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UCSB professor battles anti-abortion group

March 19, 2014
Mireille Miller-Young,

Mireille Miller-Young,

An anti-abortion group is asking officials to prosecute a University of California Santa Barbara associate professor of feminist studies for taking one of their signs and destroying it.

On March 4, Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust were passing out pamphlets and holding signs with graphic images of dead fetuses. Professor Mireille Miller-Young began yelling for the signs to be removed.

Miller-Young then grabbed a sign, gave it to two of her students and headed for her office with several anti-abortion activists following with a camera.

“I may be a thief but you’re a terrorist, Miller Young said as she walked away.

After Miller Young and her students entered an elevator, the activists attempted to follow and pushing ensued.

UC Santa Barbara police have sent a police report of the incident to the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office which will determine if criminal charges of theft and vandalism will be filed against Miller Young.

 


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This kind of intolerance should not be accepted anywhere around the youth of our Nation. If one can not stand differing opinions they should not be allowed to teach anyone anything.


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Gee…so reminiscent of my university years and the anti-war movement. Often violent protests targeted at stopping the violence. A strange world indeed.


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This is a copy of the police report. Interesting, because the university police officer making the report far exceeds this professor in general intelligence and knowledge of the law. http://media.independent.com/news/documents/2014/03/18/UCSB-Police-Report.pdf


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Citizen: Thank you for the link, it is an interesting read. I do agree with you that the officer “far exceeds this professor in the knowledge of the law”, but I have to politely disagree with you about the remark on her “intelligence”. As the article states, the professor is currently pregnant and was most likely very disturbed by the graphic nature of the poster; of course, that does not excuse her behavior. The video, as poorly shot as it was, does definitely provide proof of the accusations that the professor took the poster (theft), attempted to diminish or take away the First Amendment rights of the anti-abortion protestors, and when the protestors attempted to take back their poster, the professor, in her zeal to retain possession of the poster, did assault the protestor.

The whole situation is unfortunate on many levels; a university setting is supposed to be a place where all ideals can be freely expressed so meaningful dialog can be brought forth in honest discussions about the issues. I support a woman’s right to choose and I also support First Amendment rights; I have seen a few of the graphic posters that anti-abortionists utilize and find them very offensive, but I do understand they are trying to make a point.

The professor will have to face the repercussions for her actions and she might be required to issue an apology to the protestors, pay a fine, reimburse the protestors for their poster, required to provide some community service (which could be, ironically, to furnish some counseling to pregnant women) and possibly even receive a sentence of some sort (hopefully it will be suspended, though).

First thing the professor needs to do after obtaining an attorney is to prepare a statement indicating her regret for her actions and how she should NOT have impeded on another person’s First Amendment rights.


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“a university setting is supposed to be a place where all ideals can be freely”


Like killing the innocent because a human life may be an inconvenience.


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Consider the possibility that others may have different ideas of where “human” life begins. Who decides? You based on your beliefs? The pro-life crowd based on theirs? The position in between taken by the Supreme Court in its Roe v. Wade decision? Personally, I find the Supreme Court position to be closest to my beliefs but the whole issue is about a conflict in beliefs so my opinion doesn’t count any more than anyone else’.


I really wish that the opposing sides could get together and reduce the frequency in which abortions were “desired”/”needed”. However the emotional polarization that has occurred doesn’t allow much cooperation between both sides. The politicians and others who exploit the controversy as a means of getting support use exaggerations and dishonest claims about the other side which increases that polarization.


A good start would be much better sex education for teenagers without relying on “just say no” as the main option. It is a good option but not a realistic one for many young people. Not generalizing about those who disagree with your positions on abortion and actually engaging in a constructive discussion would be helpful in working toward that start.


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Very nicely put, thanks for your input.


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I just googled this professor. OMG, What a piece of work, I couldn’t agree with you more. That crap shouldn’t have anything to do with a college education.


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Cindy,


I also googled her too, sounds kinky, nevertheless, she could have easily been a biblical writer back in the godly era!


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yup and you could have been a choir boy but you aren’t. I would ask what your point is but I know better than to bother.


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We can all thank which ever God you worship, that at least this anti-abortion group didn’t kill, maim, burn, or threaten Mireille Miller-Young with Anthrax like some have done in the past. She should thank her lucky starts on this incident.


When I am preaching the gospel, I always try and tell my fellow Christians to keep the abortion topic on the back burner because our bible is hardly pro-life, which leaves the Christians blatantly open to being called hypocrites by taking the position of an anti-abortionist.


As the astute bible reader knows, our Hebrew God, which ironically the TRUE Christians worship, was the biggest abortionist in history. A few examples of what Christians should be aware, but at the same time, secretly hide, is shown below.


The bible God slays the fruit of the womb of the women in Ephraim, which equals abortion. (Hosea 9:11-16)


God’s inspired word allows a brutal and abusive ritual to be performed on a wife that is “suspected” of adultery, which equals an induced abortion and the killing of innocent life. (Numbers 5:11-21)


God orders the killing of women that have been with men, which equals aborting of fetus’ of pregnant women. (Numbers 31:17)


God promises to dash to pieces the infants of Samaria and the “their women with child shall be ripped up”.  Once again tour Hebrew god kills the unborn, including their pregnant mothers, which equals ABORTION. (Hosea 13:16)


God allows the pregnant women of Tappuah to be “ripped open”. Hardly a pro-life stance, and allows pregnant women to be murdered, yet some ignorant Christians still claim abortion is wrong. (2 Kings 15:16)


God commands the death of helpless “suckling” infants.  This literally means that the children our god killed were still nursing. Sad. (1 Samuel 15:3)


Here our god is praised for slaughtering the innocent first born! (Psalms 135:8 & 136:10)


Here god commands that infants should be “dashed upon the rocks.” (Psalms 137:9) Ever wonder in what that would sound like? Anyway, our God is responsible for this act.


If this anti-abortion group in this story were Christians, they should read their bibles first and foremost before they claim the high moral ground.


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Ted. I am sure that you are aware that the “rules” for gods are different than the rules for men. Otherwise men wouldn’t need priests/pastors/rabbis/mullahs to de-emphasize and rationalize the ostensible words/actions of gods to keep the believers from having second thoughts.


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I’m actually pro-abortion, but this case shows the arrogance of left wing professors who think they are above the law or possibly are ignorant of the law. The “feminist” professor scratched up the 16 year old girl who was trying to retrieve her sign during the elevator struggle.


The professor said that she had a moral duty to take the sign, and I say “What alternate universe is she living in?” Who made this professor Queen of the universe?


The police did not seem overly concerned about the incident until they saw the video and the scratches on the girl’s arms. That is why they sent the case to the DA’s Office.


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There is such a thing as a “feminist studies professor? College should prepare an individual for employment in the real world. Getting a degree in lesbian dance theory just won’t cut it for meaningful employment.


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I was going to ask the same thing ……… when 14 and 18 year old daughters looking toward college and career choices, should I suggest this major ?


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I suppose this means we should s*it-can all philosophy courses, all religious studies courses, poetry, history, geography, music, art, anthropology…. I mean, if it doesn’t get you a good job for some phlebotomic corporation as soon as you graduate, forget about it, right? Anti-intellectualism! Hooray! Dumb us down, dumb as we can go, then go lower!!


You know, there’s “doing” and there’s “being.” Sometimes, we use our brain for more than just selling junk to people for more than it’s worth, then sending the profit to the shareholders and enriching the CEO. Sometimes we need to know about stuff before we can do something about it. Sometimes that includes subjects that make us uncomfortable, or subjects that do not touch our own lives. But I champion the study of women in our society, and the examination of society’s view of African-American women, and our culture’s mores and obsessions, as reflected in diverse areas that, yes, may include pornographic representations.


Universities are more than just training grounds for corporations. They are laboratories of and for the mind. Try using yours.


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I think that you are right in some respects and wrong in others. You are right that classes such as philoisophy are useless (I was an accounting major), universities should prepare students for the future … after spending four plus years wherehoused in an environment in which they have gained a $50,000 to $80,000 student debt they had better be prepared for what is next. Universities are big business … check out the fees paid by students and the salaries paid to their facality as well as the money paid to the school through taxpayer dollars. Students have been in the corposrate world since they entered in their freshman year … a degree in lesbian dance theory will not help them during any interview process (if they get that far) and it certainly does not help pay back the money they borrowed to get a degree. If someone is going through the process they should make it account for something … something substantial not just fluff.


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In general, I agree with your points. However, when this exploration of uncomfortable views empowers people (like the arrogant professor in the article) who themselves can’t see or acknowledge the rights of others to their own views, the system has gone a bit overboard.


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It is very WRONG to get in peoples faces like that. What do these people think they are going to change when they turn people off (piss people off) ? These are college girls and they aren’t about to have an unwanted baby in lieu of other plans that they believe are important to accomplish, like an education that will serve them for the remainder of their lives..


If you want to stop abortion, try a gentle approach with a solution such as, a list of families that would be willing to adopt the unwanted child and recommendations to free clinics that offer birth control. Pushing abstinence isn’t going to work with a flyer approach and I would recommend the morning after pill but I doubt these “well meaning terrorists” would approve of that as they probably see that as equal to an abortion.


Whatever your beliefs, foisting them down other peoples throats will backfire every time. DON”T DO IT, it’s counter productive. In fact that approach is unholy and won’t get you any brownie points where heaven is concerned.


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Cindy, you see the hypocrisy, right?


Miller-Young was 100% “foisting her beliefs down other people’s throats.” Further, she used physical contact and property damage to foist her beliefs.


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YUP, The entire incident reminds me of the movie “Do The Right Thing”!


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Good grief…we agree. For all those who believe in PRO CHOICE, remember the road runs in both directions. It’s about CHOICE…not just abortion. Mutual respect must be acknowledged when addressing women’s rights….period.


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Exactly! Well, unless (of course) said woman is an unborn child… then she has no rights, apparently. But sill: some women should be able to terminate any living human inside of them, regardless of the separate DNA indicating it’s another life… we’ll still call it “part of her body” and all that.


All roads lead to death, it’s how we travel them that really matters.


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I would strongly recommend to these young women that they not have an abortion, since they are so opposed. Similarly, if they or others are opposed to same-sex marriage, I would urge them not to marry someone of the same sex. Otherwise, I think they should take their gruesome images and their whining persecution complex elsewhere. Really want to limit abortions? Encourage contraception—the exact thing that the moronic Tea Party Talibani are trying to DIScourage…. What a world.


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Whether I agree or disagree is nebulous. The point is Miller-Young diagreed and chose to use criminal actions to force HER beliefs on the pamphlet-passers.


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A true American’s believes that “I may fully disagree with what you have to say, but I will fight to the death for your ability to say it”. Miller-Young should adopt this philosophy, teach it and practice it.


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Indeed. Your right to swing your fists stops somewhere short of my nose.


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Kevin, I think you may be confusing the Tea Party with the Catholic Church regarding the useof contraceptives. I have not heard anything about the Tea Party trying to discourage contraceptives (could be they don’t think it’s the taxpayers responsibility to pay for them). Also the Tea Party may take a stand against late term abortion….. you know where they induce labor pull the little baby out by the legs leaving the head still inside. They then use a suction catheter to remove the brain which causes the baby’s skull to collapse. Oh yeah the thought of it is pretty gruesome. You’re right…… what a world. You keep calm, and have a nice cuppa


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You had a valid point until you used the “late-term abortion” schtick. Does what you describe occur? Regrettably, yes. But it is quite rare — not nearly as common as the fanatics of the pro-life movement would have you believe. If the pro-life movement would settle for making that illegal and agree to stop there, they could actually get broad enough support to enact legislation.


They might even get enough support if they agreed to limit abortion bans to the third trimester although that would probably require some other concessions on sex-ed and public funding of contraception/early abortion. But as long as they go the “all-or-nothing” route, they will continue to lose the battles and war while congratulating themselves on fighting to impose their righteous beliefs on others.


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It’s not about abortion.


It’s about a nutty perfesser silencing opinions that don’t coincide with hers.


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OnTheOtherHand………There are too many what does it matter attitudes. If only one child is taken by this gruesome procedure. It’s one child too many.


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