Have you ever debated abortion? Does it sound something like this?:
Pro-Life: Abortion is murder of an innocent child.
Pro-Choice: Abortion does not kill a child, it kills a clump of cells.
Pro-life: Life begins at conception. That "clump of cells" is a baby. [insert picture of fetus]
Pro-Choice: Why don't we take it back further? Maybe life begins before conception. Maybe we should outlaw masturbation and menstruation? Those sperms and eggs have the potential to become babies, just like an embryo....
OR
Pro-Choice: My body, my choice!
Pro-Life: Not just your body, but the body of your innocent child. The child should have rights, too.
Pro-Choice: But the fetus is fully dependent on the mother like a parasite, not an autonomous being. It couldn't live outside the womb without the mother.
Pro-Life: So that gives you the right to be a murderer?...
OR
Pro-Life: If you don't want to have kids you should use birth control or not have sex!
Pro-Choice: Birth control doesn't always work! If I have sex responsibly and get pregnant with a kid a don't want, I shouldn't be forced to carry the pregnancy to term....
And on and on and on. It's chicken-and-egg fallacy. What comes first, the chicken or the egg? Clearly we can't always have both, don't always want both, and frankly I always thought chicken omelets were kind of weird. (ba-dum, ching!)
This is precisely why the landscape of this argument needs to change. We need to address the ACTUAL issues surrounding abortion in the United States instead of making endless justifications for our reasons, whatever they may be.
The abortion issue is about control, which I addressed in part in my post The War on Women. Part 2: Trust Women.
Why do I feel this way? I am, as you may have guessed, pro-choice. READ: Pro-choice means I believe that people should have the right to choose when and where they will bear children, and that it's no business of the government or religious figures/followers, or really anyone else but the woman in question. I believe she has the right to choose whether she will consult with her church or her friends or family or doctors or counselors or whomever in the process of making her decision. I am NOT pro-abortion. I think abortion sucks. You know what else I think sucks? Unwanted children.
So here's what I think about the so-called pro-life movement, and why the pro-life abortion mission is more about control than it is about preserving "sacred" life:
I think if they were really pro-life, they would be fighting to fund places like Planned Parenthood even MORE so that women could have all the resources they need to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Education. Contraceptives. Support. Healthcare.
I think if they were really pro-life, they would be fighting for a stronger healthcare system to support poor families, rather than whining about their taxpayer dollars going to welfare programs.
I think if they were really pro-life, they would be fighting against huge military spending (which, at the end of the day, kills all kinds of innocent born humans) at the expense of healthcare funding (both broadly and concerning reproductive services).
I think if they were really pro-life, they would be fighting to nationally legalize same-sex marriage, which would allow for loving couples to have all the same government granted rights and benefits as heterosexuals, which would in turn allow them to lovingly raise adopted children. THINK of all the loving would-be parents who are DENIED the right to raise children, just because they love others who have the same sex chromosomes as them.
I think if they were really pro-life, they would all be vegans and self-sustaining environmentalists.
I think if they were really pro-life, they would advocate for the rights of ALL people even AFTER they were born (See: homosexuals. See: quality of life.).
I think if they were really pro-life, they wouldn't be drafting anti-abortion bills that criminalize miscarriage (Utah, Georgia). If they were really pro-life, they wouldn't be working so hard at drafting anti-abortion bills with loopholes so big you could legally shoot an abortion provider through them (An Act to expand the definition of justifiable homicide [emphasis added] to provide for the protection of certain unborn children. SD HB 1171).
I think if they were really pro-life, they'd stop painting a picture of abortion clinics as places that use the smell of baking cookies to lure in foolish pregnant women, and then tie them down take their children. Women think long and hard before they make an appointment for an abortion. I bet 97% of them have their minds made up before even making the call. Then the other 3% maybe weren't so sure, and so took some more time to think & maybe changed their minds (which is OK, because these women have the right to choose).
I think if they were really pro-life, they'd be less busy calling pro-choicers slutty, irresponsible, murderers, and more busy advocating for a society that can adequately care for its children. (NEWSFLASH: Jesus is not going to fix this. He's been slacking pretty damn hard the last 2000+ years. I'm really beginning to believe that when he died, he just...died.)
As far as the pro-lifers who use a religious basis: I was taught that we are all God's children. That God loves every one of us. That God granted us free will. That God will deliver final judgment. It's NOT OUR JOB. I think if they were really pro-life, they would accept everyone who is not like them as one of God's beloved children for whom only HE/SHE/IT shall deliver judgment.
As far as secular v. non-secular arguments go, we're wasting our time. Just leave it at that.
Side Note: I recently had a Catholic pro-lifer try to convince me to "come back to the church" (I've been excommunicated, on various counts, but definitely for abortion), that if I took Jesus into my heart, then I would be forgiven. That if I repented, I would be forgiven. That if I confessed my sin, admitted I had done wrong, that I had strayed from the path, that I did a BAD THING, I would be forgiven.
Here's the thing: I do not need, nor do I want forgiveness, because I believe with every ounce of my being that I made the right choice. The RIGHT choice. It was the right choice for me, for the could-have-been child, for my partner, for my community. It was the right choice for my future children, should I choose to have them. It was a VERY difficult decision. I did not want to have an abortion. No one wants to have an abortion. But I could not have brought a child into the world I was living in at the time. I also know that adoption was not an option for me. So in the end, I chose abortion. I do not seek forgiveness. I seek acceptance. I seek the respect and trust due to me for making what was a responsible and right decision concerning my body, my life, and my family.
In the end what we have is a pro-life movement which doesn't seem to advocate for any life outside of fetal life. We have a pro-life movement which is (oxymoronically, given their tendency to be anti-big government) advocating for Draconian, fascist legislation of the female body. We have a pro-life movement that doesn't celebrate, honor, or respect life outside the womb.
This is not about "life" at all. It's about cultural, social, governmental control over a person's body. So let's talk about THAT.
Pro-Life: Abortion is murder of an innocent child.
Pro-Choice: Abortion does not kill a child, it kills a clump of cells.
Pro-life: Life begins at conception. That "clump of cells" is a baby. [insert picture of fetus]
Pro-Choice: Why don't we take it back further? Maybe life begins before conception. Maybe we should outlaw masturbation and menstruation? Those sperms and eggs have the potential to become babies, just like an embryo....
OR
Pro-Choice: My body, my choice!
Pro-Life: Not just your body, but the body of your innocent child. The child should have rights, too.
Pro-Choice: But the fetus is fully dependent on the mother like a parasite, not an autonomous being. It couldn't live outside the womb without the mother.
Pro-Life: So that gives you the right to be a murderer?...
OR
Pro-Life: If you don't want to have kids you should use birth control or not have sex!
Pro-Choice: Birth control doesn't always work! If I have sex responsibly and get pregnant with a kid a don't want, I shouldn't be forced to carry the pregnancy to term....
And on and on and on. It's chicken-and-egg fallacy. What comes first, the chicken or the egg? Clearly we can't always have both, don't always want both, and frankly I always thought chicken omelets were kind of weird. (ba-dum, ching!)
This is precisely why the landscape of this argument needs to change. We need to address the ACTUAL issues surrounding abortion in the United States instead of making endless justifications for our reasons, whatever they may be.
The abortion issue is about control, which I addressed in part in my post The War on Women. Part 2: Trust Women.
Why do I feel this way? I am, as you may have guessed, pro-choice. READ: Pro-choice means I believe that people should have the right to choose when and where they will bear children, and that it's no business of the government or religious figures/followers, or really anyone else but the woman in question. I believe she has the right to choose whether she will consult with her church or her friends or family or doctors or counselors or whomever in the process of making her decision. I am NOT pro-abortion. I think abortion sucks. You know what else I think sucks? Unwanted children.
So here's what I think about the so-called pro-life movement, and why the pro-life abortion mission is more about control than it is about preserving "sacred" life:
I think if they were really pro-life, they would be fighting to fund places like Planned Parenthood even MORE so that women could have all the resources they need to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Education. Contraceptives. Support. Healthcare.
I think if they were really pro-life, they would be fighting for a stronger healthcare system to support poor families, rather than whining about their taxpayer dollars going to welfare programs.
I think if they were really pro-life, they would be fighting against huge military spending (which, at the end of the day, kills all kinds of innocent born humans) at the expense of healthcare funding (both broadly and concerning reproductive services).
I think if they were really pro-life, they would be fighting to nationally legalize same-sex marriage, which would allow for loving couples to have all the same government granted rights and benefits as heterosexuals, which would in turn allow them to lovingly raise adopted children. THINK of all the loving would-be parents who are DENIED the right to raise children, just because they love others who have the same sex chromosomes as them.
I think if they were really pro-life, they would all be vegans and self-sustaining environmentalists.
I think if they were really pro-life, they would advocate for the rights of ALL people even AFTER they were born (See: homosexuals. See: quality of life.).
I think if they were really pro-life, they wouldn't be drafting anti-abortion bills that criminalize miscarriage (Utah, Georgia). If they were really pro-life, they wouldn't be working so hard at drafting anti-abortion bills with loopholes so big you could legally shoot an abortion provider through them (An Act to expand the definition of justifiable homicide [emphasis added] to provide for the protection of certain unborn children. SD HB 1171).
I think if they were really pro-life, they'd stop painting a picture of abortion clinics as places that use the smell of baking cookies to lure in foolish pregnant women, and then tie them down take their children. Women think long and hard before they make an appointment for an abortion. I bet 97% of them have their minds made up before even making the call. Then the other 3% maybe weren't so sure, and so took some more time to think & maybe changed their minds (which is OK, because these women have the right to choose).
I think if they were really pro-life, they'd be less busy calling pro-choicers slutty, irresponsible, murderers, and more busy advocating for a society that can adequately care for its children. (NEWSFLASH: Jesus is not going to fix this. He's been slacking pretty damn hard the last 2000+ years. I'm really beginning to believe that when he died, he just...died.)
As far as the pro-lifers who use a religious basis: I was taught that we are all God's children. That God loves every one of us. That God granted us free will. That God will deliver final judgment. It's NOT OUR JOB. I think if they were really pro-life, they would accept everyone who is not like them as one of God's beloved children for whom only HE/SHE/IT shall deliver judgment.
As far as secular v. non-secular arguments go, we're wasting our time. Just leave it at that.
Side Note: I recently had a Catholic pro-lifer try to convince me to "come back to the church" (I've been excommunicated, on various counts, but definitely for abortion), that if I took Jesus into my heart, then I would be forgiven. That if I repented, I would be forgiven. That if I confessed my sin, admitted I had done wrong, that I had strayed from the path, that I did a BAD THING, I would be forgiven.
Here's the thing: I do not need, nor do I want forgiveness, because I believe with every ounce of my being that I made the right choice. The RIGHT choice. It was the right choice for me, for the could-have-been child, for my partner, for my community. It was the right choice for my future children, should I choose to have them. It was a VERY difficult decision. I did not want to have an abortion. No one wants to have an abortion. But I could not have brought a child into the world I was living in at the time. I also know that adoption was not an option for me. So in the end, I chose abortion. I do not seek forgiveness. I seek acceptance. I seek the respect and trust due to me for making what was a responsible and right decision concerning my body, my life, and my family.
In the end what we have is a pro-life movement which doesn't seem to advocate for any life outside of fetal life. We have a pro-life movement which is (oxymoronically, given their tendency to be anti-big government) advocating for Draconian, fascist legislation of the female body. We have a pro-life movement that doesn't celebrate, honor, or respect life outside the womb.
This is not about "life" at all. It's about cultural, social, governmental control over a person's body. So let's talk about THAT.
AMEN SISTAH!
ReplyDeleteAnd FYI: If you're on Twitter I have started an account devoted to pro-choice information. this account will not engage in inflammatory language or harassment of any kind and will only promote productive, thoughtful discourse. Follow @SupportChoice
ReplyDeletenice! amazing commentary about judgment, control, and the ultimate pro-life conundrum — Why do pro-lifers seem to so adamantly rile against abortion while simultaneously supporting super-death on so many other levels ( super-death includes: the death penalty, war and the rather ignorant unacceptance of people in general via twisted christian religious judgement of everybody in the world but themselves )? for a country that focuses on these grand philosophical concepts of 'freedom' and 'democracy' — we settle for a disappointing economically-driven 'fuck or get fucked', 'kill or die' psycho-Freudian version of democracy that seems to unfortunately live at the 'freedom to judge others' level of Darwinism ( we live like the animals and evolution, this 'survival of the fittest' as described by Darwin, when we could aspire to something more human and transcendent )
ReplyDeleteWord!
ReplyDeleteWith one caveat, to your newsflash re: Jesus. The minute you add that to your discussion, you lose your intended audience (pro-life or undecided), and settle for preaching to the already converted (like pro-choice me).
It isn't a matter of whether or not I agree with you for writing it, but whether adding a theological opinion will undermine all of your other very eloquently written points, in the mind of a moderate Christian.
I don't think you can avoid the religious talk. It always there, explicit or no. Jesus might make a person feel all warm and fuzzy, but he rarely puts food on the table.
ReplyDeleteWhoops, hit submit by mistake...
ReplyDeleteAnyway the point is that they should be advocating for a better society BEYOND trying to bring people to Christ. I understand part of the mission is to spread the word and all, but it's got to go much further than giving people "faith."
So many of the points you make here are succinctly put into the acrostic guide to prochoice logic and biology at the AHA blog.
ReplyDeletehttp://abolishhumanabortion.blogspot.com/2011/04/acrostic-guide-to-prochoice-logic.html
@Abolitionists Did you read this post? If you're referring to the points made in the opening dialogue, then you have either clearly missed the point, or clearly did not read the whole post. Opening dialogue criticizes BOTH sides of the debate.
ReplyDeleteIn fact I say NOTHING related to your acrostic, outside of the sample opening dialogue, which if you had read beyond it, you would have known the intent of it. What I do is ask why it is that pro-lifers aren't advocating anything that would ACTUALLY help to lessen the occurrence of abortion (which, incidentally, is EXACTLY what pro-choicers do). Abortion will still happen even if it is illegal, and more women will die at the hands of unexperienced providers, unsanitary conditions, or at their own hands, and that is a FACT.
Prochoicers don't WANT people to have abortions, but we want them to have safe access to them, AND birth control AND education, so that the number of abortions will decline.
So why doesn't the pro-life movement do anything that will ACTUALLY help women to avoid unplanned pregnancy?
BTW with your comment you have effectively proved #1 in your acrostic.
ReplyDelete"Pro-lifers are all unthinking fundamentalist bigots and pro-choicers do not have to reason with them or meet them in an honest intellectual discussion about the morality or legality of abortion."
Why? Because they are incapable of engaging in such discussions.
I want to hear about how you were excommunicated. There's gotta be a story there...
ReplyDelete