Pro-lifers Are Not Pro-life

The term "pro-life" was first used by education philosopher A.S. Neill in 1960 and it had a different meaning to how we use it now.  It was a progressive term he used to condemn mistreatment of other human beings such as child abuse, homophobia, corporal punishment, war etc. In 1973, when abortion because legal nationally (due to Roe v. Wade), anti-abortion groups began using the term to mean anti-abortion. Those who disagreed with them and supported abortion rights didn't like the moniker of "pro-death" or "anti-life" so they came up with "pro-choice" acknowledging that it was a deeply personal decision that a woman had to undergo. This is the political framing we use today and it hasn't changed much in 50 years.  

The media portrays the difference between these groups as clear cut and black and white, but it is a lot more gray than it appears. If you don't believe me, check out this video from the Holy Post. I don't agree with it 100% but I am impressed with how aligned I am with what they are saying but I consider myself pro-choice and they are clearly not. Often the media lets radical factions define our culture while the rest of us are left scratching our heads. Middle ground does exist. Most, if not all, pro-choicers believe that abortion is a pretty awful thing and something to be avoided. Only the very careless see it as a birth control option. Most, even many people who call themselves pro-life, agree that birth control should be used to avoid pregnancy. 

I don't like the term pro-life because those who call themselves pro-life often only seem to care about the lives of the unborn at the exclusion of other lives. Can you still call yourself pro-life and also be pro-death penalty? Or pro-war? Many people supported Trump because they believe that he would appoint conservative judges and that he did. He was able to change the makeup of the Judiciary to favor the conservative ideology. not just on the Supreme Court level. He appointed 194 judges to Federal benches. In four years, that is more than half of what Obama did in eight years (312) and more than twice Clinton (84). All of Trump's appointments are anti-abortion. But they are anti a lot of other stuff as well like the ACA (Affordable Care Act) and they are actively chipping away at this law that has given about six million Americans health care. This is during a pandemic, kinda sick. If you were actually pro-life wouldn't you be concerned about people getting affordable healthcare. Both his appointees to the Supreme Court are against the ACA. This law could very well be overturned during Biden's term in office. Will they still call themselves "pro-life" when their neighbors can longer afford their insulin or their mood stabilizers? 

In 1988, long before he was president, Trump placed this ad in several NYC newspapers trying to bring back the death penalty in New York State. 

This was in response to the Central Park Five who were five young black men who were wrongly imprisoned for the rape and murder of a white woman. In 2002, they were exonerated and released from prison. As you would expect, Trump never apologized. This man has a long trail of hate like this, yet many so called "pro lifers" support him solely on the basis that he'd appoint "pro-life" judges. Since July this year (2020), Trump has approved the execution of seven Federal prisoners and three more are schedule before he leaves office. Before this spree, we had gone 17 years without a Federal execution. Pro-life? I don't think so.

Yes, Roe v. Wade, the legal decision that effectively legalized abortion in this nation, could be overturned thanks to this President. If that is all you wanted, congratulations. All it would mean is that states would be able to make it illegal again and many states will. This will not stop abortions from happening in this country. People can just drive to a neighboring state to get it done. Even if every state made it illegal, they could drive to Europe, Canada or Mexico etc. It would just inconvenience the rich and prevent the poor from getting a legal and safe medical procedure. An estimated 25% of abortions would be prevented. Any economist will tell you that if a demand exists so will a market. Illegal abortions will happen and many of them will not be safe. Also, there will be self induction. Before legal abortion, this was popular. We don't want people giving themselves abortions. Before the internet, girls would use poison, pills, coat hangers or throw themselves down the stairs to end their pregnancies. In a misinformation age, I can't imagine what awful stuff you would find if you started googling how to do your own abortion. An estimated 200 women a year died seeking illegal abortions before Roe v. Wade. But hey, if you want to call yourself "pro-life," go ahead, I just call you a hypocrite. This is why I use the term "anti-choice" to describe pro-lifers. They are not in protecting life at all; they are just into taking away other people's rights.  

If you want to be pro-life, you might want to start by not voting for scum like Trump. Abortion in America has decreased since the Roe decision and this has little to do with Roe. It has to do with the fact that we have increased sex education, increased women's access to healthcare and birth control and made adoption more affordable. All of these still need improvement. Putting an extremist like Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court for a rest of her life is not helping the matter.