How does a comedian from the Gold Coast end up in Alabama, USA as a pro-choice activist?
The last few months have been far from conventional for Nick, a cornerstone of the flourishing comedy community here in south-east Queensland. He’s the sort of person who brings an energy to everything he does, seemingly incapable of apathy.
He never planned to move to the heart of America’s south, a place not particularly well known for its welcoming of foreigners, much less those who spend a large portion of their day dressed as a pro-choice parody of Jesus Christ named Jesus Choice, but that’s where he is and he couldn’t be happier.
Nick has never been one to shy from controversy, as those who have seen his stand-up can testify. A self-proclaimed atheist far removed from his Christian upbringing, he’s a host of numerous podcasts, including The Atheist Apocalypse and Good Advice.
Xandi and NickIt was through one of these that he first chanced upon meeting Alabama resident and activist, Xandi. “I met Xandi on the Imaginary Friends Show late last year and was very impressed with her history of activism in the south, and shocked by the stories of how overtly religious people are here, and I was really taken with how smart she is.
“We started messaging, then Skyping until we’d just leave Skype connected all day and night. We fell for each other pretty hard and began making plans to be together. We spent the year saving and now I’m here, and we couldn’t be happier.”
Xandi comes from a conservative Christian background and no longer has contact with her family because of her progressive liberal views and activism in the state of Alabama, where 84 per cent of the population identify as Christian. Pro-life campaigners, or 'antis', stand outside the Montgomery Reproductive Health Services on a daily basis, protesting those using the clinic’s services believing it to be “their last chance before they’re a murderer”.
“I came to America to be with Xandi,” Nick says, “but also because of the horrific stories she would tell me of the oppression they all face here in the south, especially her work with the clinic defenders. I had to volunteer.”
Abortion is legal within Alabama, but so is demonstrating on the nearest public right of way to a clinic. There is no exclusion zone. These protests most often take the form of filming, and verbally shaming visitors as they use the clinics services.
The Pro-Choice protesters use different tactics to counteract this, including the Pledge A Phrase game that uses the antis own words against them. Every time an anti yells the donator’s phrase of choice, the protesters make a tally in front of them.
Pledge A PhraseSo each time the anti uses words such as 'murder', 'Satan' or 'gift”, more money gets donated to the opposing cause. “Xandi came up with the Pledge A Phrase game that has gotten off to a wild start, and to get some attention for it I started doing the Jesus Choice character, the pledge game shuts up the anti’s since they become directly responsible for our fundraising.
“What we’re trying to do is raise money through #pledgeaphrase to pay the rent for the POWER House (People Organising for Women’s Empowerment Rights) which we use as a base for our clinic defence, as a place for patients and their families to wait in comfort.
The Power House“We also rent it so the antis can’t rent it and use it to further harass the women using the clinic and intimidate the workers there. The Face act keeps them off the property, but from the house they would be dangerously close, especially since clinics have been bombed and doctors murdered by anti-choice groups.”
Far from hyperbole, the infamous Operation Save America descended upon the Montgomery Clinic this year. The group protest against abortion, homosexuality and Islam, believing ‘all three have entered into a pact with death’. “They are affiliated with the clinics that were bombed and they came out and said it was a good thing that those things happened. They celebrated the murder of doctors. They’re so pro life that they’ll celebrate murder.”
I asked Nick what tips he could give to someone who may be interested in this kind of activism. “If there’s a clinic in your area where you know where there are some antis, drive down, and go and tell the volunteers that you love what they’re doing. Ask them directly if you can help, introduce yourself and make relationships that way.”
#JesusChoice #ProChoice #ProJesusChoice #PledgeaPhrase #Abortion #EndTheHarassment pic.twitter.com/b1KnDL2UR5 — Jesus Choice (@nickmorganmoore) October 26, 2015
It’s easy to think these are American concerns linked with cultural conservatism, but abortion is the subject of criminal law in all Australian states and territories, except the Australian Capital Territory. In August this year, a Melbourne clinic lost a court bid to create an exclusion zone for protests around its premises fearing the safety of its staff.
I asked Nick what he would say to someone who was pro-life but wanted to understand where he was coming from. “I would ask them why they believe what they believe.
“Most if not all arguments for anti-choice are based in religion, and as such I would challenge them on why they don’t believe 'the breath of life' entering the body being the theological standard, like it is for many progressive Christians who don’t have a problem with abortion.
“If they still couldn’t see my point of view I would point out all of the ways they can reduce the abortion rate that don’t rely on harassing women, but instead they can do positive things to reduce the abortion rate.
“Advocating for easier access to birth control, proper sex education, and fighting for people to earn a living wage so if they want to have another child they won’t have to make the decision to terminate the pregnancy due to financial hardship.”
