others," wrote one Redditor. "I do also believe that it is an individual right to choose.
"That being said, Planned Parenthood clinics provide wonderful services beyond just that. I think that cutting those programs would create more problems than they prevent!"
'Planned Parenthood saves lives'
In a message to Newsweek via Reddit, the OP explained, "The man I was talking to was extremely concerned about saving lives, and we spent a while talking about that.
"In his case, the lives of the unborn. I am also concerned about saving lives—the lives of people I know and love."
"Planned Parenthood saves lives, and defunding that work because you don't like some of the other work they do is cutting off your nose to spite your face."
'It's only fair'
She continued, "I don't think he has ever made the connection between basic health care and the services he was trying to shut down, and he certainly wasn't expecting a woman to ask him about his own reproductive organs in the state house
"But if he's going to protest about health care that mostly affects women, it's only fair to remind him that health care affects men—and him—as well!"
The Right to Choose
People on both sides of the argument have strong views on reproductive rights.
In one Newsweek article, a Reddit user was urged to break up with her boyfriend after she realized he opposed abortion.
According to her post, her boyfriend told her, "If you [abort a baby] just because you don't want a kid, then it's wrong. Like if you aborted my baby for no reason, I'd have to kill you, ya know?"
In another incident covered by Newsweek, a Redditor was accused of "forcing" their brother and brother's girlfriend to undergo an abortion after they explained they wouldn't be able to live with the couple if they had their baby.
Newsweek has contacted BlondeOnBicycle for comment via Reddit.
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