Re: Well, Deb, here are better definitions of "pro" this and "pro"
that -- for archives?
Sunday, 01-Oct-00 12:19:12
207.215.143.15 writes:
Debutant says that people who want abortion
to be kept legal should be called "pro abortion" rather than "pro
choice" and their opponents should be
dubbed "Pro life"? Well let's examine that in context.
Pro abortion: in favor of abortion, liking
abortion, wanting more abortions to be performed, preferring abortion over
any other possible solution, promoting
the performance of abortion, thinking abortion is a great and fun thing.
I don't
think I've ever met ANYONE who felt
that way. I suppose there are probably a few maniacs somewhere who do.
Pro choice: in favor of giving women
the right to decide for themselves what they do with their bodies with
respect to
whether they want an abortion or not.
Allowing people not to bear an unwanted embryo or fetus to term within
prescribed time limits and conditions.
Making safe abortion freely available to women who need it. Informed consent
is required by law and all pro choicers
agree it should be. That's what the "pro abortion" people for the most
part
think.
Pro Life: actually means AGAINST abortion,
in favor of making abortion illegal to ALL regardless of the reason it
is
needed. Some of the lunatics who favor
this view go so far as to preclude abortion EVEN when the life of the
mother is at risk. ALL are against free
choice.
And very rarely are they pro life in
any other setting. Many have no problem with the death penalty and bloody
wars
for questionable reasons. In general,
though there are a few exceptions, they take no personal responsibility
for the
consequences and disasters directly
caused by their harassment of those seeking abortion. They don't contribute
to
causes which help unwanted babies.
Interestingly, almost ALL pro-life people
are against birth control and sex education! This, to me, is the most
blatantly ridiculous and illogical aspect
of this whole debate. It strongly suggests that what frightens them is
not so
much the "slaughter of the unborn" but
the prospect that their children will have and *shudder* even enjoy sex,
particularly if it is outside of marriage
and not for procreation. So-called pro abortion people are almost universally
for it-- and of course both have been
shown in experimental studies to greatly decrease the abortion rate-- hardly
a
"pro" abortion stance.
Some go so far as to approve the murder
of doctors and nurses who perform legal abortion. Almost all are religious
catholics or very religious in some
other faith. They should be called anti abortion because the only life
they are "pro"
is the life of fetuses which they persist
in calling "unborn children" for the emotional value.
The harm that these views do is incalculable.
If their ideas were to prevail, we would return to the time when the only
way to get abortions was to pay huge
amounts of money to criminals and/or have it done with dirty implements
by a
quack with no anesthesia. And people
would still have them done.
Anti abortion forces are simply against
the enjoyment of healthy sexuality except for procreation. They are quite
clear
on that when you draw them out about
it. THOSE attitudes and the prim rigidity and inadequate sexual education
that accompanies them also causes all
sorts of suppression of sexual enjoyment and ABILITY especially in women.
It is the sort of attitude which frequently
prevents women from having orgasms. It causes relationships to break up,
men to seek mistresses, and generally
makes uncountable numbers of couples miserable. And by that quirk of human
nature called "acting out" it has exactly
the opposite effect on sexuality in the young. By telling them only that
they
CAN'T have it, that makes them want
it all the more-- so they have sex at a time and in a way that they are
not
prepared to protect themselves against
pregnancy, "ordinary" venereal diseases and of course HIV/AIDS.
Wonderful way to conduct our lives.
The reason I annoy Debutante so much
is that she realizes that the religious and emotional arguments against
early
term choice of abortion make absolutely
no sense when they are clearly and logically stated. And that in reality
they
have horrible consequences in relationships,
some even she or perhaps her friends and relatives may have
experienced. That clashes with her religious
indoctrination causing pain. That's not fun to cause but then I hardly
was
the one that initiated this discussion,
either here or in the more global sense.
I think this message and a correspondingly
detailed one from the opposite point of view by Debutante should be
archived-- along with anything anyone
else may care to add
Pierre