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Abortion “mourning demonstration” in Sweden Stopped by Police

Police said 4 large photos of aborted babies “offends people”

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, August 31, 2005, (LifeSiteNews.com) – A demonstration, dubbed a “mourning demonstration” was held at Sergels Torg in Stockholm last month by MBR (CBR-Sweden). The MBR, (swedish for “Center for Bio-Ethical Reform”), displayed 4 large photographs of aborted fetuses together with texts such as ”I wanted to believe you were a part of my body – forgive me”. Demonstrators put flowers in front of the pictures, and were dressed in black.

During the July 2nd demonstration two CBR leaders, Mats Selander and Sigrid Bergstrom, gave speeches explaining their purpose and intent. Mats Selander explained that “We have two purposes for showing these pictures: First we want to show that unborn children are real human beings. Second, we want to show that abortion is lethal violence against these small ones. Many people think of abortion as an abstraction, an ethical discussion subject, a theoretical or political issue – this is true of many men, even the men of women who have had abortions. But abortion is not an abstraction – not for the women who have had one, not for the men who are emotionally present, and not for the unborn who are allowed to live only for a few weeks. And with these pictures we want to show what an abortion looks like from the viewpoint of the weakest, the unborn.”

Sigrid Bergstrom from Jonkoping, talked about the need for showing these pictures:
 
“I have a dream! Martin Luther Kings dream became real! The racist laws of the American South got their death blow in the 60s. And it was the picture of the truth that became the most important weapon in the struggle: The picture of a mutilated teenager in an open casket. I have a dream about a new time! A time when we will look back on this epoch of our country’s history and call it by its proper name: Barbarism. Then we will ask each other: “How was it possible? How could it just continue for decades and lawfully at that?” We believe these pictures of the truth will shorten the way to that time. That’s why we show them.”

The MBR (CBR-Sweden) demonstrators experienced a wide range of reactions and encounters ranging from positive and encouraging to hostile and derogatory. Sigrid recounted that, “The angriest person was a Christian nurse who argued that everyone already knew what aborted fetuses looked like, and that it was heartless and cruel to show them,” while “some anarchist-girls, 12-15 years old, were very eager to discuss. They thought that every child ought to be born loved. They also thought we should stand up for animal rights. It was difficult for them to realize that humans have a unique value over and above animals.”

The demonstration was abruptly ended by the police after only a few hours. Commissary Peter Matilainen made the decision and motivated it by saying that the pictures offend people. Commenting on the police action Mats said that “We had a written permission for our demonstration, and to stop it with the motivation that it ‘offends people’ is, in my view, nothing but a restriction of our democratic rights. The whole point of speech-rights is to protect ideas and means of expression that can be taken as ‘offensive’. … These pictures are our best and strongest argument, and to forbid them is nothing but an undemocratic oppression of ideas.”

MBR has issued a complaint to JO (the Swedish Department of Justice) and hopes Sweden will “show itself to be the Western Democracy it holds itself out to be.”

The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform website:
 http://www.abortionno.org

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