Although I have been pro-choice for as long as I have known that this was an issue in dispute, I have always felt a certain sympathy for people who genuinely believe that “life begins at [whenever],” but my sympathy stops when they start trying to impose their views on others. Some people do not mince words, saying that because a fetus is a full human being, the rights of the mother cease to matter. Others simply claim to care deeply for the rights of the fetus, and to want to help the fetus survive. The problem is that nearly every other policy favored by the “pro-life” makes it as difficult as possible for the fetus to thrive once it becomes a baby (which, for the purposes of my argument, occurs at birth. Respect my opinions, dammit!) This is why many people, myself included, think the movement should be called “pro-birth,” rather than “pro-life,” because that is where their willingness to help ends.
Libby Anne, who blogs at Love,Joy, Feminism, has an excellent piece from last October about her shift from a vehement “pro-life” stance (scare quotes intentional) to being pro-choice. The whole thing deserves your attention, as she examines not only opposition to abortion among “pro-life” advocates, but also opposition to making birth control available, or even opposition to birth control at all. Contraception is generally agreed to be the best way to reduce the number of abortions, which I agree is a noble goal. By not encouraging contraceptive use, the “pro-life” movement does nothing to decrease the number of abortions, and reveals that for many, the true goal is controlling women’s sexuality.
[T]hose in the pro-life movement, or at least the leaders of the pro-life movement, are incredibly inconsistent. You simply can’t be against the pill for fear that it will result in flushed out zygotes and yet not concerned at all about the vastly greater number of zygotes flushed out naturally every day. At least, not if you really truly believe a zygote has the same worth as an infant, toddler, or adult, and not if you’re truly motivated solely by a desire to save the lives of these “unborn babies.” Fresh off of these thoughts, I came upon two news articles on the subject in the last week that have completely shattered the last bit of faith I had in the pro-life movement.
She then talks about how Obama, through health care reform, has reduced the number of abortions far more than a ban on abortion ever would. She concludes as follows:
The reality is that so-called pro-life movement is not about saving babies. It’s about regulating sex. That’s why they oppose birth control. That’s why they want to ban abortion even though doing so will simply drive women to have dangerous back alley abortions. That’s why they want to penalize women who take public assistance and then dare to have sex, leaving an exemption for those who become pregnant from rape. It’s not about babies. If it were about babies, they would be making access to birth control widespread and free and creating a comprehensive social safety net so that no woman finds herself with a pregnancy she can’t afford. They would be raising money for research on why half of all zygotes fail to implant and working to prevent miscarriages. It’s not about babies. It’s about controlling women. It’s about making sure they have consequences for having unapproved sex.
But I am very sure that there are other dupes out there. If you’re sitting there reading this thinking “but I really am in it to save unborn babies,” I am sure you’re not alone. After all, I was one of you.
If you are one who has been a part of the pro-life movement because you really do believe in “saving unborn babies,” it’s time to cut your ties with the movement. You may be an honest and kind-hearted person, but you’ve been had. You’ve been taken in. It’s time to let go. It’s time to support Obamacare’s birth control mandate, it’s time to call off opposition to birth control, and it’s time to get behind progressive programs that help provide for poor women and their children. It’s time to make your actions consistent with your motives. While I am myself no longer morally opposed to abortion, I and others like me share your desire to decrease the number of unplanned pregnancies and to ensure that every woman can afford the option of keeping her pregnancy.
We’d love to have you join us.
