Pro-choice
From RationalWiki
Pro-choice is the name given to the political stance that is in favour of keeping the right for a woman to choose an abortion over being forced to carry a baby if the pregnancy is unwanted. It is considered a liberal view, therefore evil and murderous by those who oppose it, but a sensible and protected freedom by those who don't.
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[edit] Meaning
Pro-choice could be considered by some as the antonym to Pro-life, although this is not strictly true by any stretch of the meaning ("pro-death" perhaps?). However, like the term "pro-life" it is essentially designed to villify the opponent, saying that people who are against abortion are therefore anti-choice or against a freedom to choose.
Unlike what more right-wing propaganda may say, the position (generally) does not mean that abortions are forced on to people, made too easy or that people should be encouraged to have as many abortions as possible due to too much sex outside of marriage while outright banning any alternative. It merely states that the choice to have a pregnancy terminated in a professional, legal[1] and above all safe[2] manner should remain intact.
[edit] Pro-choice violence?
There is a small amount of controversy as to whether there is pro-choice violence committed to the same extent that fringe pro-life/anti-abortion proponents stoop to, i.e., murdering doctors and firebombing clinics. The anti-abortion claim is obviously that pro-choice by definition is "violent", involving the termination of a pregnancy, however the definition is somewhat hazy. One side is committing violent illegal acts while the other side are committing legal medical procedures, for example. Currently, there is no evidence that pro-choice campaigners are engaging in such activities.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ The generally agreed cut-off is 20-24 weeks.
- ↑ The choice is really between a doctor doing it with sterilised equipment and tested drugs and some maniac in a back alley with a bottle of bleach and a coathanger.
- ↑ The NPOV claims on this Wikipedia talkpage sum it up fairly well
| Abortion articles on RationalWiki | ||
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| Abortion - Fetus/Fœtus - Gonzales v. Carhart - Nuremberg Files - Parsley abortion - Pro-life - Pro-choice - Essay:Rhetorical analysis of abortion essays - Roe v. Wade - Schlafly, breast cancer and abortion - The Silent Scream - Barnett Slepian - Essay:Where do you fall in the abortion debate? | ||
