Abortion Debate Forum - Anti-abortion =/= pro-life (anti-choice)

Debate Forums > Abortion Debate Forum > Anti-abortion =/= pro-life (anti-choice)

Q: Anti-abortion =/= pro-life (anti-choice)

asked by: oopoopoop on January 14th, 2009

Extremely eHealthy

Do you think abortion is wrong? Maybe you think it is morally wrong, or unnatural, or that women should have babies, or that interfering with god's plan will send yuo to hell. Maybe you just love babies and don't much like women who don't.

There are plenty of reasons to be opposed to abortion. You might even choose to not associate with anyone who would have one, has had one, or doesn't think they are wrong. You would never have one, under any circumstances. Perhaps you write elegant arguments in journals or blogs or spray paint them on your roof outlining your beliefs, hoping that you will convince other women to think like you do.

Great -- all that would make you "anit-abortion".

Where it steps over the line, is when you want to make it ILLEGAL and PUNISHABLE for anyone else to have an abortion. Then you are anti-choice. My objection to the term "pro-life" is that it is the name used by a semi-organised group who want to make abortion ILLEGAL and PUNISHABLE. What they are is opposed to allowing women to make that choice for themselves.

Being anti-abortion is one thing, but you can be that without trying to punish other women who don't agree with you. Try to convince them if you feel the need. Be anti-abortion. But if the only way to persuade someone that you are right is by taking the choice away from them, then maybe your arguments don't stand up.

Users who thank oopoopoop for this post: motherofhighspiritedones diamondsz

Replies(8)

diamondsz

replied on January 14th, 2009

Extremely eHealthy

What Iffs me is when we are called "pro-abortion."

It seems that woman or men who are pro-choice do not want children and think every child should be aborted, which we know is not the case. Now this could go both ways but I have only met one person who called themself pro-life and was actually decent, I would have considered her moreso pro-choice.

I think anyone who is pro-life should have a right to their belief and like you said once thye pass the line, I think they should be charged. Removing someones human right can be a criminal offense if it is pursued but human rights are only for people.

I would love for pro-life to explain why the unborn are not people, why is it that the law does not consider them people?

NeutralUsername

replied on January 14th, 2009

Active User, very eHealthy

diamondsz wrote:

People misunderstand the term pro-abortion. It means favoring or supporting legalized abortion. It does not mean simply favoring or supporting abortion like many people think. It does not mean you ONLY support or favor abortion. People tend to look over the LEGALIZED part of the definition. If you support LEGALIZED abortion then you are pro-abortion. I don't care if it sounds "bad." That's what it means.

oopoopoop

replied on January 14th, 2009

Extremely eHealthy

NeutralUsername wrote:

So you are saying that you understand the term "pro-abortion" to be the opposite of "anti-choice"? This is not strictly accurate, since it is possible to be anti-abortion without being in favour of legally prohibitting abortion and punishing women who have abortions. And the only people who use the term "pro-abortion" are those who are anti-choice.

NeutralUsername

replied on January 14th, 2009

Active User, very eHealthy

oopoopoop wrote:

NeutralUsername wrote:

Um, I just said pro-abortion means someone who supports legalized abortion. I'm telling you what I know pro-abortion means. You support legalized abortion, right? Then you're pro-abortion. I think it's assumed that the abortion in this word means induced abortion. In the past, I've seen people refer to themselves as pro-abortion or anti-abortion. Now, it's pro-choice and pro-life. These terms were coined later for the abortion debate. People try to change the meanings of these labels to help their argument. BOTH sides of the abortion debate do this.

Would pro-legalized abortion be fine for you?

NeutralUsername

replied on January 14th, 2009

Active User, very eHealthy

It doesn't make sense to be anti-abortion, yet don't believe there should at least be restrictions on it. If you're supposedly anti-abortion, yet, think it should always be legal for whatever reason (even for gender selection or for minor disabilites of the fetus) because it should be the woman's choice, then you are probably anti-abortion for YOURSELF only. That means you really don't care about other unborn humans and what women decide to do with them. That makes you pro-choice. You just choose to just not abort your own unborn offspring.

AyaMiyaki

replied on January 14th, 2009

Especially eHealthy

Unfortunately, it does seem that quite a few pro-life people equate pro-choice with pro-abortion. Pro-abortion in the sense that all pregnancies should be terminated, or abortion is the best "choice" of the three, or something along those lines. These people also seem to assume that if you're pro-choice, you hate pregnancy and/or babies. I know that I've been asked point-blank on this forum how I could be pro-choice and be a parent at the same time.

This post isn't directed at anyone in particular, by the way. Just an observation.

oopoopoop

replied on January 14th, 2009

Extremely eHealthy

It is entirely possible to be anti-abortion without being anti-choice. Nightangel, for instance, has repeatedly asserted that she is not bothered by the legality or otherwise, since her objection is a religious one, but she is very definitely against elective abortion.

diamondsz

replied on January 14th, 2009

Extremely eHealthy

AyaMiyaki wrote:

Thats what I mean......

I guess we are pro-parenting and pro-abortion at the same time...

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