The failure of a red wave to materialize at the recent midterm election has been attributed by some to the issue of abortion. We will never know, but there is no doubt that abortion is a highly motivating force on both sides of the issue.
It would also appear that having had an abortion, which was once a mark of shame, has been elevated almost to a badge of honor. This change in attitude regarding abortion is due, in my opinion, to the pro-abortion forces gaining control of the language used in the discussion of abortion.
They call themselves “pro-choice,” and they have succeeded in getting almost everyone else to refer to them as “pro-choice.” They even refer to those who are anti-abortion as “anti-choice.”
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But they aren’t talking about “choice” as if they are supporting the right to choose between chocolate and vanilla. The only choice they support is abortion. They aren’t protesting that the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Dobbs took away a woman’s right to choose to ultimately give birth to a baby. They are demanding that she have the right to end the developing life within her at any time prior to birth.
They choose to call themselves “pro-choice” as opposed to “pro-abortion” because it sounds much more humane. They correctly believe that if they can control the language they can win the war over abortion. I refuse to refer to them as pro-choice, and I encourage all those opposed to abortion to stop using “pro-choice” when referring to them. They are “pro-abortion.” Abortion is the only choice they support. A pregnant woman doesn’t have to “choose” to carry her baby to term; that will happen if she does nothing. She does have to “choose” if she wants to abort her developing baby.
The pro-abortion forces seek to control the law regarding abortion by controlling the language that is used. They are aided in this effort by a very complicit media. Abortion is called “reproductive healthcare.” Under no circumstances can abortion be considered “reproductive.” It is clearly the opposite. And it is certainly not healthcare for the developing life that is being deliberately ended. In the case of abortion on demand, it is not even healthcare for the woman. Unless the pregnancy presents a serious risk of harm to the woman’s physical or mental health, abortion is not healthcare.
The pro-abortion forces want to use their control over the language to influence the thinking about abortion. They seek to focus only on the pregnant woman and not on the developing life within her. They do not want people to think of that developing life as a baby. To them it is merely a group of cells, or an embryo, or a fetus. A baby is something we all love. It is cute and cuddly. A fetus is something else. A fetus is not cute or cuddly. Indeed, it is difficult to form a mental image of a fetus without seeing a baby in the womb. But that image is not cute or cuddly.
What gets ignored in the debate over abortion is that neither men nor women have the legal right to do whatever they want with their bodies.
The reality is that abortion kills a developing human life, that when wanted is referred to as a baby. The pro-abortion forces don’t want it called a baby; they want it called a fetus. But when a baby is wanted, it is never referred to as a fetus. It’s a baby. The expectant mother never says “I just felt the fetus kick.” She felt the baby kick. No one ever refers to a “fetus bump.” It’s a baby bump. It is only unwanted babies that are denied the “baby” label.
By focusing on “women’s rights” the pro-abortion forces divert attention from the fact that an abortion ends the life of a preborn baby. To them the only being that matters is the woman. To them it is her body and her right to choose. But the choice they are demanding is the right to end a life that has begun to develop.
What gets ignored in the debate over abortion is that neither men nor women have the legal right to do whatever they want with their bodies. Until after the Vietnam war men have been subject to conscription for the military. They have been sent to war where many were killed in battle. Those were clearly their bodies, but they could not choose not to go without legal consequences.
In most states we have laws against prostitution. There are laws against public nudity. These laws clearly limit what a person can do with their bodies. In the Judeo-Christian community, there is a prohibition in the Seventh Commandment against adultery. Adultery is clearly the use of one’s own body. So far, however, I have yet to hear any Christian or Jewish clergy who support abortion rights call for repeal of the Seventh Commandment on the grounds that it interferes with a woman’s right to control her own body.
It is time to focus on the preborn babies rather than women’s bodies.
Howard Lurie is Emeritus Professor of Law, Charles Widger School of Law, Villanova University.
Because of the baby parts market, the money… baby killing will never end.. Our own government is in on it too.
Make sure to click the link to the actual FDA docs..
Truth always lives.
http://www.thenewamerican.com/pure-evil-fda-purchased-baby-heads-and-body-parts-demanded-fresh-and-never-frozen/
I have never been able to rationalize how a baby up until the event of birth could be considered a “bunch of cells” which could be killed without any remorse, but after a birth, the “bunch of cells” are now human beings. Is it a matter of geography? Once outside of the geography of the womb the “bunch of cells” is a human. Perhaps it is a form of magic that transforms cells into human. Abortion is one of the more sexist acts. Nowhere in the pro-abortion movement is there any concern for the mental health of the father nor for his rights to the forming baby. There are no rights for the father, and he has been removed entirely from the process as if he had nothing to do with the event of pregnancy. By the way Lady Jane has it right as to the harvesting and sale of body parts. Just look to The University of Pittsburgh medical wanting to become the premier agency for body parts.
How refreshing (sarcasm). A man writing that abortion is a “mark of shame” for rape victims, incest victims, etc. So easy for a man who will never face this choice to condemn those who do. Ironically, no amount of you shaming girls and women will stop abortion. Your goal is to keep it as unsafe as possible and to criminalize girls and women. The men who cause the pregnancy face no ill effects or shaming. Childbirth is still dangerous even now. That’s why girls and women give birth in a hospital surrounded by doctors and nurses. It absolutely is a healthcare issue. In Pennsylvania, the number one issue in the midterms was abortion and to keep it safe for girls and women. This will remain a top election issue thanks to the Supreme Court decision.
WOW..
That’s not what he said at all.
Get glasses already.
Lady Jane,
Thanks.
Howard
Of the total number of abortions, how many are the consequence of rape and/or incest? I suggest they are a small minority of the total. It seems odd that about 70% of abortions are performed on women of colour, also a majority of abortion clinics are in low-income neighbourhoods. Why is this? I still want to have explained how a baby seconds from birth is not considered human, but a few seconds later, after birth is now a human. Full term abortions have led to such outcomes as snipping the spinal cord after birth or leaving the baby without post partem care until they die. Last year legislation was introduced in the Maryland state senate to allow for terminating a baby’s life up to 28 days after birth, seems like applying “return if not satisfied” approach to human beings. If you want to learn about abortion realities in Philadelphia, read “Gosnell, The Untold Story of America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer” by Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer. This is the other side of abortions.