The campaigning against the Maser Repeal mural from the anti-choice side is yet another sign that they would rather employ censorship on a piece of art rather than have a reasoned debate about repealing the 8th amendment.
Censorship does not win an argument or really address the issue at hand at all.
If your first instinct is to try to shut down what the other side is saying without any form of discussion, then I’m afraid you have already lost the argument.
If your second instinct is to spread false information about the opposing side’s point of view, then you most definitely have lost the argument.
Unfortunately, the 8th amendment is not some sort of college debate where the outcome doesn’t have any real life effect. The misinformation and pursuit of censorship on this topic that the anti-choice side are taking part is causing the suffering of thousands of women every year.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion but that does not mean that we have to agree with them.
For example, I have a strong hatred of mushrooms and yet my best friend Fiona loves them. If Fiona one day decided to express her opinions on mushrooms in a public space then she is free to do so. Do I have to agree with it? No. Would I make a complaint about the opinions in a bid to shut her down? No. Why? Because her opinion is a freedom of expression and therefore I can go off and express my own opinions about hating mushrooms and expect Fiona to have the same respect for my opinion as I do for hers.
That comparison might sound ridiculous but it is essentially what should happen when we’re debating repealing the 8th amendment. One side should not try and censor what the other is saying just because they don’t agree with their opinion. Sadly, this mostly doesn’t happen and in the case of the mural, it most certainly didn’t happen.
The anti-choice side are scared and as we well know desperate times lead to desperate measures. The creation of a fake Repeal Project Facebook page which doctored a photo of Tara Flynn amongst others shows the lengths that the anti-choice side are willing to go to shut down this debate.
Abortion is not as divisive issue as the anti-choice side wish to make out, that much is clear.
The hunger for debate and a referendum has put them on high alert.
The censorship they employ is a sign of desperation and we cannot and will not stand for it.
