*edited to add in a couple ideas a comment sparked*
The politics of slanted lingo drive me mad. Quickly. And it's usually the media- both sides. They nonchalantly pass off words that were carefully chosen at some prior time, for the implications they will bring. Sometimes it's just the order things are put in that lead you to lean a certain way. I'm a communicator- I recognize it immediately, and it drives me bats. But I'm going to do it to myself here.
See, the terms "Pro-Life" and "Pro-Choice" are carefully used. Nobody wants to be called "Anti-Life" or "Anti-Choice". For that matter, I don't think anyone wants to be "Pro-Abortion".
But I am willing to wear the description of "Anti-Abortion"- because I am. You can quote me here: I don't believe there is ever a good reason for abortion, anywhere, anytime, for anyone. Never.
If you know my "story", you know why this is true. But I am also ready to acknowledge that my position is almost 100% informed by my religious views. I believe that abortion always assumes that God has lost control, and is not capable of handling the situation. In fact, I believe that it suggests that He never was in control. This just doesn't jive with my faith. Furthermore, I believe that if God "knew you from before you were formed in the womb", then life is important from conception.
Now we can go around and around about a lot of related and distant topics from here if you like. We can talk about "Pro-Life" in the contexts of war and capital punishment, and Euthanasia, etc, etc. We can talk about birth control and contraceptives. We can even talk about God's sovereignty when abortions do occur. There's tons to discuss....
but call me what you will, but I'm ready to come out and say it: I am "Anti-Abortion", and I'm OK with that.
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Hello, Jason!
ReplyDeleteI hear you. Slanted lingo drives me mad too. It is so common in politics on both sides, no argument.
Within the context of the abortion debate, I think you're right again. "Pro-life" is too broad. I'm pro-life too - I just happen to side with the quality of the mother's life when in conflict with the life of a zygote or fetus. Objectively, there is no way to tell the position of a person on abortion based on the description "pro-life". "Pro-choice" is likewise broad.
"Anti-abortion" is a much more specific descriptor for your side of the argument whereas "pro-reproductive choice" better describes my position. Even then, "anti-abortion" could be used to describe my position as well. I don't like abortions. I consider them morally permissible at best and often immoral (depending on circumstances). It should be the reproductive choice of last resort. I'd like to see efforts to reduce the number of abortions - not through the force of law (curtailing freedom is even MORE immoral than abortion, in my opinion), but through universal, comprehensive sex-ed, cheap and easy access to birth control, and encouragement of adoption.
So I guess to truly represent your opinion (and correct me if I'm wrong), a phrase like "anti-legal abortion" would be necessary to differentiate our opinions on the topic. If I am correct about your opinion on this matter and since your opinion is based your religious convictions, how do you justify wanting to enforce your religious views on the rest of society? I can understand holding yourself and other members of your religion to what I'm sure you consider higher standards, but without a secular justification to ban abortion, a religious-based ban flies in the face of the establishment clause.
If I have mistaken your position, I sincerely apologize and await correction.
Thanks!
Hi Shawn! Good to hear from you!
ReplyDeleteYour comment sparked a few updates of things i forgot to include originally. Thanks!
I think I generally would not disagree with your assessment of me. However, I need to point out that I never actually specified what my political stand on abortion is, mostly because I'm not concrete with it yet. While I believe that life is sacred from conception, I realize that this stems from my religious perspective, that is not shared by all my countrymen. Science has a broad range of differing perspectives, which complicates things a little. To attempt to summarize my somewhat gelatinous political stance: I feel that it is probably not a Federal level issue, and should be governed on a more local scale. Of course, that mirrors my feelings on a lot of topics.
More importantly, I think that education and influence are a bigger factor, and that people who share my beliefs should be doing more to lovingly encourage life on a personal level, rather than coldly trying to ban a medical procedure by signing petitions.
My point is not necessarily that I have a particular opinion on how abortion should be dealt with legally, but rather that I personally don't think it has any place anywhere, anytime.
For the record, the doctors advised my mom that one or both of us would perish if she went through with the pregnancy. Please note that she also commented on my FB link....
just sitting here thinking about the differences in working FOR something as opposed to working AGAINST something. Shawn, you and I are really after the same thing: fewer abortions as a result of better personal care for the women and girls who are with child. We could talk endlessly about what we're against, but it wouldn't contribute at all to the shared goal. And I think we're both in agreement that laws won't do much good here...
ReplyDeleteCool! Thanks for the response, Jason.
ReplyDeleteI should clarify that I'm not opposed to discussing the various views on things, even if they won't necessarily advance anything.
ReplyDeletePerhaps I have more sufficiently highlighted commonality rather than conflict?
I can appreciate that!
ReplyDeleteHere's something that may interest you. My mother, too, was advised to get an abortion when she was pregnant with me. However our mothers' situations seems to have had very different effects on us. Given her situation at the time, I consider it good advice. She chose not to take it but I have no emotional connection with that choice. Had she aborted, I simply would never have been around to be affected. It's no different to me than considering the possibility that my parents could have chosen to not have sex the day I was conceived. Similar decisions were made by all of my ancestors. It's all the choices of other people prior to my existence.
and that's where I admit that my beliefs come into play- I am less inclined to feel that it was the choices of people. I would assert that it was God's choice that you were conceived THAT time, in contrast with the countless other times they manifested their relationship that way.
ReplyDeleteOf course, that requires my particular brand of faith. And one could easily argue that according to my faith, it has been God's choice when countless babies have been aborted. and I would not have an answer that would satisfy them. But traveling down that road leads to a life with no purpose other than to be a robot.
I think that recognizing the foundation for my beliefs is critical to how I apply them to others. I'm in no position to prove scientifically that a fetus is in fact a living human, so I can't insist that everyone believe as I do.
I can merely state my position, and try to do something on a local and personal level that will improve people's lives in a way that hopefully benefits us all!
If I am asked whether or not I am pro-life or pro-choice, I tell people that I am pro choice. Then I have to go on to explain what choice I am referring to. It's just my opinion, but when a couple chooses to engage in any activity that could result in the conception of a child, then that is the time that they have made their choice. Even if they take precautions knowing that their is a slight chance of pregnancy, then they have still made a choice. Seriously, I agree with you Jason. I answer that way simply to encourage people to rethink the "choice" that they might support.
ReplyDelete