My soapbox.

Sometimes I process through writing, so bear with me. I'm releasing some steam and some thoughts into the blogosphere here.

So, I grew up in Wichita, Kansas. It looks like this:

Juuuust kidding. We've come a long way since our Cowtown days. But of course, being in the heart of the country, religion was (and is) big. And where you have organized religion, you're bound to have some extremists. We have plenty of notoriously hateful and hurtful religious extremists in Kansas. They come in a variety of flavors, including the militantly "Pro-Life" version.

Growing up, I saw plenty of protests. For a while, I lived within walking distance of a clinic and I saw escorts leading women in and lines of people holding signs and shouting at them. I heard about violence. I heard about hate. I saw horrible billboards from the "Pro-Life" groups on the lawn of my high school (and at graduation, as an added bonus) when they'd come to demonstrate. Or was it to chastise? To spread fear?

I never liked it. I was all in with lots of somewhat questionable religiosity in some ways, but I never could belly up to the "Pro-Life" activities. It just felt like something was wrong. I couldn't put a finger on it then. But maybe now I can, at least a little bit.

Now I've had a chance to see and learn a little bit more about the system of supports that some pregnant and parenting women and young women can (try to) access. I work beside people in the helping professions who are scraping together everything they and their agencies can to help these women. And I'm appalled.

Where are all the "Pro-Life" protesters who fight with such determination for these babies to be born? When the baby comes, where are they? When the money runs out to provide vouchers for childcare so that teen moms can finish high school and go on to provide for their children, where are the protesters and their wallets? When there's not enough food, not enough clothes, not enough medicine, no car, where is the support? The funding for mental health to help these moms and kids? The resources?

I know they're out there. Right? They must be. Right? I mean, surely they wouldn't spend so much time and money organizing and planning and media-blitzing and, let me remind you, killing, all under the auspices of saving the lives of unborn babies... but then not contribute their time, money, thoughts, or resources towards supporting the needs of women and babies. Surely not.

I must just keep missing them, wherever they are. Because I see lots of things. I see people put in impossible situations. I see social service organizations with zero funding. I see the public's righteousness and quick judgment about people who receive supports like WIC and food subsidy. I see so many things. But I don't see much in the way of real, sustainable support.