Signs For Life: A demand for the taking down of all Anti-abortion signs in HRM.

Signs For Life: A demand for the taking down of all Anti-abortion signs in HRM.

The Issue

When I saw the signs "Luc was born today but his life started nine months ago", " and "ABORTION: aren't we forgetting about someone?" I was appalled. These signs are all over HRM, on pulbic buses, on bus shelters and side street banners and women have to see these every single day. Women deserve to be confident with the choices they make and not be put down because they made a decision they felt was right. Abortion is a human right in Canada. Whether you are pro-life, pro-choice, or pro-abortion, it is a right and is a medical procedure that is available for all women. Women have the right to do with their body as they please. Women should not feel subject to shame and humiliation for having an abortion or for thinking about having an abortion. Is not a simple decison to make. It takes five, twenty, three hundred times to come to a decision. We live in a society surrounded by religion, by capitalist white collar men, by people who believe that they know what is right for us, for women. Women are told they have the right to do what they want with their bodies and yet Religious groups and organiztations such as Signs For Life produce banners and advertisements telling women that abortion is not right. A Woman's life is simply theirs. Women decide what to do with their bodies, women decide how to live their life, their future comes first. Imagine being a woman on a bus and reading a sign telling them that abortion isn't right, as you're on the way to the clinic. Imagine being a woman who has just had an abortion and seing that sign telling them that life begins on that very first day of being concieved. These signs are hurtful, and emotionally traumatizing. Signs For Life are victimizing women who need an abortion for health reasons, women who have been raped, women who want an abortion simply because they are not ready to be a parent. Women do not need a reason to have an abortion, it is a right and does not need to be justified. 

I believe these signs should be taken down so women can feel secure with their decisions and know that they do have choice. These signs are creating such a stir in HRM and have had negative affects on the women population. The picture of the banner is posted directly outside the hopital where abortions are given every day. Women do not deserve this. Someone said "It's a very, very difficult decison for anybody to have to make..and then when they have to go have that medical precedure done, it would be very upsetting to see that on the way in". Not only are these banners posted outside of the local hospital, but 225 buses now cary these messages all over HRM. 

I want these banners taken down, as do the majority of the female population. 

Please sign my petition in hopes for these signs to disappear from our streets. No one deserves to be targeted for their life choices. 

Thank you.

 

avatar of the starter
Hilary MurphyPetition Starter
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This petition had 2,173 supporters

The Issue

When I saw the signs "Luc was born today but his life started nine months ago", " and "ABORTION: aren't we forgetting about someone?" I was appalled. These signs are all over HRM, on pulbic buses, on bus shelters and side street banners and women have to see these every single day. Women deserve to be confident with the choices they make and not be put down because they made a decision they felt was right. Abortion is a human right in Canada. Whether you are pro-life, pro-choice, or pro-abortion, it is a right and is a medical procedure that is available for all women. Women have the right to do with their body as they please. Women should not feel subject to shame and humiliation for having an abortion or for thinking about having an abortion. Is not a simple decison to make. It takes five, twenty, three hundred times to come to a decision. We live in a society surrounded by religion, by capitalist white collar men, by people who believe that they know what is right for us, for women. Women are told they have the right to do what they want with their bodies and yet Religious groups and organiztations such as Signs For Life produce banners and advertisements telling women that abortion is not right. A Woman's life is simply theirs. Women decide what to do with their bodies, women decide how to live their life, their future comes first. Imagine being a woman on a bus and reading a sign telling them that abortion isn't right, as you're on the way to the clinic. Imagine being a woman who has just had an abortion and seing that sign telling them that life begins on that very first day of being concieved. These signs are hurtful, and emotionally traumatizing. Signs For Life are victimizing women who need an abortion for health reasons, women who have been raped, women who want an abortion simply because they are not ready to be a parent. Women do not need a reason to have an abortion, it is a right and does not need to be justified. 

I believe these signs should be taken down so women can feel secure with their decisions and know that they do have choice. These signs are creating such a stir in HRM and have had negative affects on the women population. The picture of the banner is posted directly outside the hopital where abortions are given every day. Women do not deserve this. Someone said "It's a very, very difficult decison for anybody to have to make..and then when they have to go have that medical precedure done, it would be very upsetting to see that on the way in". Not only are these banners posted outside of the local hospital, but 225 buses now cary these messages all over HRM. 

I want these banners taken down, as do the majority of the female population. 

Please sign my petition in hopes for these signs to disappear from our streets. No one deserves to be targeted for their life choices. 

Thank you.

 

avatar of the starter
Hilary MurphyPetition Starter
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The Decision Makers

Signs For Life
Signs For Life
Signs 4 Life
Responded
“Dear Hilary and petition signatories, First of all, let us thank you for your letter. We appreciate your concern and read your message with care. Too often our society encourages us to be silent when controversy arrives. Discussing difficult issues is considered distasteful. "Protest" has become another stigmatized word in our common dictionary. Please know you have our respect for your desire to speak out. With that in mind, we ask for your understanding that we too are standing up to speak up on an issue that is controversial, though we do not share the same opinion. This is the beauty of freedom of speech. Part of the social contract we're all engaged in means that to have freedom of speech, we must accept that we will hear and see things we don't agree with or may not like. That is part of being in a society that values the importance of debate and discussion in developing our national ethical standard. To say we don't value freedom of speech means that we don't value the corner stone of our democracy. As for the content of our signs, they are inspired by our deep love and respect for women. They are our sisters, mothers, aunts, daughters, nieces and friends. We love them so much we feel compelled to speak out about the value of human life even though we know our opinion may be unpopular. Our intention is to have our signs provoke thought, and for our website to give valuable information about local resources. We care not just about life in the womb, but also about the life of these women and their children for the long term. As you can see if you peruse our website http://www.signs4life.ca, there are links to resources that will help immediately in the case of unexpected pregnancy and follow beyond that as needed. We also include links to organizations such as Project Rachel, which serves post-abortive women who are struggling emotionally and And Then There Were None, a group that aims to help staff who wish to leave the abortion industry and find other gainful employment. None of these services seek to judge, but only to help. Our message is simple. Each life is completely unique and unrepeatable from conception. Everything from the gender, to the eye colour, to the shape of a child's nose is decided in that incredible moment when life begins. The question then is, when do we begin to value life? Do we value it in its beautiful uniqueness from the very beginning? Or when the heart beats? Or when it "looks" human? Or perhaps not at all. Perhaps only if we choose to accept that life. This is not a moral question, but an ethical one. This is not about judging women. This is about asking people to consider how we designate dignity and worth to human beings. These questions transcend gender, although in the end the final choice remains with each woman who becomes pregnant. If any of these women who view our ads are moved by the dignity of the life growing in them, so entirely dependent on them, we hope they will be unafraid to reach out for any help they will need. We will not be removing our ads from the Metro Transit fleet or any other future venues from which we purchase ad space. We thank you for your passion and hope that we have helped you understand a little better our perspective and goals. We are not here to judge, but simply to inform, inspire and support. All the best to each of you and we thank you for the opportunity to share our purpose and goals with you. Signs for Life Team”
Mike Savage
Mike Savage
Mayor of Halifax. Nova Scotia
Sherry Kirwin
Sherry Kirwin
General Manager of Pattison Advertising (Atlantic Division)

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Petition created on January 11, 2014