Girl “live-Tweets” her own abortion: Bryan Kemper at Stand True

From Bryan Kemper at Stand True Ministries comes this interview with a girl named Angie, who live-Tweeted her own chemical abortion. This is a follow-up to previous article from Bryan. I have nothing to add. I’m beyond shocked. Interview is unedited.

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Here is my interview with Angie the Anti-theist. I told her I would not edit her answers in any way, which I have not. I will sit down in a while and comment to her answers in a later post, but for now here is the interview in full, un-edited.

//Do you call your self pro-choice?//

Yes. I support the notion of trusting women to make the best reproductive choices for themselves, with the help of their medical providers (and family & friends, if they choose). Pregnancy is a medical condition with varying degrees of risk, however I do not believe I have the right to tell another person how much risk they should be take on my behalf. Certainly, I do not believe I have the right to dictate by law what another person may do medically with their own body. We have not yet gotten to a point technologically where I find it useful to discuss how we’ll handle things in the future, when abortion will not be a woman’s only option for ending a pregnancy within her body. For now, it is and so it must remain legal.

//Do you believe that people should have the choice to believe whatever they want to believe no matter how much you disagree?//

I find this an oddly worded question, so let me answer what I can. I don’t know how “choice” people have in what they believe. Environment, natural level of curiosity, exposure to different ideas, knowledge about science and the physical world – all of these can impact a person’s *ability* to believe in something. I don’t think I could believe in Jesus or the Bible again if I tried. It just doesn’t *seem* believable to me, in the same way that I’m sure Mohammad traveling by flying horse seems unbelievable to you. You probably do not “choose” whether or not you believe that.

Now as to rights and beliefs – I think thoughts are someone’s personal territory. I don’t believe in thought crimes or thought sins. I find some beliefs or values more distasteful than others, as I’m sure you do also. That does not mean I wish to police anyone’s thoughts or infringe on their rights of belief. Hardly. I merely want the same courtesy extended to those of us in the minority who do NOT believe in any god.

//Do you believe that religion should be outlawed, or regulated in some way?//

No. I believe in a strong separation between church and state. I wish for all people, regardless of belief, to be seen equally under the law. By this, I mean that I do not support religious exemptions either. In several states, there are exemptions within the child abuse and neglect laws which allow for parents to medically neglect their child by depriving needed treatment, if it is motivated by religious belief. While I respect and value the rights of individuals to believe as they will, I do NOT recognize any rights for them to deprive their children of needed medical care based on their beliefs, or to be treated differently under the law. With a nation of so many beliefs, it would be nearly impossible to have a cohesive legal system if we continually make exemptions for this group or that. One law for all, but your beliefs are none of the government’s business.

//If your son decided he wanted to pursue a religion when he is a teenager, would you support his choice or fight against it?//

I’ve done videos on this at http://www.youtube.com/user/AngieAntiTheist and on being an atheist parent in general. I am honest with my son, meaning that I both tell him my views and make opposing views available to him. I could only wish all parents took a similar model of trusting their children. If my son decides to pursue religion, I will encourage him to study it with vigor and to always check his new beliefs against his core values. I do not want my son to be my clone. I want him to be happy, healthy, self-reliant, charitable, loving & loved: The same things every parent wants for their children. If he finds that in religion rather than through secular means, so be it.

//You say you did not do this for attention, yet you said you wanted to de-mystify abortion; wouldn’t you want as much attention on this as possible for that?//

Honestly I had no idea this would go on so long. I thought the entire abortion would take a few hours, as I’d read in a few stories. I was mostly talking to my friends, who I talk to about everything. I am an extremely open person. When I went on psychiatric medication for depression this year, I blogged about it and tweeted about it. When I was facing eviction, I talked about that too. I talk about growing up in a cult and being a sexual abuse survivor and about all the things no one seems to talk about. It is my healing process from the childhood of secrecy and abuse I went through. In the process, I find other people are helped also. I get countless letters thanking me, for each subject I raise, for talking about something so hard to talk about. This was no different for me, but the reaction has been substantially different.

Everything I talk about is with the goal of demistifying it or reducing stigma, whether that’s abortion or mental illness.

//Is there a point during pregnancy in which you believe abortion is wrong? If so why?//

See the rest of the interview here.