To the Protesters on Broad Street in Cranston:

While you attempt to save the lives of babies, I would like you to consider all of the beautiful living, breathing children outside of the womb who unwittingly pass by this place, whether they want to or not.

My girls are 4 and 6. Please try to see the world from their lovely, innocent minds for a moment. Their lives consist of pretending, imagining, playing happily, and learning about right and wrong at their own developmental level. For example, it is good to share your toys with others. It is nice to say please and thank you. If you do something that isn’t nice, you should say you’re sorry. They are lucky enough never to have lost a loved one, so they do not really understand what death is. They love little babies and all they know about where they come from is that they somehow come out of mommies’ tummies. They practice being good mommies to their dolls, singing them to sleep and reading books to them. This is about all they NEED to know at their ages.

My children have never been exposed to any kind of violence or disturbing images or topics on TV, in books or in real life. My husband and I have worked hard to provide a loving, happy home for them, in which they feel safe, protected and free from adult problems and worries. They will have plenty of time for that when they grow up. The biggest worries they have right now are about starting first grade and pre-school in the fall.

Some of you might feel that children should know about abortion, because it is a reality. If so, then you are cruel and heartless, or you are out of touch with the emotional lives of children. I hope it is the latter. My children believe in fairies, elves and Santa Claus. Would you expect me to shatter those childhood fantasies? Of course not. Would any parent teach their small children about murder, rape, genocide or other horrors of the world? Of course not. Likewise, they need not know a thing about abortion until their minds are sophisticated enough to process this and other harsh realities.

I understand that you believe you are doing something good. However, you are inadvertently hurting innocent children by exposing them to images that are inappropriate for them to see, to put it mildly. At worst, these images could be deeply disturbing to sensitive young minds. Do you really want to give innocent young children nightmares? Even if we differ in our opinions, I still cannot imagine that you actually wish psychological harm to young children. After all, you claim to be trying to help the babies.

I strongly urge you to reconsider the use of your gruesome signs. Adults can handle seeing disturbing images and thinking about the complex issues surrounding them. However, children should not have to see them. I realize you have freedom of speech (although in my opinion your signs should be unlawful due to the fact that they are clearly obscene). However, as citizens, you also have a moral and ethical obligation to consider how these images negatively impact the people around you, especially young, innocent children who do not have a choice in the matter.

Emily Grady

An Edgewood resident and mother of two young girls