Thursday, September 24, 2020

Pro-life AND Pro-choice

 There is a lot of discussion and argument about "pro-life" vs. "pro-choice".  I guess I just see things a different way.  I'm pro-life, in that killing a fetus/baby should be avoided, but I'm also pro-choice, in that when it comes down only a concern of who has control over a person's life, I'll always side with that person.  If someone is trying to kill me, then they are exerting control over my life and taking control away from me.  That's unacceptable and I will do whatever I need to do in order to stop it and re-gain control over my own life, including killing them.  Yes, this means I'm exerting control over their life, but it wouldn't have been necessary if they hadn't initiated the situation.  There are many situations and concerns, and all of them should be taken into consideration when making a life or death decision, but the final consideration, which always trumps all other concerns is that a person should always retain control over their life, unless they give it up voluntarily (which is what is happening when someone tries to take control of my own life away from me).  In short, when you try to remove a person's rights, you inherently give up that right yourself.

So, since a person should always have control over their own body, what options are available to those who would like people to stop having abortions?  There are many options available, actually!  The first, most obvious, option is to simply try to convince the person to not have an abortion.  There's nothing wrong with making an argument for what you believe.  What's the most effective way to make such an argument?  The most effective way is always to have a civil discussion.  Lay out your reasons, listen to the other person's reasons, try to address their concerns by giving them options which are acceptable to them.

If "anti-abortion" groups want to promote not having abortions, they need to listen to "pro-choice" arguments and address the concerns.  I'll help with some examples.  For example, if a "pro-choice" person says something such as, "My passion just took me away and in the moment I didn't use birth control.  I can't afford, financially or time-wise, to have a baby right now."  Once option open to a person who disagrees with their decision, would be to volunteer to help financially and help them give up the baby for adoption.  An even more convincing argument may be to give them financial motivation to carry through with the pregnancy, such as paying for all medical bills, work time lost, classes related to easing child birth, and then helping with handing the baby over for adoption and the psychological issues involved with having an abortion and also giving up a child.  I know that's a lot, but I have to ask, "what is saving a baby worth to you?"

If abortions are really as abhorrent as anti-choice people claim, I would expect to see them offering to adopt people's babies and using their funding agencies to support adoptions and helping with medical bills, etc.  If the baby is far enough along that it can exist outside of the mother's body, then perhaps removing it from the mother and supporting medical needs until it can be adopted, may be an option.

In short, there are many options which could be pursued, however the primary one seems to be passing a law to take away a person's choice.  This doesn't address the problem at all, it simply tries to punish the person for having made a "bad choice" previously, or having found themself in a "bad position".  If it were not about control, then other, less controlling, methods would already be in use.  (Or, maybe anti-choice people are simply incapable of thinking of these other alternatives?  I would not expect this lack of imagination, however, to be as universal as it seems, so I would expect there are other reasons for trying to control people's lives.)  If the reason for wanting to exert control is because your God tells you "it's wrong!", then maybe you should pray for the person seeking an abortion and pray that God will change their mind.  It has happened, according to the Bible, many times in history and if you believe in prayer, certainly asking God to change their mind would be the strongest way to "convince" them?

Instead of trying to force people into agreeing with you, try gently pushing them in your direction such that they go willingly.  It's what you would want, if they were trying to exert control over you.


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