You're Right: An Answer to jerrytown | 9 comments (9 topical, 0 hidden)
i don't think pro life is "wrong" (5.00 / 2)
By the way, I am in favor of abortion rights and against severe restricting of access to abortion, but I don't think the "pro life" people or the "anti-abortion" people or whatever you want to call them are wrong.  I believe it's a totally fine position. So I reject this notion that on many issues there are two sides and each is incapable of understanding the other.

What IS wrong is claiming you are pro-life but using that as a wedge issue to install leaders and pass legislation that benefits the more powerful sectors in society at the expense of the weak and less fortunate.  It's the abuse of the "pro life" position that causes so much anger and conflict.

David

by yturks on 06/08/2009 11:17:02 AM EST

Maybe I went to far. (4.20 / 2)
Maybe I shouldn't have said that "both sides think the other is wrong".  I personally think the anti-abortionists are "wrong" in wanting to forbid abortions in the sense that doing so would hurt a lot of people.

Right?  Wrong?  Maybe just using those words makes the problem harder to solve.

by AnEngineer on 06/08/2009 12:52:50 PM EST

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Difficulty (none / 0)
I think you are correct about the right vs. wrong framing of the debate. It is a topic with great nuance and wide disagreement.
To me, the bigger problem is to set of the debate as 2-sided. Some people want abortion totally criminalized. Some people want them available without restriction. Some people want parental consent. Some people want a mandatory waiting period. Some people want to get rid of the pill and Plan B (the morning after pill). Some people are pro-choice, but see abortion as morally wrong. Some people are pro-choice and see abortion in some cases as justified, but not in others. Some people are pro-choice and see abortion as justified without preconditions. There are many many many angles to this debate. I think framing it as a 2-sided issue stalls any chance of meaningful dialogue between people who disagree.
For example, I am very strongly pro-choice. My aunt is very strongly anti-choice. Most people would assume we can find no common ground. In calm and caring discussion, however, we can agree on many points of the debate. While I was not a huge fan of Obama's speech at Notre Dame, he made this point quite well.

by LadyFriend on 06/08/2009 02:53:10 PM EST

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Nailed it (none / 1)
You are 100% correct that the problem is that abortion is used as a wedge issue. Politicians definitely abuse the issue...well said.
I do think there are viable moral arguments against abortion. Anti-abortion activists, however, go a significant step further. They want abortion criminalized. To me, that makes about as much sense as criminalized marijuana. People will continue to smoke cheeba an women will continue to seek abortion criminalizing abortion is a significant public health problem. How many women will have to die from back-alley abortions for people to realize they cannot stop women from making that choice.
Finally, I know you addressed this, but I definitely reject the term "pro-life." To me, "pro-life" should mean a respect for life throughout the entire lifespan. War, healthcare, and many other issues also affect lifespan. They use this term, but they are really pro-fetus. We all know many pro-lifers support the death penalty. At least they were consistent with the Terri Schiavo debacle. Also, I find it very offensive that I would basically be labeled "anti-life" because I support a woman's ability to make the choice.

by LadyFriend on 06/08/2009 11:36:27 AM EST

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I'm definitely "pro-life" (4.20 / 3)
I like life.  I think it's a fine thing that should be encouraged whenever possible.  And I sure don't promote abortion.  Maybe if the health or life of the mother is at risk, I might suggest that it's a good idea to get an abortion, but I'm not a doctor and I can't really say.  And I don't want to forbid abortions in other circumstances.  Well, maybe if the fetus is viable and the woman's health is not at risk.  But, like I said, I'm not a doctor and I'm not qualified to decide if your health is at risk or not.  And even if I was a doctor, in the end it's not my body.  What do I know about being pregnant?  I'm a man.  All I can do is watch and hold your hand and hope that you don't get mad at me.

And I absolutely oppose the death penalty. I may have wanted to kill a couple of people, but I've never found it necessary, and I've gotten over whatever it was that made me want to.

We have to take the term "pro-life" back from the anti-abortionists.  They don't have an exclusive right to it.

Here's another one: I think that government is too big and intrusive when it starts trying to decide if a woman should be pregnant or not.

by AnEngineer on 06/08/2009 12:43:02 PM EST

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You're Right: An Answer to jerrytown | 9 comments (9 topical, 0 hidden)