As I\u2019ve noted before, my prefered terms in the abortion debate are pro-abortion and anti-abortion.\u00a0 Over the past generation, the two sides have adopted the terms pro-choice and pro-life.\u00a0 More recently we have seen people attempt to distinguish between pro-abortion and pro-choice and likewise anti-abortion and pro-life.\u00a0 I\u2019ve generally tried to stay out of these debates, because I think they are unproductive.<\/p>\n
When someone states they are pro-choice, they aren\u2019t saying that they are compelled to tolerate abortion because of their libertarian ideals.\u00a0 Well, I suppose libertarian ideals could be behind their position, but it isn\u2019t the reason they describe themselves as pro-choice.\u00a0 On the pro-life side, the argument is that \u201cI\u2019m not just anti-abortion.\u201d\u00a0 A secondary issue often listed is euthanasia.\u00a0 However if we had two candidates, one supportive of abortion and the other supportive of euthanasia, we would not (likely) see \u201cpro-life\u201d advocates claiming the pro-abortion candidate would be preferred, despite the issue in greatest flux right now has to do with end of life decisions.\u00a0 While some may claim \u201cneither\u201d is a good choice (as if the choices before us are\u00a0ever \u201cgood\u201d) the point is that pro-life is clearly understood to denote a position with abortion at its core.\u00a0 So in short, I do think the whole matter is a semantic game.<\/p>\n
What has had some popularity, including in the pages of L\u2019Observatorio Romano, is the idea that no one is really\u00a0pro-abortion.\u00a0 In the American context, this is plain nonsense.\u00a0 It creates a straw man pro-abortion position to make a pro-choice position appear more reasonable.\u00a0 Pro-choice rhetoric about allowing a mother to have dominion over her reproductive choices may be a moderate position and even laudable in a place like China, but it isn\u2019t here.\u00a0 And if words are going to mean anything, there is no foundation for calling one\u2019s support of abortion tepid when one supports abortion in the 2nd and 3rd trimester without cause (like fetal abnormality, health of the mother, etc.)\u00a0 Part of an honest dialogue on abortion must begin with being honest about our respective positions.\u00a0 If you support unrestricted abortion up through birth, you aren\u2019t conflicted about the rights of the child\/fetus.\u00a0 I should add that this is why I\u2019ve been\u00a0quiet about efforts to\u00a0engage President Obama over the issue.\u00a0 To make a long story short, I don\u2019t think abortion reduction will be achieved by efforts\u00a0at delaying family formation.<\/p>\n
My position on abortion is quite simple.\u00a0 I believe abortion is a criminal offense.\u00a0 I believe the criminal actors are the mother, doctor, and anyone that contributes materially and formally, e.g. a boyfriend that pays for the abortion.\u00a0 People occasionally get confused over my position, because I didn\u2019t see it as an important issue in the last presidential election.\u00a0 For those unclear, hopefully that is plain enough.\u00a0 There are some that believe we need to wait until society opposes abortion until we can bring laws against abortion and until such time abortion shouldn\u2019t be politically opposed.\u00a0 I find that position untenable, particularly if that view is held in principle.\u00a0 Practically, I do believe greater consideration needs to be given to those political decisions likely to be approved and persist.\u00a0 So, I am likely to not give significantly greater consideration to a person that supports the Human Life Amendment over a person that just\u00a0supports banning 3rd trimester abortions.\u00a0 I\u2019m not suggesting anti-abortion groups draw the line where I draw it, but I do think in places like New York and California, the greatest threats are conscience protections being respected, and our efforts are wasted in those places focusing on 1st trimester abortions.\u00a0 On the other hand, it would be nice to get constitutional protections in places like South Dakota and Utah, places where there is a reasonable chance for success with a reasonably well run campaign.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As I\u2019ve noted before, my prefered terms in the abortion debate are pro-abortion and anti-abortion.\u00a0 Over the past generation, the two sides have adopted the terms pro-choice and pro-life.\u00a0 More recently we have seen people attempt to distinguish between pro-abortion and pro-choice and likewise anti-abortion and pro-life.\u00a0 I\u2019ve generally tried to stay out of these […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2948,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n