So after digesting darth_ender’s post for a bit, I’ve come to the conclusion that pro-choice is a bad label, for a different reason. While darth_ender’s position really amounts to wanting to prevent the abortion from happening (although the logic also appears to apply equally to abortions and some forms of birth control like the so-called morning-after pill), my position (and I can really only speak for myself here) is twofold: that abortion is a catch-all safety net for the woman if everything else fails, but that the ultimate goal is to prevent the woman from having to make the choice whether or not to have an abortion at all. i.e. prevent unwanted pregnancies, improve access to healthcare, promote fetal health, provide financial support, etc.
Fair enough, but I do want to be clear, I favor the morning-after pill, as it prevents conception instead killing a fertilized ovum.
So reaching the “choice” at the end of that string of policies (or lack thereof) really in most cases marks some sort of societal failure. If the goal is to prevent the situation from ever reaching the “choice” phase, it’s hardly a pro-choice position. It’s really just the position that you prefer the legal safety net to the illegal safety net, not that you want anyone to actually get there.
It does mark some common ground, though. Although I see the choice as the final safety net in case society fails, darth_ender sees the choice itself as a failure (but is it less of a failure if it’s done illegally?). But aside from that (and I realize, it’s a big “that”), the pre-choice stuff – preventing unwanted pregnancies, improving access to healthcare, promoting fetal health, providing support for families – seems like plenty of common ground for policy ideas. And assuming these common ground policies continue to reduce the number of abortions overall as they have already done, that would be considered forward movement by both sides. Of course, there may be some friction on specifics (sex ed, access to contraception, etc), but the issue still seems way more navigable on that end.
I think you make a fantastic point, and that is the reality of most people’s overall opposition to abortion as often as possible. I truly appreciate your clarification here, as I think you truly are finding the very similar aims between two seemingly polar opposites. In my mind, the Right would do well to abandon those efforts to control the morality of premarital sex and pregnancy prevention in favor of the greater goal of preventing abortion–those things that you say like sex education, contraception, prenatal care, and social programs to support postnatal health and development, particularly among the disadvantaged. This would make carrying a child to term an easier option for many women. Meanwhile, the Left would do well to impose greater restrictions on abortion, which to me would only permit them in the cases of incest, rape, health of the mother, or poor prognosis of the child. It may be that we will never meet the compromise I desire, but perhaps we can come closer if both sides come to a common understanding of motives as you and I have.
Thank you for your post. You are an extremely thoughtful individual and I enjoy your perspective and respect towards my point of view.
Oh, I obviously am displeased by abortion in any manner, legal or illegal, safe or unsafe. I think one final piece to help end abortion would be a shift in society where, whether or not people oppose premarital sex and pregnancy, greater support is given instead of social ostracism to those pregnant women.