The recent Gallop Poll has brought this into the forefront. I thought I would cover my experiences with this issue. Many in the MSM are shocked at the poll results. I will endeavor to explain why I have gone from the mushy middle (pro-life for myself and choice for others) to strongly pro-life. I did not find God and am not a religious activist. I do not believe in an ever-present superior being guiding our every move. Bad things can happen to good people and I do not believe that they are God’s will. But I do believe we are judged on how we react to these challenges and how we identify the human soul.
Over the years, it has become clear to me that there are only two choices “Pro-Abortion” and “Pro-Life”. The “Pro-Choice” movement was able to use the label as a brilliant PR move. ”Choice” sounds good in a free society and with passing knowledge it sounds like a logical place to be. But upon further investigation of the actual movement, additional facts become clear. Pro-Choice is about being able to make that choice at any time, for any reason, as much as desired. The recent battle over partial-birth abortion has really made this clear. Many others have probably had a similar clarifying moment.
Pro-choice is not about correcting a discretion or unwanted pregnancy. It is about complete freedom for the pregnant mother and terminating a child’s life. There are few people (those in total denial) that will say that a baby in-utero, days before birth, is not a human life. A huge plurality of Americans feel that this taking life. For most, this makes them very uncomfortable. This is where the pro-choice argument begins to collapse.
The arguments over partial-birth abortion have convinced me that the Pro-Choice movement (total freedom to do with a woman’s body and child as she chooses) is not Choice it is Anarchy. That there must be limits on the total freedom of such a practice. If there are to be some limits, then those limits are based on what? They are based on the fact that the child has some rights before birth. That it is human life and there are limits placed on how we must care for this helpless child. Such limits and laws would be for/pro life.
If these laws and limits are Pro-life, can I reconcile this with the Pro-life movement? For many in that movement say the abortion is murder. I agree that it can be. It is there that the conversation is important. For killing another human can be murder, but it is not always. There are conditions that the law consider man-slaughter or others self-defense. In acts of war killing is an unfortunate reality.
So the conversation is not about “Pro-Choice” but really about the the laws around which we conserve and terminate life. To confirm this, 34 states already have laws covering double-murder for the killing of a pregnant mother. Many also have laws considering it murder even if the mother survives and the child dies. These laws are not about “choice” but about the “life” of the child. In the case of the terminal health of the mother, the termination of the pregnancy could be considered a parallel to self-defense. I could be convinced that this parallel extends to rape and incest. But in these latter cases this argument fades as the pregnancy progresses. Much like killing in self-defense cannot extend to any time after the event, there is and immediacy and proximity to the event that is required by the law.
Some on both sides of the issue will argue that the Pro-Life movement is about the fact that life begins and inception and that human life is sacred and should not be terminated by man. I agree but there are many conditions already covered under which taking a human life is a necessary reality. Our society toils over these conditions and sets limits that protect life whenever possible.
At least we used to toil over such things, and that is the final straw in my conversion. In a society dominated by the Pro-Choice movement, we have lost our focus on life and the inherent value in it. In our fear of setting a moral limit to abortion, we have set no limits and allowed for moral decay. This has led to an every increasing number of abortions and I dare says crime and unwed motherhood (which is now > 40%). I submit that a society governed by the difficult decisions around pro-life laws, inherently spreads a respect for life which permeates all aspects of the society. The lack of this respect certainly has.
I am happy to see the tide turning, it is up to us to keep the conversation focused on how to protect life and those tough decisions that are needed to govern those unfortunate situations.
